A Multi-scalar Approach to Place Branding: The 150th Anniversary of Italian Unification in Turin

Abstract

This study draws from an interpretation of scale as a social construct to elaborate a multi-scalar approach to place branding that represents a growing set of theories and managerial practices aimed to leverage the reputational capital of places. The paper unveils that far from consisting in clear-cut processes which occur within a pre-given and fixed set of scalar boundaries, city, regional, country and supra-national branding actually converges in a complex mechanism of intertwined practices and discourses. By grounding its theoretical investigation in a case study about the celebration of the 150th anniversary of Italian unification, this paper furthers the understanding of place branding from a multi-level perspective, addressing the tendency of previous studies to treat scale as a fixed hierarchy of nested levels. The findings show that scalar boundaries remain significant for the purpose of coordination and identification among the institutional actors involved. And yet, the investigation highlights that scalar boundaries do not constitute a structure of ontologically-given contexts, but rather are the outcome of an ongoing dialectic process among place stakeholders through which scalar relations are constantly reproduced and nurtured during the staging of the place branding project.

The ambiguity of place branding consultancy: working with stakeholders in Rio de Janeiro

“…The resulting picture of stakeholder configuration is in line with multi-scalar accounts of place brand territorial governance processes described by Giovanardi (2015) activities. However, the landscape that the place brand stakeholder inhabits is contradictory: on the one hand, there are very few powerful institutional actors (e.g.…”

The effectiveness of place brand communication

“…The critiques ranges from the democratic legitimacy of place branding (Eshuis & Edwards, 2013) to whether or not brand management strategies actually fit places (Blichfeldt, 2005). Several authors also point to difficulties inherent to place branding, such as the great variety of target groups, the complexity of different messages, multiple spatial scales, competing interests, and the different institutional context (e.g., Braun, 2012;Giovanardi, 2014;Hankinson, 2001;Turok, 2009). These criticisms and difficulties aside, there are no fundamental barriers to place branding (e.g., Braun, 2012;Hankinson, 2001;Kavaratzis, 2008), but further academic underpinning is needed (e.g., Lucarelli & Berg, 2011).…”

The political nature of brand governance: a discourse analysis approach to a regional brand building process

“…Kavaratzis, ) and language (e.g. Koller, ) for understanding how the various actors involved in place brand governance define the relationship amongst them through their discourses (see Giovanardi, ). The majority of studies adopting a discursive perspective to the process of branding in the territorial realms (see for an overview Lucarelli & Brorström, ) have adopted a critical or narrative discourse analytical frame (e.g.…”