Hardback
A Research Agenda for Place Branding
This cutting-edge Research Agenda for Place Branding explores ideas and debates that inform a refreshing take on the future of place branding and marketing. It argues that we are at a juncture where the logical and sensible step is to push the ‘reset button’ on such activity and fully reconsider its purpose and goals.
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Critical Acclaim
Contributors
Contents
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Elgar Research Agendas outline the future of research in a given area. Leading scholars are given the space to explore their subject in provocative ways, and map out the potential directions of travel. They are relevant but also visionary.
This cutting-edge Research Agenda for Place Branding explores ideas and debates that inform a refreshing take on the future of place branding and marketing. It argues that we are at a juncture where the logical and sensible step is to push the ‘reset button’ on such activity and fully reconsider its purpose and goals.
Chapters span a range of important themes in contemporary place branding and are organised into sections covering place branding governance, contexts, experience and creativity. Drawing on contributions from key international scholars across a variety of academic disciplines, the book showcases an interplay of oppositional perspectives – ranging from those who see place branding as a potential means of improving the economic vitality of places, to others who consider much existing place branding activity exclusionary to certain sectors of society.
Providing a wealth of creative and innovative suggestions on how place branding can be done, thought about and researched differently in the future, this Research Agenda will be a key resource for research-oriented academics and students in marketing, geography, planning and tourism.
This cutting-edge Research Agenda for Place Branding explores ideas and debates that inform a refreshing take on the future of place branding and marketing. It argues that we are at a juncture where the logical and sensible step is to push the ‘reset button’ on such activity and fully reconsider its purpose and goals.
Chapters span a range of important themes in contemporary place branding and are organised into sections covering place branding governance, contexts, experience and creativity. Drawing on contributions from key international scholars across a variety of academic disciplines, the book showcases an interplay of oppositional perspectives – ranging from those who see place branding as a potential means of improving the economic vitality of places, to others who consider much existing place branding activity exclusionary to certain sectors of society.
Providing a wealth of creative and innovative suggestions on how place branding can be done, thought about and researched differently in the future, this Research Agenda will be a key resource for research-oriented academics and students in marketing, geography, planning and tourism.
Critical Acclaim
‘Most key themes of interest to anyone involved in place branding research are covered in the governance, contexts and experiences sections, and along with the key grounding issues, the book contains some very insightful case studies. In the final chapter, Stephen Brown recognises that while place branding may have peaked, we now see more of a focus on destination demarketing. This book is therefore very timely. Since global tourism was devastated in 2020 and places seek to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, a more considered research agenda as outlined in this book may lead to places being better managed with a focus more on sufficiency than growth, so we do not face a need for destination demarketing again.’
– Heather Skinner, Manchester Metropolitan University, UK
‘At last, a truly critical book on a highly controversial matter, with a broad range of contributions from geography, marketing, politics and beyond. One of its many merits is the juxtaposition of contrasting perspectives: from those who see place branding as a means of improving places, to others who consider it just another tool of the neoliberal project. This volume is an indispensable reference work for anybody who wants to understand the development, limitations, and potential research agendas of this “discipline”.’
– Ares Kalandides, Manchester Metropolitan University, UK
‘A Research Agenda for Place Branding is not only the title of this book – but is also much needed. While in recent decades we created common ground and shared definitions (or at least agreed to disagree), place branding now needs an academic inspiration, some novel ideas and rigorous, impactful contributions. This book combines many of the critical well-known interdisciplinary minds of our field. I invite you to read it and use its ideas to develop bold research ideas and create this necessary new research agenda for place branding.’
– Sebastian Zenker, Copenhagen Business School, Denmark
– Heather Skinner, Manchester Metropolitan University, UK
‘At last, a truly critical book on a highly controversial matter, with a broad range of contributions from geography, marketing, politics and beyond. One of its many merits is the juxtaposition of contrasting perspectives: from those who see place branding as a means of improving places, to others who consider it just another tool of the neoliberal project. This volume is an indispensable reference work for anybody who wants to understand the development, limitations, and potential research agendas of this “discipline”.’
– Ares Kalandides, Manchester Metropolitan University, UK
‘A Research Agenda for Place Branding is not only the title of this book – but is also much needed. While in recent decades we created common ground and shared definitions (or at least agreed to disagree), place branding now needs an academic inspiration, some novel ideas and rigorous, impactful contributions. This book combines many of the critical well-known interdisciplinary minds of our field. I invite you to read it and use its ideas to develop bold research ideas and create this necessary new research agenda for place branding.’
– Sebastian Zenker, Copenhagen Business School, Denmark
Contributors
Contributors: R. Beunen, S. Brown, J. Byrom, A. Campelo, C. Cassinger, J. Coffin, S. Cryer, T. Edensor, A. Eisenschitz, S. Gyimóthy, H. Halkier, S. Hanna, A. Insch, L. James, M. Kavaratzis, B. Keegan, N. Koenig-Lewis, M. Lichrou, A. Lucarelli, D. Medway, S. Millington, L. O’Malley, E. Oliveira, L. Reynolds, G. Roberts, J. Rowley, E. Sevin, C. Steadman, A. Therkelsen, K. Van Assche, A. Vladimirov, G. Warnaby
Contents
Contents:
1 Place branding’s present and past realities, and
future research agendas 1
Dominic Medway, Gary Warnaby and John Byrom
PART I GOVERNANCE
2 Place branding and the neoliberal class settlement 19
Aram Eisenschitz
3 Computational approaches to place branding:
A call for a theory-driven research agenda 33
Efe Sevin
4 Demystifying participation and engagement in the
branding of urban places 47
Andrea Insch
5 The spatial planning–place branding nexus:
A research agenda for spatial development 67
Eduardo Oliveira, Kristof Van Assche and Raoul Beunen
PART II CONTEXTS
6 Place branding and locational decisions: Taking
a behavioural economics perspective? 87
Aleks Vladimirov and Gary Warnaby
7 Global city branding 101
Adriana Campelo
8 The Nordic wave in place branding: Global
implications and relevance 117
Cecilia Cassinger, Andrea Lucarelli and Szilvia Gyimóthy
9 The tale of three cities: Place branding, scalar
complexity and football 131
Steve Millington, Chloe Steadman, Gareth Roberts
and Dominic Medway
10 Sustainable Development Goals in place branding:
Developing a research agenda 151
Anette Therkelsen, Laura James and Henrik Halkier
11 Keeping pace with the digital transformation of place 163
Brendan James Keegan
PART III EXPERIENCE
12 Posthuman phenomenology: What are places like
for nonhumans? 183
Jack Coffin
13 Co-creation of place brands? 201
Jenny Rowley and Sonya Hanna
14 Tourism, the burden of authenticity and place branding 215
Maria Lichrou and Lisa O’Malley
15 Making ‘sense’ of place branding: Adopting
a sensemaking, sensefiltering and sensegiving lens 233
Laura Reynolds and Nicole Koenig-Lewis
16 Considering place and the sensorium through the
lens of non-representational theory 247
Simon Cryer
PART IV CREATIVITY
17 Illuminating identity: The capacity of light
festivals to enhance place? 267
Tim Edensor
18 ‘The artist in you’: Thinking differently about
place branding research 283
Mihalis Kavaratzis and Gary Warnaby
19 Peak place marketing: My part in its downfall 301
Stephen Brown
Index 313
1 Place branding’s present and past realities, and
future research agendas 1
Dominic Medway, Gary Warnaby and John Byrom
PART I GOVERNANCE
2 Place branding and the neoliberal class settlement 19
Aram Eisenschitz
3 Computational approaches to place branding:
A call for a theory-driven research agenda 33
Efe Sevin
4 Demystifying participation and engagement in the
branding of urban places 47
Andrea Insch
5 The spatial planning–place branding nexus:
A research agenda for spatial development 67
Eduardo Oliveira, Kristof Van Assche and Raoul Beunen
PART II CONTEXTS
6 Place branding and locational decisions: Taking
a behavioural economics perspective? 87
Aleks Vladimirov and Gary Warnaby
7 Global city branding 101
Adriana Campelo
8 The Nordic wave in place branding: Global
implications and relevance 117
Cecilia Cassinger, Andrea Lucarelli and Szilvia Gyimóthy
9 The tale of three cities: Place branding, scalar
complexity and football 131
Steve Millington, Chloe Steadman, Gareth Roberts
and Dominic Medway
10 Sustainable Development Goals in place branding:
Developing a research agenda 151
Anette Therkelsen, Laura James and Henrik Halkier
11 Keeping pace with the digital transformation of place 163
Brendan James Keegan
PART III EXPERIENCE
12 Posthuman phenomenology: What are places like
for nonhumans? 183
Jack Coffin
13 Co-creation of place brands? 201
Jenny Rowley and Sonya Hanna
14 Tourism, the burden of authenticity and place branding 215
Maria Lichrou and Lisa O’Malley
15 Making ‘sense’ of place branding: Adopting
a sensemaking, sensefiltering and sensegiving lens 233
Laura Reynolds and Nicole Koenig-Lewis
16 Considering place and the sensorium through the
lens of non-representational theory 247
Simon Cryer
PART IV CREATIVITY
17 Illuminating identity: The capacity of light
festivals to enhance place? 267
Tim Edensor
18 ‘The artist in you’: Thinking differently about
place branding research 283
Mihalis Kavaratzis and Gary Warnaby
19 Peak place marketing: My part in its downfall 301
Stephen Brown
Index 313
