Abstract
PurposeThis paper deals with the importance of residents within place branding. The aim of this paper is to examine the different roles that residents play in the formation and communication of place brands and explores the implications for place brand management.Design/methodology/approachThe paper is based on theoretical insights drawn from the combination of the distinct literatures on place branding, general marketing, tourism, human geography, and collaborative governance. To support its arguments, the paper discusses the participation of citizens in governance processes as highlighted in the urban governance literature as well as the debate among marketing scholars over participatory marketing and branding.FindingsThe paper arrive at three different roles played by the residents: as an integral part of the place brand through their characteristics and behavior; as ambassadors for their place brand who grant credibility to any communicated message; and as citizens and voters who are vital for the political legitimization of place branding. These three roles make the residents a very significant target group of place branding.Originality/valueResidents are largely neglected by place branding practice and their priorities are often misunderstood, even though they are not passive beneficiaries but are active partners and co‐producers of public goods, services and policies. This paper highlights that only meaningful participation and consultation can produce a more effective and sustainable place branding strengthening the brand communication and avoiding the pitfall of developing “artificial” place brands.
Highlights
As identified in the earliest literature on place marketing and branding (e.g., Ashworth and Voogd, 1990; Van den Berg and Braun, 1999; Kotler et al, 1993), the three main target groups are residents, companies, and visitors
That the existing residents should be prioritized as they form the most prominent audience for place branding
Place branding extends beyond the visitor-friendliness of the local population that is so important for the tourism industry: the current residents send messages to potentially new residents
Summary
As identified in the earliest literature on place marketing and branding (e.g., Ashworth and Voogd, 1990; Van den Berg and Braun, 1999; Kotler et al, 1993), the three main target groups are residents, companies, and visitors. A critical analysis of the potentially different roles of residents in place branding is needed and it is contended here that residents have a more active role to play, since the participation of and the dialogue with stakeholders in place branding is extremely relevant (e.g., Bennet and Savani, 2003; Braun, 2011; Kavaratzis, 2012) This resonates with most of the literature on urban governance highlighting the importance of participation of citizens in governance processes (e.g., Garcia, 2006; Bingham et al, 2005; Zenker and Seigis, 2012) as well as the debate among marketing scholars over participatory marketing and branding. For example, try to increase the brand commitment among all of a company or institution’s internal stakeholders (e.g., Burmann and Zeplin, 2005) in order to make them true brand ambassadors
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