Tag Archives: destination marketing

Place branding? It’s not about the logo

Wednesday, 28 February 2018 21:08
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Then what is it all about? That’s the provocative question we’ll be debating with top place branding experts from around Europe at the International Place Branding Event Liverpool 2018 on May 31-June 1.

UP is organizing the event, together with Marketing Liverpool, which aims to stimulate discussion about place branding and destination marketing. Featuring speakers from well-known cities and municipalities across Europe, the event will tackle the question that has everyone guessing: what goes into the recipe for a successful place brand, beyond the logo? The event marks the 10-year anniversary of Liverpool’s year as European Capital of Culture, which has been a hugely transformative award for this vibrant city. Since 2008, Liverpool has seen a year-on-year increase in visitors and won external acclaim for its innovative place branding work.

Place branding experts

Place branding experts from Amsterdam, London, Barcelona, Hamburg, Rotterdam, Stockholm and Liverpool itself are among more than 12 speakers who’ll present their ideas about how to go about creating a long term strategy for places and destinations in this global market. A series of Ted-style presentations (18 minutes long) will be followed by lively Q&A sessions with the panel to let the audience debate and question what makes a successful place brand. “It’s an industry which tends to provoke strong views and we don’t expect everyone to agree with each other, so we’re looking forward to hosting a punchy, fascinating couple of days,” said Chris Brown, director of Marketing Liverpool. CEO of UP, Julian Stubbs, said: “Can cities and places be marketed like regular brands? We’ll hear the views on that question and more from some of the leading European cities and practitioners.” Place branding is an industry which is changing at an exceptional pace, thanks to reasons as varied as growing connectivity, the prevalence of social media and even cities’ own success at marketing themselves. Over two days, attendees will hear from some of the leading voices in place branding and take part in sessions designed to challenge conventional wisdom and determine what the future holds and what destinations need to do.

A historic venue sets the tone

The venue is the incredible Rum Warehouse, part of the skillfully renovated Titanic Hotel Liverpool, which is located in what was once the North Warehouse in the historic Stanley Dock area of the Port of Liverpool, a UNESCO World Heritage site. This 1846 building was damaged during a WWII air raid and has been skillfully renovated with careful attention to its historical character. Visiting Liverpool, you can jump into the past and present at the same time as you explore some of the city’s iconic locations such as the Tate Modern Gallery, Terracotta Warriors, The Cavern club or Penny Lane, while immersing yourself in the question of what makes a destination worthy of its brand image. The event marks the 10-year anniversary of Liverpool’s year as European Capital of Culture, which has been a hugely transformative award for the vibrant city. Since 2008, Liverpool has seen a year-on-year increase in visitors and won external acclaim for its innovative place branding work. Brown added, “Place branding has been extremely important here in Liverpool, and has helped us to build a real legacy off the back of a successful 2008. In an increasingly complex environment, destinations can’t rely on just having a nice logo or a catchy slogan; the destinations that understand this are often the ones which lead rankings for desirability amongst visitors and satisfaction of their residents.”

What the presenters say

Some of the event speakers and sponsors shared a few thoughts about what place branding means to them. Olle Zetterberg, CEO of Stockholm Business Region: “The marketing and branding of places has never been more important and today cities, municipalities and countries need to be more visible and promote themselves to compete globally. We are also looking to highlight our city’s DNA to use it in our value-based marketing. The event in Liverpool will bring together a number of very interesting speakers on the subject of building successful places.” Mateu Hernández Maluquer, CEO of Barcelona Global: “Improving the reputation of Barcelona worldwide is a challenge shared by the Mayor’s Office and a coalition of civic and business leaders – including Barcelona Global. I’ll be explaining at this important event in Liverpool our vision for how that works.’’ Stephen Cowperthwaite, regional senior director at GVA, Liverpool: “Liverpool and GVA have been leading discussions with a number of cities around the importance and impact of waterfront regeneration for a number of years now, so the content of this event feels like a natural progression of this conversation. We are proud to be the corporate sponsor for this event and we look forward to getting more involved in these powerful discussions over the coming months.”

Join the discussion

We’re expecting more than 200 attendees from European municipalities, destinations, cities and academic institutions. Will you be one of them? Read more about the speakers and programme.

Register for the event here

 

Place Branding. Is Breaking Bad good or bad for Albuquerque?

Sunday, 20 January 2013 12:55
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Thanks to my oldest son, I have become hooked, as it were, on the hit AMC television show Breaking Bad. Now as a rule I try and not watch too much TV – I actually prefer a good book. But Breaking Bad is compulsive stuff. The show is set and produced in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and follows the story of Walter White, a struggling high school chemistry teacher who is diagnosed with inoperable lung cancer at the beginning of the series. He turns to a life of crime, producing and selling methamphetamine with a former student, Jesse Pinkman, with the aim of securing his family’s financial future before he dies. It’s compelling viewing – but aside from being a great show what is the impact on the setting – Albuquerque, New Mexico. It presents the city in an interesting yet contrasting light: on the one hand being very middle class America, swimming pools and suburbia and on the other as a hotbed of drug dealing, crime and Mexican cartels. It also shows the consequences, which are sometimes utterly appalling, of the choices the characters make. But, from a place branding perspective, is it good or bad for Albuquerque? Would I want to live there or even visit? But what about the power of television and film? I have a theory. New York City cops act the way they do because they have seen how New York cops act in the movies. Similarly, film and television can have a huge impact on how a destination acts in terms of their marketing activities. In a marketing sense, nothing can have as great an impact on a Destination Brand than careful usage of mass media, especially film and television. When we visit cities such as London, New York, San Francisco we more or less know what to expect based on the media picture we have been influenced by. As a kid I watched programmes like The Odd Couple, Streets of San Francisco, Kojak and Bergerac. Films like Bullitt, Puppet on a Chain, Notting Hill and any of the James Bond movies all brought destinations and places to life in vivid technicolor. It made me want to live in New York, visit San Francisco and travel the world. That’s the impact of film and TV on our lives. UK tourism has enjoyed a huge boost from increased visitor numbers to TV and film locations such as The Da Vinci Code, Gosford Park and Balamory. Frighteningly, I am told 20% of Americans visiting Scotland do so because they’ve seen Braveheart. The Harry Potter films alone have led to a 120% increase in visitor numbers to Ainwick Castle in Northumberland, a significant increase in tourism to the region. Consider the impact of Miami Vice. You can arguably say that undercover narc cops Sonny Crocket and Rico Tubbs helped save south beach from being torn down 30 years ago. When the show first aired in 1984 Miami was at a low point following race riots, the influx of drug cartels and a rise in violent crime. The show, directed by Michael Mann, almost reinvented the city as a star in its own right. His famous edict of the show no earth colours carried over into real life and all the decrepit south beach hotels did themselves up in pinks and blues and the district exploded back into life.   So what about Breaking Bad? With its seedy plot of drugs and crime is it good or bad for Albuquerque? In some respects the sage advice of P.T. Barnum, the great American showman, could apply: ‘I don’t care what they say about me, just make sure they spell my name right!’ “When Breaking Bad began airing five seasons ago, we were less than thrilled by the subject matter, which is based on a fictional character and story,” says Dale Lockett, head of the Albuquerque Convention & Visitors Bureau. But given its popularity, “people are traveling to our city to see the locations featured in the show and then spending time at our attractions, restaurants and hotels,” he adds. One local tour operator, the ABQ Trolley Co., added a three-hour, $60 per person Breaking Bad tour timed to the shows season premiere – and promptly sold out all seven scheduled departures. Without doubt it seems whatever the subject matter, TV and film are powerful mediums and brand carriers for locations and places. Added to that its just a damn good TV show. Anyway, thank god it’s now over. I can return to reading my books.