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The purpose of this paper is to critically explore the role of place branding, specifically at the regional scale, as an instrument for the attainment of strategic spatial planning goals. It also aims to contribute to the academic debate on place branding by discussing its relevance and effectiveness in supporting economic and social spatial realignment through civic participation and the shaping of clearly envisioned agreed futures.

Exploratory in nature, this paper’s theoretical exploration is developed by detailing relevant findings from a case study on the significance of a regional branding initiative, integrated in a wider planning strategy for northern Portugal (NUTS II). In conducting this exploratory research, primary data were gathered through 16 in-depth, semi-structured interviews with key regional actors and organizations with a stake (and expertise) in the region.

Findings show the key strategic domains in which the region excels. These domains could fuel a potential regional branding initiative. However, the key regional actors interviewed agree that the diverse and fragmented regional assets and the socioeconomic scenario all require and yet hinder regional coordination efforts. In addition, territorial reorganization and the definition of a regional economic model, plus decentralization of decision-making and the establishment of leadership, are imperative for the effectiveness of a regional branding strategy aligned with the ongoing strategic spatial planning initiatives.

Managerial implications of integrating the opinions and perspectives of regional actors into a potential place-branding initiative as strategic spatial planning instrument include improving socio-spatial and spatial-economic condition of the region and envisioning shared futures.

By guiding the thoughts of scholars, practitioners and policymakers towards a strategic spatial planning approach to place branding, the paper contributes to the advancement and maturation of the place-branding field, by lending a more strategic approach and geographical/spatial consciousness to the process of place branding. The paper also sheds light on the challenges and complexity of branding regions, a scale of analysis seldom explored in place-branding literature.

Since early 2000s, several efforts have been initiated to market the Baltic Sea Region (BSR) globally, and the BaltMet Promo project is among them. Simultaneously, several other cases of supra‐national branding have emerged, e.g. the Greater Mekong region, Danube region, and Visegrad countries. Little attention has yet been paid in the literature to branding of supra‐national entities. The purpose of this paper is to discuss branding of BSR using the examples of supra‐national product building of the BaltMet Promo project (2010‐2011).

Branding BSR has faced criticism against its supra‐national perspective which may be seen as a direct competitor to city or nation branding. To shift from competition to cooperation BaltMet Promo acknowledged a bottom‐up approach and nine organisations from six countries created supra‐national products to promote tourism, talent attraction, and investments. Each product concept was built on intensive background research and transnational triple‐helix cooperation.

The case of BaltMet Promo shows that supra‐national branding benefits from a bottom‐up approach that uses concrete products and services as the core of the brand identity. To shift from competition to cooperation the partnership promoted BSR as a common region with a common work plan. Different scales of branding serve different markets. The more distant the market, such as Japan in the case of BaltMet Promo, the more cost effective supra‐regional branding becomes compared to more narrow scales of branding.

The paper introduces recent developments in supra‐national branding using data of the BaltMet Promo project. The analysis aims to contribute to product building, triple helix stakeholder cooperation, and policy making.

This paper aims to analyse the creation of a place brand for Colombia’s coffee region, within the framework of the evolution of place branding from traditional, one institution-led marketing approaches towards a more modern concept of network branding involving multiple stakeholders. The production of quality coffee in this region has been complemented with the development of coffee-themed rural tourism, which helps Colombia to enhance the value and positioning of its resources in the context of the economic and cultural exchanges inherent in globalisation.

Following a theoretical and conceptual analysis of place branding, this paper explores the case of the Coffee Triangle, examining the network of interrelationships involved in the process of business-led coffee branding and place branding by public institutions to achieve a dynamic identity asset shared by various parties. This study entailed fieldwork in Colombia to visit the region and hold meetings with managers in public administration, representative companies in the region and various social groups and entities.

Following a conceptual analysis which attempts to demonstrate the evolution of place branding towards a more holistic, multi-party and networked approach, the case study confirms the formation of complex interactions between stakeholders and public and private institutions at the local, regional, national and even international level.

This successful initiative can serve as an example for other food production regions in emerging countries, helping them to improve their positions in global scenarios and enhance the value of their physical products through a heightened awareness and appreciation of the culture associated with these natural environments and landscapes. Synergies between business and place branding are also analysed.

This paper looks at an instance of place branding involving multiple stakeholders and on the basis of cultural and dynamic identity. It comprises an inter-regional case study in Colombia. South America is a sub-continent where some interesting and successful place projects are being implemented that add nuances to global economic and cultural dialogue, which has probably focused mainly on the Western world and the industrial nations of Asia.

The purpose of this paper is to study ways, which regional administrations affect place branding effectiveness.

The study was conducted based on qualitative analysis. In total, 10 place branding cases of federal subjects of Russia were considered to estimate short-, mid- and long-term effects of place brands and quality of regional administrations’ place branding process management. The information on these cases was taken and systematized from three groups of sources, namely, official information from regional administrations (including regulatory acts); scientific publications focused on the brands of selected regions; data from federal and regional news agencies.

It is revealed that the quality of place branding processes is positively related to the presence and power of place branding effects, while the branding budget has no observable impact on place branding. The areas of attention for regional administrations intending to develop the place brand are defined.

The limitation of this study is that the chosen approach is based on secondary data on brand-management practices that are publicly available. This information is mostly fragmentary and may not provide a complete view of place branding practices.

This paper provides a view on place branding success factors from the standpoint of the quality of branding process, rather than quality of the brand itself. The role of regional administrations in this process is studied, thus proposing a basis for integrating place branding in a public administration field.

This study aims to understand the values around which stakeholders of a place brand within a community can align.

A content analysis of websites provided a description of region brands. In-depth interview data from representatives of two communal region brands provide a foundation for investigating the attitudes and behaviors of 20 place brand managers depending on their value orientation.

Two categories of communal region brands are found, of which one reflects terminal values whereas the other is based on instrumental values. Instrumental values appear more efficient for promoting the place through stakeholders than terminal values.

This exploratory research highlights some particularities of place brand communities and adds instrumental value to the classic terminal value identified within commercial brand communities.

Place brand managers gain insights into the values around which they can align stakeholders of their brand.

Brand community literature focuses mostly on specialty or convenience product-oriented communities. By investigating a place as a different type of “product”, this study demonstrates that place brands draw on communal arguments to function like master brands. Furthermore, terminal values can be replaced by more instrumental values in the context of place branding, because agreement on broad terminal values by individual members of the community is unlikely to be achieved whereas specific instrumental values can serve their individual interests.

The purpose of this study is to develop and test a practical model to identify a developing destination’s assets. Using the existing destination branding concepts and theories in the research, this study aims to identify how the assets of a developing destination differ from those of a developed destination.

The study followed the “practical model for determining destination assets” proposed in the article. The first stage includes collecting the information on the tourism potential of the destination. In the second stage, in-depth interviews were carried out with information carriers of a developing destination and analyzed by highlighting keywords in the responses. The following stages include the questionnaire survey, factor analysis and segmentation analysis.

The following conclusions can be drawn from the results of the study. First, the assets of a developing destination, recreation areas, attractive visitor facilities and obligatory additional services are rational. Second, the assets used for destination branding are based on their unique character. According to the analysis results, the Almaty region’s unique character is associated with natural resources. The direction of recreation in the Almaty region boils down to two components: cognitive tourism and sports tourism.

The study was conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic. First, given that external tourism faced significant constraints during the pandemic, we must acknowledge that a study of destination branding may be more appropriate before or after the pandemic. Second, the survey was conducted online in connection with the introduction of quarantine measures. Third, the assets of a developing destination were selected based on the results of the interviews. In future studies, including other attributes may allow the identification of new assets for branding.

The practical destination branding model presented in the study has practical implications for destination authorities. Using the proposed model, assets of other destinations can be identified. In addition, the results of the analysis of the Almaty region as a developing destination will be effective for destination authorities in developing their tourism programs. Recreation areas, attractive tourism facilities and obligatory additional services can be used in destination branding.

This study drew on the experience of the population’s ambassador activity. The in-depth interview was obtained from the destination’s tourism informants, and the survey aimed to identify public opinion. The residents who participated in the interview and survey perform an ambassadorial function in strengthening the identified assets of the destination and implementing tourism programs. Accordingly, there is a growing sense of pride in being a resident of the destination.

The study has both theoretical and practical significance with the following results. First, it provides insights on enhancing public participation from the beginning of the destination branding process and respecting the continuation of its ambassadorial activities, provided that the identified destination assets are rational. Second, destination asset associations for developing destinations are presented. Third, the study creates a realistic picture of the Almaty region as a destination for visitors and destination authorities.

The purpose of this conceptual paper is to present a new approach that will enable marketers in developing and emerging countries to promote their products, irrespective of their country of origin’s image. Many companies in emerging and developing countries, intent on exporting their products/services, struggle to overcome the negative “made-in” image barrier. Despite tremendous efforts by the governments of these countries to change the unfavorable image of products made there, their good quality products are still perceived as inferior compared to companies whose products are “made-in” in countries with a positive image, mainly developed countries.

The proposed conceptual model hinges on two dimensions – global political status and human capital capabilities. Using this framework, four different types of country destination positioning emerge, each with its own country branding strategy.

Companies from emerging and developing countries can compete on an equal footing with Western companies by changing their country branding strategy. Companies from countries such as China and Costa Rica can promote themselves better by implementing region and continent branding strategies.

The proposed conceptual model enables marketers to cope even with the most negative “made-in” country stereotypes and improve their marketplace positions.

The literature review demonstrates that researchers have not dealt with these two dimensions. Consequently, the paper offers marketers a new perspective on the complex issue of country positioning and how to leverage their strengths to maximize their company’s profits.

This paper aims to develop a cross-border regional brand management model to help enhance cooperation for developing such localities. It analyzed its applicability in the Brazil–Argentina and Italy–Austria cross-border regions comprising several cities.

A systematic literature review was conducted to obtain a theoretical basis and select elements for creating the cross-border regional brand management (CRBM) model. To apply the model, in-depth interviews were conducted with 19 specialists of different nationalities and distinct expertise on cross-border governance and regional branding. In addition, to validate the proposed model, a focus group was carried out, and specialists were consulted using forms, providing 22 additional opinions.

The results show good managerial practices and gaps that must be overcome to create and manage the brands from the two regions analyzed.

The theoretical contributions consist in extending the literature in place branding by presenting the first CRBM model and the conceptual explanation of each of the model's elements.

The study's practical implications occur through the suggestion of good management practices for the studied localities arising from the applicability of the CRBM model. Furthermore, it is expected that the model developed can be applied in other locations, bringing practical contributions to the management and creation of cross-border regional brands in other countries.

This study presents the first CRBM model and its applicability to two cross-border regions.

The purpose of this paper is two-fold: to expand the understanding of brand equity for places (e.g. countries, regions or cities) and propose two frameworks to increase its value.

By interviewing international participants, this study was exploratory and interpretative; thematic analysis was performed for a broader understanding about place brand equity.

The Roadmap of Brand Equity is provided by proposing three “pathways” founded on core value drivers as “road signs” (potential influences or main variables of the value of a place brand), which are required to be strategically monitored and aligned to place branding activities to enhance the value of a city, region or country. Value drivers of place brand equity and the roadmap of place brand equity are proposed through the figures.

A natural progression of this study is the investigation of place brand equity by applying statistical procedures for measuring places. Due to specific locations’ (often) unfavorable and threatening reputations worldwide, the key value-drivers (government initiatives, stakeholders' perceptions, residents’ engagement, news media, social media and real data indexes) are noted as influential partakers – either separated or combined – when analyzing their brand equity.

Both proposed archetypes suggest applications for several co-creators involved in public or private places, which can be beneficial for both emerging and non-emerging countries, regions or cities. Furthermore, both may be applied to the analysis of other places (e.g. universities, schools, museums, public squares, airports, hospitals, etc.).

This study may inspire planning and actions for public policies, including private partnerships, government initiatives and practical endeavors.

This is one of the first studies to perform an analysis of brand equity of places under a qualitative approach and to propose strategical frameworks for both research and practice.