Abstract
Contrary to the traditional understanding of place branding inspired by product, service and corporation branding, the present paper adopts place branding interdisciplinary literature in order to develop a conceptual framework that focuses on the constituting features of place brands as a form of public brands. The paper suggests the way place brands are constituted is via a co-branded complex and dynamic process in a constant state of change shaped by the interaction of several public brands in particular time-space frames. The co-branded process allows researchers and practitioners to better understand the conditions under which place brands and place brand efforts are emerging. Despite that, the type of co-branded process described in the paper also points out that the process does not necessarily create a linear positive add-on value for all parts involved. Rather, the co-branded process here is fragmented and based on spatial, political and real meaning contexts. The framework is illustrated empirically from material retrieved from a study of a regional branding process. The article concludes with a note on the political dimension of applying a co-branding lens on the public sphere.
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Lucarelli, A. Co-branding public place brands: towards an alternative approach to place branding. Place Brand Public Dipl 14, 260–271 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1057/s41254-017-0085-3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/s41254-017-0085-3