Place Branding Research Articles

Boomerang Entrepreneurs and the Declining Home City’s Place Image: Away on the Brain Drain Flow and Back on the Homesick Flow

Abstract Boomerang entrepreneurs (practicing and nascent entrepreneurs who return to their declining home cities after years away) may especially be an answer to the brain drain, suppressed innovation, and often tepid entrepreneurial ecosystem condition that plague declining cities such as U.S. Rust Belt cities. This conceptual article addresses how the declining home city’s place image might inform and promote a boomerang entrepreneur’s return migration and venturing decisions and with what implications for the place’s entrepreneurial ecosystem. Even given homesickness, this kind of return migration is unlikely unless prospective boomerang entrepreneurs revise their place images of their old hometowns. We conceptually develop and support propositions on the relationships between place image and brain drain, between affect and both place image revision and entrepreneurial intentions, and between place image revision and both return migration intentions and entrepreneurial opportunity recognition. We also discuss implications for microfoundations of entrepreneurial ecosystems in declining cities, place branding that can encourage boomerang entrepreneurs’ place image revision and return migration to the declining home city, and related research data collection.

Mapping the role of public actors in the constitution of place brand publics in social media

Mapping the role of public actors in the constitution of place brand publics in social media

When place brand and place logo matches: VRIO applied to place branding

When place brand and place logo matches: VRIO applied to place branding

A Semiotic Branding Analysis of Borobudur: World Spiritual Tourism Destination

In the context of internationalizing Borobudur as a destination for global Buddhist religious tourism this research aims to address the research questions: how does Borobudur's branding position it as a centre for the world's religions this study focuses on Borobudur’s branding in social media and content, social networks, social news, review sites, and virtual worlds forum. This research also incorporates data obtained through interviews with the managers of Borobudur Temple. This research employs a qualitative approach with a semiotic branding approach related to the declaration of the Borobudur Temple complex designated as one of the world's religious centres. the researcher conducts an analysis within the frameworks of syntagmatic, paradigmatic, and intertextuality. The research highlights Borobudur’s profound significance as a living spiritual and multicultural space, emphasizing its identity as a dynamic product shaped by social media. The study identifies two perceptions: religious tourism and cultural engagement, emphasizing Borobudur's multicultural appeal. The study aligns with the evolving nature of place branding, emphasizing emotional and experiential aspects. In conclusion, Borobudur emerges as a dynamic, spiritually rich destination with multicultural appeal. Social media plays a pivotal role in shaping its brand, emphasizing continuous promotion for global recognition and resonance. The influence of information technology propels globalization, altering the branding terrain. In this dynamic environment, tourists play an active role in shaping destination images, disrupting conventional top-down methodologies

SMART TOURISM: INVESTIGATING MOBILE APP INTEGRATION FOR ENHANCED TOURIST EXPERIENCES IN TURKESTAN

At present, travel is commonly seen as a personalised encounter rather than choosing pre-arranged vacation packages. The emergence of new technologies and the broad availability of 5G connections have revolutionised the way travellers use smartphone applications to seek assistance in planning, navigating, and accessing local attractions at their selected locations. The swift advancement of mobile apps in the corporate domain confers a distinct advantage, particularly in relation to data, over competitors in the market. The increasing population of technologically proficient travellers, with 93% of potential visitors utilising smartphones on a regular basis, highlights the auspicious prospects for enterprises. This study centres on the utilisation of mobile applications in the Turkestan Region, investigating both domestically created and multinational apps to provide a thorough understanding of how technology enhances the travel experience. Through the analysis of readily accessible secondary data, our objective is to ascertain the precise attributes that need to be integrated into applications in order to fully leverage the region's inherent advantages. This research examines the viewpoints of app users and suppliers, with the goal of satisfying the changing requirements of future enterprises, hotels, cultural heritage sites, and government bodies. Furthermore, its objective is to provide direction to city branding managers in creating applications that have functionalities that are in line with the distinct preferences of end users and the distinctive attributes of the area.

Research On Effectiveness of Low-Carbon Policies on Labor Mobility

Abstract The internal and external environment of China's development has undergone profound changes, and the promotion of “dual-carbon” has become an urgent need for cracking the outstanding problems of resource and environmental constraints and realizing sustainable development, while labor mobility can bring “demographic dividend” to the region, which is an important part of realizing the dual-carbon goal. This paper focuses on the low-carbon pilot policies, adopts the panel data of 281 prefecture-level cities from 2005 to 2019, and constructs a multi-period double difference model to investigate the effects of low-carbon policies on labor mobility. The study finds that: low-carbon pilot can significantly promote inter-regional labor inflow, and the above conclusion still holds after a series of robustness tests; mechanism analysis shows that the advancement of industrial structure plays a significant positive moderating role, while government expenditures on finance, science and technology play a mediating role. The research in this paper not only provides a new perspective for the evaluation of the effects of low-carbon policies, but also provides a new basis for city branding to attract labor inflow, and the heterogeneity analysis also provides a theoretical reference for the government to formulate talent policies. JEL classification numbers: J61. Keywords: Low-carbon policies, Labor mobility, Multi-period double difference model, Advancement of industrial structure.

Brand on the run: place brands as judgement devices and sources of local advantage in the music industry

ABSTRACT Products from certain areas are assumed to share qualities by virtue of where they are made. This article considers the economic significance of such place brands in the wider market for symbolic goods. It forwards a theory of these as judgement devices, whereby place reputation serves to lower search costs in symbolic goods markets with excess supply. This theory is investigated through a study of an online music platform where a weak form of place branding is available to producers. Results suggest that branding is associated with musical success at the individual level and that place brands may act as strategic resources for producers from creative clusters. Branding effects do not necessarily depend on the content of the place brand signal (i.e., country acts branded from Nashville are not especially privileged) and may be based in simpler heuristic mechanisms where a listed origin is a stamp of quality or an aid in recognition.

Nation-branding Opportunities Through Sport Mega-events: Tourism Impact from FIFA World Cup in South Africa 2010 and Qatar 2022

Sport mega-events can be powerful agents in the imaging, re-imaging and branding of places, especially for emerging mega-event host nations. South Africa was the first African country to host the FIFA World Cup in 2010 and is a good case of how nation-branding opportunities were leveraged to showcase its global engagement, re-emergence post-apartheid, and its competence as a tourism and mega-event host. Similarly, Qatar’s hosting of the 2022 FIFA World Cup is a region-first for the Middle East. Hosting the World Cup is aligned to Qatar’s strategic leveraging of sport to build a new image, acquire global recognition as a world-class venue for major events, sport sponsorships, and state-of-the-art stadiums. Yet Qatar, like South Africa, was confronted with significant detractors and negative media coverage in the lead-up to its hosting. This paper compares nation-brand perceptions collected from international visitors to the respective mega-events. The studies aimed to identify any changes to these brand perceptions because of their visit to these nations. It utilises the same instrument and method; with the survey instrument for 2010 adapted for Qatar to increase its relevance. A total of 561 (South Africa) and 421 (Qatar) international visitors were interviewed at event and tourist locations, using a spatially based, purposive sampling approach. The findings reveal how visitor perceptions changed in both instances. It reveals nuances in profiling mega-event sport tourists and contrasts expected nation-branding legacies for host nations, especially in emerging nation contexts. 

Social Media in City Branding Strategic: Empirical study in Solo City, Indonesia

The trend of tourist visits in Indonesia after Covid-19 has increased more than the period before Covid-19, despite being under intense competitive pressure. This competitive pressure drives the trend of city branding integrating with digital-based marketing communications to increase city attractiveness. This study is to explore how social media promotion and electronic word-of-mouth (e-wom) play a mediating role in city branding on tourists' decisions to visit and city image. This investigation was carried out with a quantitative methodology. Data was gathered via an online survey intended for Solo visitors. Purposive sampling was used to select 100 respondents to participate in this study. Data were analyzed using Smart PLS 4.0. The results showed that city branding directly affects city image and visiting decisions, but city image has an insignificant influence on visiting decisions. Visitor decisions and city branding can be influenced indirectly by social media promotion and e-wom. E-wom's indirect effect can mediate the impact of a city's image on visit decisions. The research findings that city branding - social media promotion - city image - e-wom - visiting decisions are in one indirect effect path.

Forming Jeneponto Regency City Branding With Jeneponto Gammara Video

Research on Forming City Branding in Jeneponto Regency with Jeneponto Gammara Video is a mapping model and becomes a communication strategy in the study of branding strategy. This research aims to explore the tourism potential of Jeneponto Regency and then City Branding “Jeneponto Gammara” as well as becoming the iconic tagline of Jeneponto Regency. The method used is a design method oriented toward video production (audiovisual) in the form of preproduction, production, and postproduction which is then used to produce city branding-forming videos. The Jeneponto Gammara City Branding Strategy is a new strategy utilizing communication technology that synergizes with marketing tourism in building Jeneponto Regency tourism in the tourism sector. The results of this study can echo the city branding of Jeneponto Regency so that it is familiar to the eyes of the Indonesian people and the tourism potential of Jeneponto Regency is clearly mapped so that the Regency’s foreign exchange can increase from the tourism sector which will have a significant positive effect on other sectors.
 Keywords: communication strategy, city branding, jeneponto gammara, tourism

A MARCA DA CIDADE COMO UM FATOR DETERMINANTE PARA O MARKETING DA CIDADE

Porpuse: The project aims to comprehend City Marketing's role in positioning Bogotá as a brand through strategic implementation, targeting residents, tourists, and investors as key stakeholders in the city's branding process. Theoretical framework: The research aims to analyze City Marketing in Bogotá, requiring explanation of basic concepts for reader comprehension. It distinguishes between city and marketing to explore their application, viewing the city as an organizational brand. Method: The research consisted of five phases: descriptive analysis of secondary sources, analytical investigation with surveys, pilot test, fieldwork, and statistical analysis. A sample of 384 individuals was obtained from a population of 2,751,278, across strata 3, 4, and 5, in 10 out of 21 localities in Bogotá, considering the highest population density. Results and conclusion: Out of 384 surveyed, 74% don't recognize Bogotá's image, 11% have seen it in a tourist site, and 15% are unsure. Additionally, city mayors confuse residents by associating slogans and promotional elements with the city brand. This indicates a divergence between the mayors and the Bogotá city brand. Implications of the research: City Marketing in Bogotá can boost tourism, benefiting residents with economic growth and cultural diversity through visitors. Additionally, it fosters a sense of belonging and promotes a positive image of the city, both among its residents and abroad. Originality/value: The study seeks insights on City Marketing's impact on Bogotá's brand among specific demographics, emphasizing understanding cities as brands to promote self-sufficiency.

도시브랜딩 믹스 요소를 통한 광주 ‘오월길(5·18 Road)’ 브랜딩 현황 분석

This study started from the perspective that '5·18 Road' can play an important role in city branding in Gwangju. Based on the theoretical consideration of city branding strategy elements, the purpose of this study is to derive city branding mix elements and indicators, and apply them to systematically and comprehensively analyze the branding status of Gwangju 5·18 Road. The research contents include deriving the 'OIPTCR City Branding Mix Indicators' through the existing OIPTCR mix elements and city branding strategy elements research, arranging the process of promoting 5·18 Road, analyzing the current status of 5·18 Road branding, and deriving implications. The research method focused on literature research and content analysis, and case study applying empirical marketing and normative marketing methodology. As a result of the study, the 'OIPTCR City Branding Mix Indicators' (a total of 24 indicators, that is, 4 organization, 4 image, 5 product, 4 target, 4 channel, and 3 region), which are mix indicators for each element according to six elements of city branding mix (organization, image, product, target, channel, and region), was derived. As a result of applying and analyzing this to 5·18 Road, the project was promoted around a total of 18 indicators, and 6 indicators (1 organization, 2 image, 3 target) were found to have no project. The implications of this study are that it can contribute to the discussion of branding mix theory by deriving new city branding mix indicators, and that it can practically help revitalize the 5·18 Road business by theoretically, systematically, and comprehensively analyzing the current status of 5·18 Road branding.

The Role of Future Generations in Place Branding: The Case of Huelva City

The process of creating place brands must position the citizen at the center of the debate. The City Council of Huelva, a city in Southern Spain with a population of 142,538 inhabitants, promoted a territorial brand in 2022 in order to seek a new positioning for the city in tourism markets, investment, and talent attraction. Its development was based on a qualitative and quantitative methodology, previously tested out in other cities and locations in Spain, which is shaped by research groups, semi-structured interviews, and surveys of the citizens. This method aims to place the citizen, who ultimately is the user of the brand, at the center of the social research process that determines the tangible and intangible values associated with the brand narrative. The main objective of this article is to highlight, based on the case study of the brand Huelva Original, the importance of two groups in the construction and deployment of a place brand (Millennials and Generation Z and the political class). Firstly, out of the 1,194 people who participated in the fieldwork, 47.92% were under 40 years old. These two generations are crucial for creating a brand narrative that has long-term viability and presence in the digital environment. Secondly, the development of the brand narrative facilitated a cooperative process among the different political groups in the City Council, especially the two most represented (conservatives and social democrats), which enables the search for collaborative workspaces among political groups to ensure that the implementation of the brand transcends the term of a mandate and goes beyond short-termism political actions. The results indicate that the new brand uniquely differentiates Huelva, emphasizing internal pride and co-creation. Open innovation facilitates cooperation among stakeholders, improving governance. Both Millennials and Generation Z citizens, as well as politicians, are key to the long-term sustainability and reach of the brand.

Potentials of Employing Local Heritage in City Branding: The Case of Baluwarti Surakarta in Indonesia

Potentials of Employing Local Heritage in City Branding: The Case of Baluwarti Surakarta in Indonesia

Image of City Brand Personality and the Effect of Tourism Satisfaction on Revisit Intention: Focusing on Daejeon Metropolitan City

Image of City Brand Personality and the Effect of Tourism Satisfaction on Revisit Intention: Focusing on Daejeon Metropolitan City

Research on City Brand Construction under the Perspective of Value Co-Creation

In the era of new media, the Internet platform has created many web celebrity cities, among which “Erbin” and its related topics continue to be hot for several months, and have become a phenomenal IP for city branding.This paper starts from the perspective of value co-creation, and through the method of audience survey, we study to understand the impact of user value co-creation participation on the construction of Harbin city brand. Through the research, this paper concludes that the degree of user value co-creation participation can promote the city brand awareness, reputation and loyalty. By studying the effect of Harbin’s city brand construction, this paper draws lessons for small and medium-sized city brands to “get out of the circle”.

Local Wisdom, Local Culture, and Global Market Post-Pandemic Covid-19: Rebranding the City of Tuban, Indonesia

This study aims to describe the implementation of local wisdom in the imaging strategy of Tuban, East Java, after the Covid-19 pandemic. It is crucial to explore the understanding of implementing local wisdom in the imaging strategy of Tuban, East Java, after the COVID-19 pandemic. In this study, the theories used include the theory of city branding, city imaging strategies, and local wisdom. These three theories become the basis for understanding and explaining the implementation of local wisdom in the imaging strategy of the city of Tuban, East Java. The results showed that Tuban Regency carried out various city imaging efforts. Implementing local wisdom in urban imaging strategies includes history, processes, stakeholders, city branding elements, and events. The research model on the implementation of local wisdom in the imaging strategy of Tuban City is closely related to history, which includes branding initiatives in the city vision, tradition and culture, city regulations, and city vision.

Development of Place Branding, Its Features

Currently, the problem of studying and developing place branding is acute. It helps the territory become attractive in the eyes of investors, tourists, and entrepreneurs, which helps to increase local budget, develop the territory’s infrastructure and in general push the standard of living up. The practice of place branding is constantly changing and improving; there is no single recipe for its development, which gives a reason to a profound and more extensive study of it. The fragmentation of approaches to place branding as a process does not make it possible to come to a single definition. At the same time, relative unity is observed with regard to the purpose of branding. Most see it as attracting people, material and monetary resources, etc. to the territory. In order for the territory’s brand to develop successfully, to attract investors, to reduce the number of residents leaving, to increase the number of tourists and entrepreneurs, and to improve the overall infrastructure, it is necessary to work on it consistently.

From the garden to the grave – three dark sites related to the legend of Pedro and Inês

By combining an interpretive reading of the spaces, a study of DMOs marketing strategies and TripAdvisor ratings, this research aims to understand the role of literary constructions, symbols, and discourses in the development, positioning, and management of a dark literary site. Three specific places will be highlighted in relation to the biography of the legend of King Pedro I and Inês de Castro, the "skeleton queen", assessing how these heritage sites exploit the legend for place branding, attracting visitors and creating a strong identity. In addition, this article aims to evaluate how and to what extent three heritage sites—Santa Clara a Velha's Church, Quinta da Lágrimas in Coimbra, and Alcobaça Monastery—associate themselves with the legend of Pedro and Inês, in order to increase their attractiveness, concluding that all the literary resonances of these locations can be traced to Luís Vaz de Camões’ The Lusiads. As for the dark elements, while Quinta das Lágrimas and Alcobaça Monastery combine literary with a macabre appeal, notably Alcobaça, the darkest of the three, Santa a Clara a Velha's Church is primarily of a biographic nature. Additionally, the macabre use of the space in this case appears to overpower the literary associations.

Place branding: is it public policy, or isn’t it?

This article explores the question of whether place branding should be considered a public policy. While place branding has gained attention in the fields of marketing and related disciplines, its connection to various public policy areas highlights its broader implications. This study aims to provide conceptual clarity on the matter, arguing for the inclusion of place branding within the public policy discourse. The article employs a conceptual framework to assess the alignment of place branding with the key attributes of public policy. A comparative case study of nation branding practices in seven European countries—Estonia, Italy, Latvia, Luxembourg, Portugal, Spain, and Slovakia—is conducted to assess the applicability of the conceptual framework of public policy to studying nation branding. The case study demonstrates the potential of such approach, highlighting gaps and challenges in the current practices of nation branding. The article concludes by discussing the implications of applying the policy approach to place branding and exploring future research opportunities.