Sense of Place: The Importance for Destination Branding (original) (raw)

The elusive destination brand and the ATLAS wheel of place brand management

Journal of Travel Research, 2021

This conceptual article reconsiders the formation of destination and place brands. It proposes that brands initiate peoples' meaning making over the place directly involving them in the branding process. The article uses a combination of process-based approaches to both brands and places to substantiate the argument that the place brand's quintessence lies in the constant alterations it causes to the meaning of the place as stakeholders interact, thereby keeping the brand active and in constant formation. The distinction between conceived, perceived and lived dimensions of a place brand is used to conceptualize the brand as open-ended allowing for different interpretations to occur and different meanings to develop. This makes the brand rather elusive. The article accounts for the implications of the elusiveness of place brands for place brand management and proposes the ATLAS wheel of place brand management as a tool to follow and influence the place brand in its ongoing formation.

In Search of Place Brand Identity: 'How We see Us'

Place branding relates both to brand identity (what the place is) and brand image (what the place is/should be in the eyes of external audiences). Brand identity can be perceived as the set of values and attributes that those responsible for marketing and development of a place wish to reinforce and market. However, a critical question to be addressed is how to define these core values and attributes in a place context and consequently, how to establish the ‘we’ that should be the basis, upon which to develop and market the destination. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the challenges that arise when trying to establish destination brand identity by means of more inclusive, bottom-up approaches. Drawing on both literature studies and the authors’ active involvement in destination branding across more than 50 Danish destinations, particularly the paper discusses how to decide who to give voice to in this process, how to practically give these actors voice and how to obtain consensus on core values and attributes across these actors.

Place branding in tourism: a review of theoretical approaches and management practices

Tourism & Management Studies

This paper draws from the generic literature on branding to develop the idea of tourist based destination branding. Tourist based brand equity is proposed as an alternative to the more traditional destination resource centered idea of brand equity. In that process, it identifies various tourism related nuances that obfuscate brand building. Measurement approaches to quantify destination brand equity are compared, highlighting the pros and cons of each approach. Throughout the discussion, examples of successful destination branding practices are integrated.

The Role of Local People in the Development of a Destination Brand: A Bottom Up Approach.

2010

The concept of sustainability is based on the premise that the inhabitants of a destination are the ones that should be involved in the way it is being managed and promoted. At the same time, the literature of place branding also emphasizes the important role of stakeholders - and in particular that of local people - in the creation of a true and reliable place brand. In fact, the process of developing a destination brand begins with the aim of reflecting the identity of a destination; what the destination stands for. A quite valid source of input regarding this process can come from inhabitants of the destination; how do residents encounter the city they live in, how do they make sense of it and which physical, emotional or other elements they evaluate in order to make their assessment of the city? Through the use of focus groups, the aim of this paper is to explore these issues in the case of the four major cities of Crete - Heraklion, Rethymno, Chania and Ierapetra. Implications for future research are included.

Place Branding and Place Identity—An Integrated Approach

2012

Place Branding is based on a very elusive concept of place identity that needs to be re-examined. An understanding of place as simultaneously absolute, relative and relational on the one hand and as the “coexistence of difference” on the other, opens up new perspectives for this concept. Looking at the ways that place is constituted and considering its individual constitutive elements, can lead to a more dynamic understanding of place identity that would integrate mental images, materiality, institutions, practices and representations. This has deep consequences on the conceptualization and practicability of Place Branding that then needs to be reconsidered in an integrated way.

Place branding. A conceptual and theoretical framework

Within the context of rising competition between territories, identity has become the most important element of recognition, differentiation and commodification in the communicative process within which cities, regions and countries position themselves. Geographical spaces thus compete in terms of this identity, which is then subjected to fierce comparison and competition (Nogué, 1999; Anholt, 2007a). The territorial brand thus entails the reinvention of places through a process of brand construction (branding) based on the promotion of the individual and collective identities of geographical spaces; these identities, in turn, are imbued with the intangible factors associated with their respective territorial identities.

The role of brand elements in destination branding

This article evaluates the contribution of commonly used symbolic elements-namely destination name, logo and tagline-to the establishment of the destination brand. The conceptual framework is developed combining suggestions on the role and significance of symbolic brand elements for commercial brands with the literature on destination and place branding, drawing particularly on the recent identity-based approach to place brands. The article reports on field research that operationalized the theoretical framework to examine the perceptions of visitors to Greece. Although the name is clearly more influential, the overall contribution of the symbolic elements to the brand is proven to be limited. This implies that destinations need to prioritise other aspects of the branding effort.