Place marketing and citizen participation: branding as strategy to address the emotional dimension of policy making?

Abstract

Place marketing is increasingly used by local governments to enhance the image of cities and achieve policy goals related to economic and spatial development. Place marketing has become part of local and regional governance processes. Critics have argued that place marketing is often applied in top-down ways that exclude citizens. Drawing on survey data this article empirically confirms this critique. But the article shows with a case study that citizen involvement in place branding can be used to enhance the quality of the brand and include citizens’ emotions in governance processes. Points for practitioners The influence of citizens on place marketing is generally low. Nonetheless, when citizens are given influence the effects of place marketing on spatial plans and other policies increases, according to respondents of this study. Place branding can be carried out interactively with citizens, and then be applied to include citizens’ emotions in governance processes. This may be used to enrich and locally embed governance processes, and prevent citizens’ protest.