Rethinking the place brand:The interactive formation of place brands and the role of participatory place branding This is a pre-publication version of Kavaratzis, M. and Kalandides, A. (2015) Rethinking the place brand: The interactional formation of place brands and the role of participatory place branding, Environment and Planning A, 47, 1368-1382. AbstractThis article attempts to 'rethink' place brands after examining in detail how people form them in their minds. The article starts with a very brief account of the place branding literature to provide the necessary background and goes on to identify what we see as a shortcoming in current understanding of the place brand: the dominant idea that brands are formed as sums of mental associations. The article attempts to take current understanding of place brands further by going beyond associations and adding a missing element: the interactions between those associations. We propose a rethinking of place brands based on two pillars: first we incorporate more geographical understanding into place branding and, second, we outline a process that allows place elements and place-based associations to combine and form the place brand. The place brand formation process starts when people use place-making elements (materiality, practices, institutions and representations) to form mental associations with the place. These associations are not static but evolve and change over time as they interact with each other on several dimensions. These interactions constitute the way in which the place brand is formed. The argumentation leads to a novel conceptualization of the role of place branding in the above processes. The practical applicability and implications of the proposed rethinking of place brands suggested here are explored in detail through the examination of the branding process followed recently in Bogotá, Colombia, where our approach to place branding has found practical application.

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is twofold: on the one hand, it is to contribute to a sound conceptualization of the notion of place identity in the context of geographical spatial approaches; on the other, it is to show the implications this has in place branding research.Design/methodology/approachFirst, the paper draws from place branding literature to point out the lack of a conceptualization of place identity, second, it presents the case study of Prenzlauer Berg to show how place identity is constituted. Finally, these findings are linked to literature about the constitution of space and place.FindingsThe concept of spatial identity suffers under the anthropomorphism of the term identity. Only in a sound conceptual framework and through a method mix it is possible to understand how the specificity of space is constituted.Research limitations/implicationsThe case study that is the base of this conceptual paper is a neighbourhood. There is a need to further discuss the issue of scale, i.e. whether the same rules apply for cities, regions or nations.Practical implicationsPlace branding/marketing is often based on a fuzzy notion of place identity. The above non‐essentialist approach of this identity deeply questions both the legitimacy and the efficiency of any place branding strategy. It thus asks for more sophisticated analytical methods by policy makers and consultants alike.Originality/valueConceptualization of spatial identity is a rather vague concept and, though it is often used as a point of departure for several issues, it is usually taken for granted. This paper offers a new systematic approach to the disambiguation of the concept.

Purpose -The purpose of this paper is to bring together theory and practice of place branding/marketing from a practitioner's point of view. It is a critical assessment of the recent place marketing strategy for the city of Bogotá, Colombia. Design/methodology/approach -The paper is based on a case study, that of the place marketing strategy for Bogotá. After a description of the initial task for city officials and the consultant, the paper presents the process of designing the strategy, focusing on citizen participation. It describes the inherent difficulties and tensions of any similar task and the practical compromises that had to be reached. Finally these findings are discussed again in a theoretical context, integrating place branding with other planning and positioning measures. Findings -Place branding can indeed be a useful tool for place development, if it is understood as one possible tool of policy making and is incorporated in a broader conceptualization of the relationship among places, not limited to competition alone. Practical implications -The paper's main position is that place branding is legitimate when there is a gap between a place's reality and perception. Understanding place branding as one possible tool for the development and positioning of places, means that practitioners and academics alike will have to rethink how to integrate it more effectively into existing policy making. Finally it shows both the importance and limitations of participatory processes. Originality/value -The paper is a critical assessment of the experience of a practitioner linked with theoretical and methodological consideration; it tries to fill the gap between theoretical considerations and constrains of the profession.

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This paper aims at discussing the issue of governing creativity exemplifying the case of Berlin. Berlin has a fast growing creative industry that has become the object of the city's development policies and place marketing. The core question is: What are the spatial-organizational driving forces of creativity in Berlin—can they be steered by public administration? The point of departure of this paper is the four “paradoxes of creativity” formulated by DeFillippi, Grabher and Jones in 2007 that describe organizational dilemmas linked to epistemological problems of the study of creativity. For our analyses, we refer to and make use of the various existing databases and recent studies on Berlin's creative industries, in particular the attempts of the Berlin Senate to assess the economic contribution of creative industries. We will show the potential for self-organization—and thus self-governance—of creativity and creative industries in Berlin. This potential is linked to the activities of communities of practice that make use of Berlin's specific urban fabric. The “paradoxes of creativity” that have become obvious in the case of Berlin's creative industries concern, for instance, the tension between the autonomy of creative production, on the one hand, and the necessities of professionalization on the other. The local communities of practice—of which most of Berlin's creative industries are made—serve both as quality evaluation circles and drivers of creativity and innovation.Berlin, creative industries, place making, self-governance, communities of practice, professionalization,