Towards a strategic place brand-management model

Abstract

Using earlier research into models of place branding-management processes, this paper develops a multi-level conceptual model of strategic place brand management designed to support managers in embracing a holistic approach to place brand management. The model identifies the following components for attention and activity: place brand evaluation; brand infrastructure relationships, including infrastructure (regeneration) and stakeholder engagement (management); place brand articulation; and brand communications. The model identifies the influences and action processes between these components, including brand identity and architecture, influencing brand experience. Existing place branding models take different perspectives on the branding process – respectively, relationship management, communications, and strategic planning; none of these models are comprehensive and neither are they widely adopted or tested. This paper proposes an integrative model that builds on and subsumes these earlier models and is also grounded in the wider research on branding and place branding concept and processes.     

On the marketing implications of place narratives

Abstract

Acknowledging that ‘locals’ are recognised as an important (yet neglected) dimension of place marketing and following critiques of places as ‘products’, the purpose of this paper is to give voice to ‘local people’. Drawing on local narratives of Santorini, Greece, we call attention to places as culturally significant and discursively produced and consumed. Local narratives provide multiple meanings constructed around the diverse and contested experiences of living and making a living in a place. Our analysis employs the metaphors of ‘harsh beauty’, ‘service business’ and ‘home’ to capture these perspectives. The paper has implications for the development of generative metaphors of ‘place’ and ‘local’ within place marketing and contributes to the dialogue over the continued relevance of our discipline to the public sphere.     

Urban place marketing and retail agglomeration customers

Abstract

Through identifying the attributes of a place that have an influence on the patronage behaviour of urban retail customers, this paper presents a conceptual model that proposes direct and indirect antecedents regarding the different retail-related dimensions associated with urban place attractiveness. An empirical study was conducted whereby the model was tested by surveying approximately 500 actual customers at the time they visited a particular town centre for the purposes of shopping. The results showed that the retail tenant mix, the merchandise value, and the atmosphere had a direct impact, and the product range and the sales personnel an indirect impact upon the evaluation of attractiveness. Furthermore, a number of additional effects towards these antecedents were identified with respect to parking conditions, the non-retail tenant mix, manoeuvrability, and orientation. This revealed that retailing activities were a major driver of attractiveness for an urban place. The practical implication of these findings suggests that place marketing activities should be proactive in supporting and enabling retailers in fulfilling their roles.     

The rubbish of marketing

One of the “by-products” of successful marketing, in the single-use packaged fmcg sector is litter. For example, in a recent Australian survey, empty coke cans were found in 91 per cent of the 983 towns and cities researched. In this paper, we begin to use marketing literature and practice to tackle what we see as a marketing problem – persuading consumers to change their behaviour and not drop litter. Firstly, we demonstrate that existing ways of capturing data about consumers' littering behaviour and attitudes towards litter are flawed. Secondly, we propose and test a new, more realistic, “proxy” for littering behaviour and attitudes towards litter, “litter recall”. Finally, we investigate whether there are differences in values between those that are more likely to drop litter and those that are not. These findings are of use to researchers and practitioners interested in using marketing practice to develop, for example, more effective anti-littering campaigns.     

Re-placing place in marketing: A resource-exchange place perspective

This study clarifies the marketing discipline's conceptualization of place by presenting a revised perspective and conceptual framework of place, referred to as REPLACE. Drawing from resource exchange theory and attention restoration theory, the framework problematizes the assumption that places are merely physical locales by foregrounding how places can become inseparable aspects of consumers' lives. We present an alternative resource-based perspective of place, namely as a repository of resources that are potentially available to consumers through exchange processes. These exchange processes, and the complexity of the offered resources, influence consumers' relationship with a locale as well as their sense of well-being. With this alternative perspective, we bridge the place concept to public health and extend the understanding of attachment in service settings.     

The four Rs of place branding

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to discuss the concept of ownership in relation to place branding and to establish a basis upon which the representation of a place as a brand can be developed. We suggest that a bottom-up approach based on the paradigm of co-creation should be taken to developing a place brand and that brand ownership is determined by the extent to which the representation of the place reflects the experience of the community. Such an approach, we believe, is essential to achieve authenticity (brand essence), commitment from stakeholders, and brand sustainability. Grounded in ethnographic research, this paper presents a model that structures the features of community ownership from a bottom-up perspective and proposes four fundamental elements of place branding that encapsulate the experience of the place: rights, roles, relationships, and responsibilities.     

An investigation of the impact of internal labour markets in the hotel industry

Maintaining a stable and competitive workforce is a key element of the role of management, and there has emerged a barrage of ‘recipes’ to achieve this. All too frequently, however, these new concepts replace the old, with little justification other than being innovative. This article investigates the concept of an internal labour market [ILM] as a strategic management tool. Past studies by labour market researchers have confirmed the value of the components of an ILM, yet none has investigated the concept of an ILM as a coherent whole. This paper investigates the impact of the components of an ILM – training, promotional opportunity and job security – on the key employee attitudes of job satisfaction, organisational commitment and employee intention to leave. It then examines the impact of this concept as a single variable on the employee attitudes. The study is conducted in the service industry, in particular, the hotel sector, and examines the responses of 297 non-supervisory hotel employees. The findings suggest that the use of a holistic ILM strategy could provide a new means for management to retain and develop a stable and satisfied workforce.     

Retail internationalization and retail failure: issues from the case of Marks and Spencer

Notwithstanding the importance of retailing to urban economies, the role of retailing in the marketing of urban places has been an area neglected by both academics and practitioners alike. It is acknowledged that the principles of marketing can be applied (albeit with modification) to the context of urban places. The theoretical implications of this are considered using Corsico's () metaphors of the city as enterprise, market and commodity. Such issues are considered via a survey of place marketing actors within the specific context of the marketing of towns and cities as shopping destinations in urban places classified as sub-regional and above. Particular attention is paid to responsibility for the marketing of the retail provision, the emphasis given to retail in the marketing/promotional activities of various urban stakeholders, the perceived role of retailing, and the factors influencing the nature of the urban retail provision. Promotion of retailing was found to be important for all urban stakeholders to a greater or lesser degree. However, prime responsibility lay with town centre managers and shopping centre managers. The implications for both theory and practice are discussed.     

The interplay of social influence and nature of fulfillment: Effects on consumer attitudes

Sales promotional activities account for a significant portion of the integrated marketing communications budget of most companies because brand managers realize the effectiveness of these activities in meeting certain marketing communication objectives. However, there are times when promotional plans backfire, and promotions go unfulfilled. Much of this is reported in the media, and these reports are likely to trigger discussions about the companies involved in the nonfulfillment. Although much research has focused on the impact of sales promotional activities on consumers' responses and attitudes, not much has focused on how nonfulfillment of promotional promises and social influence might operate to color consumers' perceptions of a company. This article reports on an experimental study that was conducted to investigate this issue. Results indicate significant effects of the nature of fulfillment on corporate credibility, brand attitude, and patronage intentions; significant social influence effects on brand attitude, patronage, and switching intentions; and an interaction effect of social influence and fulfillment on switching intentions. The implications for brand managers and marketing communications managers are discussed, and areas for future research are proposed. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Analysis of the promotion of cigarettes at the point of sale and its attractiveness to children

Smoking habit seriously affects public health in a number of direct and indirect ways. The study reported here took place in Brazil and examined the promotional activities of the tobacco industry at the point of sale, with particular reference to their impact on children. Tobacco control policies are generally in place in developed countries, and smokers typically develop the habit while still young. Trained researchers visited a stratified sample of 429 retail outlets in the city of São Paulo, comprising the local equivalents of bars, snack bars, luncheonettes and pubs. Data for analysis were collected by direct observation at the point of sale and interviews with the person deemed to be in charge of the outlet visited. The results indicate that the tobacco industry is displaying its products within full view of children and making use of the sales' incentives offered to the retailer. The findings contribute significantly to the study of the effect of promotion at the point of sale on young smokers and can inform the policy debate on the increasing regulation of tobacco marketing promotional methods.     

Standardization Versus Adaptation in Global Markets: Is Channel Strategy Different?

The argument over standardization versus adaptation of marketing strategy in international markets has raged for several decades. This argument has generally taken place at the aggregate level to include all four strategic areas of the marketing mix (product, price, promotion, and place) taken together. This article disaggregates the standardization-versus-adaptation argument by focusing on just one strategic area of the marketing mix—channel strategy. We argue that three underlying phenomena or forces in global markets (culturally distant distribution behavior, distributive institution rigidity, and international functional fragmentation) inhibit a firm's ability to standardize channel strategy in global markets to a greater degree than is the case for product, price, and promotional strategies.     

Beyond window signs: Understanding the affect‐based effects of window signs on store patronage intentions

Store managers commonly use window signs to decorate their stores and, more importantly, to communicate store‐related information to their customers. This research investigates the role window signs play in influencing consumers’ attitudes and store patronage intentions. Empirical evidence from two studies (data from a real‐life store environment and from an experimental setting) indicates that window signs generate positive inferences to consumers about the store image and the store promotion value, which ultimately influence consumers’ patronage intentions. Furthermore, this study proposes and tests a model suggesting that window signs represent a diagnostic cue from which consumers infer a sense of place identity. The results show that place identity partially mediates the relationship between consumers’ attitude toward window signs and consumers’ store patronage intentions. Moreover, this study includes the store manager's perspective and finds evidence that retail managers have positive attitudes toward window signs, which encourage them to rely on this promotional tool to announce store promotions. Implications of the findings for the role of window signs are discussed.     

The emergence and development of place marketing's confused identity

This paper draws parallels between the emergence and development of place marketing research with the emergence of service marketing as a distinct subject area within marketing. However, the topic area itself remains confused, terms used to describe its various associated phenomena have not been clearly defined, there is little consensus what type of marketing or branding applies to places, and the literature has not resolved the differences in marketing / branding individual places and whole nations, thus leading to confusion for academics and practitioners alike. A thematic review of the literature is presented in order to reflect on the way various aspects of the literature have developed, and how this has impacted on the current debate. The confusion over the use of terms originates from the way the literature developed over time in different subject areas, but also appears to be linked to the way authors successfully target articles for publication, using terms that better align with a journal's focus rather than necessarily using the most appropriate term for the specific construct under investigation.     

A practitioner-led strategic place brand-management model

Abstract

As a relatively new field, research into place branding is predominately case-study based, focusing specifically on single place entities. This paper reports on an exploratory study that uses semi-structured interviews with place-branding practitioners working in various geographical locations (towns, cities, regions). The study tests the relevance of the components of strategic place brand management and elucidates their meaning and explores the relationships between these components. The research confirms the relevance of the components but suggests that relationships between components may be context dependent. The study makes both theoretical and managerial contributions by offering a refined, holistic, and new practitioner-led strategic place brand-management model along with structural meanings for each component that describe to those embarking on the process the key processes, activities, and success factors that are integral for an effective place-branding approach.     

Conference report: Second conference on political marketing: Judge institute of management studies,university of Cambridge 27–29 March 1996

Sales promotion activity continues to grow in terms of the number, scale and variety of promotional techniques being used by companies in their marketing communication campaigns. Research among marketing academics has yet to catch up with this reality and sales promotion continues to suffer from relative neglect compared to advertising;from a tendency for all promotional tools to be tarred with a rational economic brush; and from being labelled as a set of “tactical” took that lack the strategic brand‐building possibilities offered by advertising. This article builds upon earlier research examining the communication potential of competitions, to test empirically whether the potential marketing communications benefits claimed for competitions are actually recognised and pursued by marketing practitioners.     

Putting sense of place at the centre of place brand development

Developing a place brand involves highlighting the distinctive attributes of a place that could be used to enhance its attractiveness. This study is in line with recent literature where the concept of place identity is being replaced by sense of place, which provides an holistic view of a place by integrating all users’ experiences and feelings. Through a qualitative study involving 31 individual interviews with users and meetings with managers of a French coastal area, this paper proposes a five-dimensional definition of sense of place and its use as a tool for developing a place brand in 3 ways: defining the place brand concept, bringing together the internal stakeholders and invoving users in brand building.     

An Empirical Test for Mediation Effect of Educational Institute's Image on Relationship between Marketing Elements and Parents' Loyalty: Evidence from India

The article presents the results of a study that assesses effects of selected marketing tactics on parents' loyalty towards the educational institutions. The results of Multiple Regression Analysis show that the price mix was the most significant factor having impact on parents' loyalty followed by people mix, place mix, product mix, and promotion mix. Furthermore, educational institution image mediates completely (full mediation) the relationship between selected marketing tactics (product mix, people mix, place mix, promotion mix) and parents' loyalty. Whereas, educational institution image mediates partially (partial mediation) the relationship between price mix and parents' loyalty. The sample comprised 687 respondents.     

A longitudinal assessment of consumers' attitudes toward physicians' advertising

The purpose of this study is to investigate current attitudes and opinions toward physicians' advertising and to compare them to the attitudes expressed 20 years ago. It replicates a survey done in 1986 and uses the same questionnaire and the same population to compare responses longitudinally. Both the 1986 and 2006 respondents agreed that the public would be provided useful information through advertising by physicians, and both groups also believed that it is proper for physicians to advertise. The study seems to confirm the belief of many marketing professionals that advertising and marketing clearly have a place in the future of health care services.     

The Differential Impact of Price-Related Consumer Promotions on Loyal versus Non-Loyal Users of the Brand

Abstract

Consumer goods manufacturers regularly spend millions of dollars annually on sales promotions such as couponing, rebates, sweepstakes, and other premium offers. Although the impact of advertising on consumer purchase behavior has been documented in the marketing literature, the impact of promotions on purchase behavior has received relatively little attention. The purpose of this research is to investigate the relationship between brand loyalty, purchase involvement, product experience, and their impact on the efficacy of consumer promotions. The results show that sales promotions have applications beyond their traditional role as short-term promotional tools. Managerial implications as well as suggestions for future research are discussed.     

Omni-channel retailing: propositions,examples and solutions

Customers are not passive agents, but intrinsic to the value creation process. Because retailers are the customer’s link to the marketplace they are uniquely placed to develop value co-creation opportunities that give themselves a strategic advantage. Omni-channel retailing is a means to create an advantage by forging deeper customer relationships and potentially developing new markets. Omni-channel retailing can appeal to the heterogeneity in customers’ shopping orientations with the aim of providing a seamless cross-channel experience. However, without a clear strategic purpose, omni-channel initiatives can easily result in unbeneficial – or worse, counterproductive – investments. To address this, the purpose of this paper is to formulate guiding principles to facilitate decision-making with respect to developing an omni-channel marketing strategy. Consequently, two complementary research streams are presented. The first pertains to strategic considerations regarding omni-channel retailing; the second pertains to value co-creation as seen through a service-dominant logic lens. These research streams are then linked to derive five propositions– along with examples and solutions – to assist retailing decision-makers when developing an omni-channel marketing strategy. These propositions underline the importance of viewing channels as value-facilitating resources that should be aligned with the customer’s decision journey.