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This paper aims to present an interdisciplinary approach for the development and design of place brands, which goes far beyond communication strategies and advertising campaigns. The so-called “Brand-driven Identity Development of Places” (short: BIDP) approach provides a structured three-phase model that can serve as a practical guide for the development of commercial, touristy, urban and rural places.

Longitudinal collaborative action research over a time span of 20 years plus extended case study research supported the evolution of the BIDP approach.

BIDP is a circular three-phase model starting with the definition of the intended place brand identity, which in Phase 2 becomes translated into concrete touchpoint experiences along the main constituents of the place, and finally materialising into the new place format. The case study of the City of Innsbruck is prototypically used to illustrate the application of the designed approach and to report achieved results.

Place brand development based on translating socio-cultural meanings into touchpoint experiences to materialise and align place constituents is opening up new avenues to initiate and govern place development. At present, the approach is based on case studies in the western region of Austria and South Tyrol.

The three-phase model represents a practical tool for place brand managers, who want to renew and to develop their place format in a structured way. The BIDP model can be applied for all forms of places.

Foremost, the described place branding collaborations reassure the proposition of Olins (2002) and Schmidt (2007) that place branding is a crucial internal project that unites groups of people around a common strategic vision providing sense and direction besides reaching out to the traditional customer–stakeholder audience.

A structured model for brand-driven place development, which evolved during 20 years of longitudinal collaborative action research with executives and representatives of commercial, touristy, urban and rural places, BIDP locks into anthropological research findings where cultural meanings are considered as the main source for the construction of brand identities.

The purpose of this paper is to engage in the research gap regarding the missing link between retail innovation and branding by providing a brand-driven process to systematically develop retail format innovation projects. The so-called “Brand-driven Retail Format Innovation” (BRFI) approach provides a structured three-phase model that serves as a conceptual guide for the development of any type of retail format.

Longitudinal collaborative action research over a time span of 20 years plus extended case study research to develop the current BRFI approach.

BRFI is a circular three-phase framework, which integrates branding, and retail format innovation. It starts with the definition of the intended retail brand identity, which in phase 2 becomes translated into concrete touchpoint experiences along the main constituents of a retail format, finally during phase 3 materializing into the new retail format. A case study of a major food retailer is prototypically used to illustrate the application of the designed approach and to report achieved results.

Brand-driven retail format development based on translating socio-cultural meanings into touchpoint experiences to materialize format constituents is opening up new research avenues to govern retail format development. At present the approach is based on retail and services case studies in Western Austria.

The three-phase model represents a practical tool for retail managers, who want to renew and to develop their retail format in a structured way. The approach is applicable to all retail industries from small- to large-scale organizations as well as online and offline environments.

This is the first study engaging in the missing link regarding retail innovation and branding by providing a brand-driven process to systematically develop retail format innovation projects. BRFI locks into anthropological research findings where cultural meanings are considered as the main source for the construction of brand identities whereby the new retail format is transformed around brand-derived touchpoint experiences.

The paper examines the State of California’s new international trade and investment strategy through the lens of strategic management. This examination, embedded in a discussion of the history of the state's involvement, focuses on critical issues influencing strategy formulation and implementation. Findings indicate conceptual strategy design issues, political constraints, budgetary limitations, and organizational and managerial deficiencies contributing to a limited state engagement in international trade and investment with emphasis on leveraging existing resources rather than providing primary services. Unless California finds ways to deal with these issues, desired outcomes such as increased exports and investments will be lacking. Several lessons are offered to inform future state government efforts aimed at promoting international trade and investment.