Keywords
Citation
(2014), "2013 Awards for Excellence", Journal of Place Management and Development, Vol. 7 No. 1. https://doi.org/10.1108/JPMD-03-2014-001
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
2013 Awards for Excellence
Article Type: 2013 Awards for Excellence From: Journal of Place Management and Development, Volume 7, Issue 1
The following article was selected for this year’s Outstanding Paper Award for Journal of Place Management and Development
"From ‘necessary evil’ to necessity: stakeholders involvement in place branding"
Mihalis Kavaratzis
School of Management, University of Leicester, Leicester, UK
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to focus on the role of stakeholders in the creation, development and ultimately ownership of place brands. The paper contributes towards laying the foundations of a participatory view of place branding. It establishes an urgent need to rethink place branding towards a more participation-oriented practice. This is based on the centrality of stakeholders in the creation, development and ownership of place brands. The role of stakeholders goes well beyond that of customers/consumers as they are citizens who legitimize place brands and heavily influence their meaning.
Design/methodology/approach – The paper highlights a turn towards stakeholder-oriented place branding in recent literature. This is contrasted to a critical evaluation of place branding practice where stakeholders are paid "lip service" regarding their participation, rather than being given opportunities to get more fully involved in the development of their place brand.
Findings – An emerging discussion is identified on the significance of stakeholders. This is integrated with additional arguments for stakeholders participation found in the political nature of place branding, in the concept of "participatory branding" and in the changes that online communication has brought about.
Practical implications – The participatory approach introduced here re-evaluates the role of both stakeholders and place brand managers. It also implies a significant change in the perceived role of analysis within the place branding process. A re-direction of branding budgets is also suggested.
Originality/value – The paper provides a clear description of the role of stakeholders in place branding. It brings together for the first time in an integrated manner several arguments for stakeholders participation. These lead to the conclusion that effective place brands are rooted in the involvement of stakeholders and substantiate the call made here for participatory place branding.
Keywords: Brands, Cities, Citizen participation, City branding, Participatory place brands, Place branding, Place marketing, Stakeholders participation
http://www.emeraldinsight.com/10.1108/JPMD-03-2014-001
This article originally appeared in Volume 5 Number 1, 2012, pp. 7–19, Journal of Place Management and Development
Outstanding reviewers
Dr Magdalena Florek
Poznan University of Economics, Poznan, Poland
Dr Maximiliano Korstanje
University of Palermo, Buenos Aires, Argentina