scholarly journals Who really creates the place brand? Considering the role of user generated content in creating and communicating a place identity

1970 ◽  
pp. 9-24
Author(s):  
Heather Skinner

This paper explores online and social media users’ contributions to place identity creation, challenging the role and importance of various actors in the place brand identity and place brand image formation process. Findings arise from a content analysis of 149 separate photographs of a unique event that takes place on the Greek island of Corfu as part of the Orthodox Easter festival. Findings are also informed by autoethnographic reflexivity from the researcher’s own participation in and observation of the event, and 84 images from the researcher’s own photographic record of the event. Comparisons are drawn between social media users’ images and those communicated by the local Municipality through 7 relevant images reproduced in the official Easter on Corfu brochure. The images uploaded by social media users were not vastly different in terms of content from those of the local authority, and were also similar to those taken by the researcher. Perhaps it may be time for place branders to not only voluntarily give up their perceptions of control over at least part of the identity formation process and encourage contributions from wider stakeholders, but to no longer perceive them as mere consumers of the brand, but also as its co-creators. However, this will require another shift in academic understanding of place brand identity and place brand image, which may be difficult to achieve considering that there has only recently been reached a certain level of agreement within the extant literature about the various definitions of terms associated with these constructs.

2020 ◽  
pp. 212-226
Author(s):  
Silvia Ranfagni ◽  
Monica Faraoni

The paper proposes an analytical approach that explores brands in virtual environments by creating indicators of consumer brand alignment and comparing them with measurements of social engagement. In particular, it combines indicators that estimate the correspondence between brand identity and brand image with measurements of engagement that emerge from platforms that monitor social media (Talkwalker and Social Mentions). The premise is that to gain objective awareness of the reputation a brand has achieved online, it is essential to filter the commitment that it produces on social media with assessments of the relations that consumers have with it. The latter is expressed through indicators of consumer brand alignment that are elaborated investigating virtual communities and adopting an interdisciplinary method that integrates netnography and text mining. The results generated by the approach illustrated in this chapter can be useful to devise adjustments to brand communication. The analysis is applied to twenty-nine important brands belonging to the fashion industry.


2019 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 273-295 ◽  
Author(s):  
Clarinda Rodrigues ◽  
Heather Skinner ◽  
Charles Dennis ◽  
T.C. Melewar

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to propose a new framework on sensorial place brand identity. Design/methodology/approach This conceptual paper draws from sensory marketing and brand identity theories to propose an integrative model to develop sensorial place brand identity. Findings By relying on a broad spectrum of the literature, the study supports the notion that sensorial place brand identity is a bottom-up approach to branding that involves several enactment stakeholders and key influences as co-creators in the process of delivering sensory place branding messages based on a strong and unique place brand identity. This leads to the presentation of a provisional framework linking sensorial place identity, experiencescapes and multisensory place brand image. Originality/value This novel approach to place brand identity follows a holistic approach by considering several enactment stakeholders and key influencers as co-creators in the process of branding a place through the senses.


2013 ◽  
Vol 3 (3) ◽  
pp. 62-75
Author(s):  
Baisakhi Banerjee ◽  
Ashwini Kumar BJ

The advent of Social Media has changed the way FMCG companies conduct their business. With nearly 45 million users in India and growing rapidly, social media’s popularity is making organizations to participate in social media to communicate with their customers and also encourage sales. By some estimates, social networking now accounts for 40 percent of all time spent online in India. Nearly one in 10 Internet visits ends up at a social network; nearly one in four page views is on a social networking site, thus making social networking a lucrative option for brand managers to communicate their brand and to create a brand identity. The Indian FMCG Sector has recently started adopting social media as a tool of marketing communications along with traditional media. This paper, based on desk reviews, highlights that Indian FMCG businesses are using Social Media for brand re-positioning and developing a brand image while focusing on developing relationships with consumers rather than on merely providing information.


2018 ◽  
Vol 27 (7) ◽  
pp. 807-818 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mechthild Donner ◽  
Fatiha Fort

Purpose The purpose of this study is to investigate the place brand building process based on multi-stakeholder perceived value. It contributes to an understanding of how place brands are developed, providing diverse benefits, and proposes a conceptual framework for place brand building and value measurement scales. Design/methodology/approach The study is based on the place brand Sud de France. Qualitative data from stakeholder interviews is used to investigate the main place brand value dimensions. A survey of consumers from the Languedoc-Roussillon region is conducted to measure consumer place brand values. Quantitative data is analyzed using structural equation modelling. Findings Results indicate that place brand value is a multiple-perspective and multidimensional construct that includes new measurement scales related to dimensions such as quality of life, a common local identity and local development. Brand identity is not only constructed on place identity, but should also incorporate stakeholder values and provide value to consumers. Practical implications For place brand managers, this study provides a methodology that helps identify the main place image and stakeholders values to be integrated into place brand identity construction. The place brand value measurement scales can be used to ensure a permanent match between brand identity and consumption trends. Originality/value Literature dealing with place equity has focused mostly on country-of-origin or destination image effects from a non-local consumer or tourist perspective. The originality of this study lies in analyzing the perceived benefits of a regional brand by its local stakeholders, leading to a new brand building framework and value measurement scales.


2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 39-70 ◽  
Author(s):  
Viriya Taecharungroj

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to use user-generated content (UGC) on social media platforms to infer the possible place brand identities of two famous metropolitan areas in Bangkok, Thailand, namely, Khaosan Road and Yaowarat (Bangkok’s Chinatown), both of which are famous for their street vendors and nightlife. These two places are interesting study sites because of recent identity conflicts among their stakeholders. The method developed in this research can help other places to better understand place brand identities and, as such, effectively plan for and manage those places.Design/methodology/approachThe author used content analysis to study 782 user-generated images on Flickr and 9,633 user-generated textual reviews of Khaosan Road and Yaowarat from TripAdvisor and Google Maps’ Local Guide. MAXQDA was used to code all the images. User-generated textual reviews were studied using Leximancer. The author also introduced a positivity of concept analysis to identify positive and negative components of place brand identity.FindingsThe author developed a place brand identity framework that includes three pillars, namely, place physics, place practices and place personality. Content analysis of the images generated 105 codes and a count of the frequency of the codes that represent place brand identity. Content analysis of textual reviews created the concepts in the three pillars and identified the positive and negative concepts for both places. The results of both image and text analyses showed that street food vending is one of the most salient components of place brand identity for both Khaosan Road and Yaowarat.Practical implicationsThe author suggested several place branding strategies for the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration such as turning Khaosan Road into a music scene for both visitors and locals, controlling excessive and aggressive commercialism, sponsoring the production of creative and authentic content, initiating a compelling online campaign that focusses on the items sold in Yaowarat, hosting a spotlight event such as a seafood festival and improving hygiene and walkability.Originality/valueBoth the advancement of digital technologies and the complexity of stakeholders create a need for empirical studies on place branding involving the participation of the widest possible range of stakeholders and studies on the influence of social media. This research is the first to use both image and text analyses to study place brand identity from UGC. The use of both analyses allows the two methods to complement one another while mitigating the weaknesses of each.


Author(s):  
Silvia Ranfagni ◽  
Monica Faraoni

The paper proposes an analytical approach that explores brands in virtual environments by creating indicators of consumer brand alignment and comparing them with measurements of social engagement. In particular, it combines indicators that estimate the correspondence between brand identity and brand image with measurements of engagement that emerge from platforms that monitor social media (Talkwalker and Social Mentions). The premise is that to gain objective awareness of the reputation a brand has achieved online, it is essential to filter the commitment that it produces on social media with assessments of the relations that consumers have with it. The latter is expressed through indicators of consumer brand alignment that are elaborated investigating virtual communities and adopting an interdisciplinary method that integrates netnography and text mining. The results generated by the approach illustrated in this chapter can be useful to devise adjustments to brand communication. The analysis is applied to twenty-nine important brands belonging to the fashion industry.


Author(s):  
Clarinda Rodrigues

Departing from the Porto brand case study, this chapter discusses the concept of destination brand identity from the supply-side perspective. Consequently, it proposes an authentic-based approach to place identity theory, in which destination authenticity is pointed out as a key driver to create a strong place brand identity. Moreover, it is suggested that destination managers should follow an eight-step approach to branding a destination. This dynamic view of place identity, which is supported by a continuous co-creation process involving local and external stakeholders, allows destination brand managers to mirror and reinforce the destination authenticity.


2019 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
pp. 33-49 ◽  
Author(s):  
Valentina Mazzoli ◽  
Laura Grazzini ◽  
Raffaele Donvito ◽  
Gaetano Aiello

Purpose This paper aims to provide scholars and practitioners with an innovative method of analyzing luxury brand associations in social media (i.e. Twitter). To do so, authors investigated the alignment between luxury brand identity and luxury brand image in online communication, taking into consideration firm- and user-generated content (UGC) in the form of bloggers’ contents. This paper introduces new tools that luxury brand managers could use to manage and adapt the way they communicate and interact with their customers. Design/methodology/approach The study adopts a qualitative approach based on a content analysis of Twitter posts of six luxury fashion brands (1,334 posts) and the related Twitter electronic word-of-mouth of fashion bloggers (329 tweets). Findings The results show a match between luxury brand identity and luxury brand image on Twitter. Specifically, the findings indicate that both brands and bloggers stress the same dimensions of luxury (aesthetic, desirable, symbolic, restricted accessibility and hedonistic experience) confirming that the ways they communicate luxury brands to consumers are aligned. Moreover, the results suggest that luxury brands could reinforce their brand value by making more use of words that are semantically related to luxury. Originality/value This study approaches the relationship between social media and luxury brands in a novel way and provides scholars and managers with a tool for monitoring the gap between desired and perceived brand associations.


Author(s):  
Elena Bocci ◽  
Annamaria Silvana de Rosa ◽  
Laura Dryjanska

This contribution is a part of a broad research programme on Place-identity and Social Representations of European Capitals in first visitors of six different nationalities. In accordance with the model of “destination branding” including: brand identity, brand image and brand element mix (name, logo, sign, design, symbol, slogan…), this contribution focuses on the institutional stems and commercial logos and compares these iconic structural elements of the brands of ten historical European Capitals. The research also compares the social representations evoked by the brands among potential first-visitors. Moreover, this chapter analyses the recent transformations of some commercial brands in a longitudinal perspective (re-branding). Finally, this contribution integrates the results of the analysis of the main graphic elements of the branding in the framework of the more complex research programme, suggesting a preliminary overview of the Destination@-Branding focused on the iconic social representations.


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