10/12/2017 Interview: Eduardo Oliveira on Spatial Planning and Place Branding

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Thursday, October 12, 2017 8 City Marketing Trends and Developments in 2017

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Interview with Eduardo Oliveira on Place Brandingand Strategic Spatial Planning 12 October 2017 The Editorial Team city, New York City, placemaking, Stockholm

Eduardo Oliveira in this interview shares his experience of using place branding as a complementary

instrument in strategic spatial planning. He also discusses the digital challenges of city and regional

branding and the increasing role of social media in managing place reputation.

Learn about:

Place branding as an instrument of strategic spatial planning;

What a valuable place brand is;

How local governance influences place branding;

Destination marketing through social media: including travellers as co-creators and opinion-

makers;

Storytelling as a tool for place branding and examples of best practice;

How place branding contributes to sustainable regional development.

Eduardo, place branding is often perceived as somethingthat communication agencies take care of. However, oneof your principal research interests is place branding as astrategic spatial planning instrument. Where’s the link?

I have been investigating the theoretical and empirical relationships between place branding, spatial

governance and spatial planning for a long time. Two decades of both academic and practice-oriented

research are just not enough for me to provide a clear answer to your question. There are various

interpretations, perspectives and approaches to the linkage between place branding and spatial

planning in general, and strategic spatial planning in particular.

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10/12/2017 Interview: Eduardo Oliveira on Spatial Planning and Place Branding

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My approach, which has been inspired by the great work of Gregory Ashworth, Mihalis Kavaratzis,

Kristof Van Assche, Malcolm Allan and Martin Boisen, is that cities and regions would greatly

generate economic and social benefits if they could link and find a fine balance between strategic

spatial planning, city and regional development strategies, and thus concrete physical interventions in

their territory with place branding strategies. Specifically, I advocate through my writings and

conference presentations that place branding could (and, eventually, should) be used as aninstrument in the strategic spatial planning approach.

As an instrument in strategic spatial planning, place branding would support the improvement of the

social and economic conditions. It also helps reshape responses to contemporary challenges faced by

cities and regions and to shape clearly envisioned socially responsible and realistic futures.

Given this definition, let us imagine a city associated with images of social and economic deprivation,

numerous social issues such as criminality or illicit activities, unable to provide affordable housing, job

opportunities or reliable public transportation. Can, in such a challenging context, strategic spatial

planning solve all the problems and support a structural change, thereby contribute to reframing the

image of the city?

I argue that strategic spatial planning alone would not be able to do it. And, can a place branding

strategy provide job opportunities, boost the economic activity in general and at the same time

communicate a positive image of the city? Again, I would claim that place branding alone would not be

able to fulfill all the social and economic needs of the city.

Physical interventions in the territory of a city, such as the development of affordable housing

settlements or the reinforcement of the public transportation network, combined with place branding

could trigger processes of reimagining, repositioning and restructuring, helping city authorities to

communicate their efforts.

In a recent book chapter, you state that a strong placebrand creates values and gives stability to the place image.This allows the place brand to work as a commander andleave spatial planning at a lower level of intervention.Could you give us some examples of joint place brandingand spatial planning projects where the latter has beensubordinated to the place image?

Place branding, in my view, is a process of place re-imaging, in order to correct a negative image or to

increase awareness of the place. So far, what I have witnessed in practical terms is the combination of

place branding with spatial planning strategies aimed at improving a place’s image.

From my experience in dealing with strategic spatial planning approaches from Australia to Canada

and also in the Nordic countries, public authorities seek to combine spatial interventions with the

potential benefits of place branding.

Strategic spatial planning is about setting frameworks and principles to guide urban and

regional development and to support the location of infrastructure, such as of a new light rail, a

cycling path or a public park. It consists of a set of governance practices for developing and

implementing strategies, plans, policies and projects.

In my view, city branding is not simply about communicating to the world that a city is great or

well positioned in rankings. Instead, it is about planning and managing the city to become a

good place and letting the world know that city authorities are trying to improve it and solve

social and economic constraints.

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For example, the strategic spatial plan for the Stockholm region (RUFS 2010) combines physical

interventions, such as the expansion of the public transportation network and increase in housing

availability, with branding techniques to develop the region’s international profile as a place to invest,

to work, to live and to play. There is no domination of the desired Stockholm brand over spatial

planning interventions in the document.

However, in reality (though not necessarily in the case of the Stockholm region), public authorities

might well implement urban-regional development projects following a place brand strategy. In this

scenario, spatial planning is subordinated to the place brand and desired place image.

In your view, what makes a place brand valuable?

Place managers, spatial planners and policy-makers have been embracing place branding as a

possible solution for a bewildering assortment of social, economic and spatial issues. Place branding

is no ‘magic solution’ for solving social and/or economic issues, nor is there a one-size-fits-all

approach.

First, a valuable place brand is one that supports local business, improvement of infrastructure– the physical condition of the territory. This includes improved public transportation and the provision

of housing, health and educational services. Valuable place brands also help to create jobs and

support talent retention. So, it’s about much more than merely focusing on attracting investment,

tourists, new residents and highly qualified workers.

Secondly, if place branding is taken as an instrument in strategic spatial planning, a placebrand gains in value and effectiveness. This is because the entire place branding strategy would

have a clear focus on a limited number of key place-specific issues. It would involve relevant place

actors, including profit-oriented interest groups, environmental non-governmental organizations,

citizens, politicians and spatial planners.

You have suggested that more research should be done onplace governance and how it influences place brandingand strategic spatial planning options. What are your ownviews on the influence of local governance on placebranding?

Urban and regional governance influence both strategic spatial planning and place branding.

First, strategic spatial planning is a process through which a variety of actors in diverse institutional

settings come together to prepare plans and develop interrelated strategies for the management of

spatial change.

Secondly, a place branding process only makes sense when it involves all, so everybody can envision

aspirational and better futures for their territory.

Thirdly, I understand governance as both the formal apparatus of government and the informal

agreements and networks through which private interest groups, environmental groups and

community groups intertwine with public authorities at the national, regional and local levels, and in

that way manage aspects of the public sphere, including spatial planning and place branding.

Interest groups, such as real estate developers or retail investors have the means to influence how a

city or region would be developed or expanded further, for example through land use claims or

planning intentions. In the same way, place brands are now designed in a more participatory and

integrative manner.

You have also studied the digital challenges in destinationbranding, and the value of storytelling in place reputationmanagement. Could you share some of the insights ofthese studies?

These studies you are referring to were motivated by two observations, which are still very valid. First,

I asked myself when was the last time I consulted a travel agent. Secondly, I tried to remember when

10/12/2017 Interview: Eduardo Oliveira on Spatial Planning and Place Branding

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was the last time I selected my holiday destination after reading a travel catalogue or a printed travel

magazine.

We are currently living in an era where the internet has revolutionized our travel planning process.

Nearly 200 million European internet users visited a travel website in January 2017 alone, and 76% of

users booked their travels through the internet. Word of mouth has become a megaphone.

Travellers can now create content that can influence future visits to a destination. Posting an

Instagram, Facebook post or Tweet of a ‘pastel de nata’ in Lisbon, Portugal, or a selfie near the

‘Manneken Pis’ in Brussels, Belgium, has changed the way the world accesses destination

information.

User-generated content affects how a destination is communicated. And the growing number of online

communities makes destination branding more difficult.

One of the findings of these studies is that tourists as opinion-makers with access to a plethora of

information and communication technologies now act as co-creators of destination brands. Therefore,

it is wise to engage them and to strategically integrate the content they generate into destination

branding efforts.

In your view, which role does social media play indestination branding?

Social media platforms are becoming an increasingly important mechanism for exchanging

information among tourists, and for destinations and businesses to learn about the attitudes towards

their markets. This freely available information gives destination brand managers the opportunity to

look “into the heads” of the tourist/traveller and to monitor their experiences.

In today’s competitive environment, innovation, decentralization, engagement, involvement andhaving a distinctive voice are essential for successful destination branding. Social media can

support this process as they are the optimal platforms to spread a narrative, a story and a message.

But it also poses a challenge.

Are there any particularly good examples of storytellingand place reputation management that you would refer toas best practice?

Stories help people to make sense of a place. Especially in destination brand management,

storytelling is an effective channel to support communication. Stories are powerful because they turn

myths into tangible consumer experience creators; they provide insights and encourage learning.

Even though stories make people relate to the narrative by keeping them intrigued, inspired and

eventually amused, there are not so many examples of its use in place reputation management, as far

as I know.

A good example is the curators of Sweden project on Twitter. It gives voice to a different Swede every

week to share their stories, points of view regarding Sweden (mostly), their experiences concerning

activities, gastronomy, etc. In my view, this is a very interesting project, which provides in-depth

context and sensitive narratives about the country.

Understanding the digital challenges and the value of co-creation involved in the branding and

management of destinations is an essential element for the success of a brand, and indeed the

entire value chain of the tourism activity.

Destination brand managers are faced with the challenge to use social media coherently;

maintain communities of interest, collect user-generated content, display photos and videos,

promote local events, and encourage word-of-mouth recommendations.

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Another example is Brandon Stanton’s Humans of New York project, featuring interviews with

thousands of people on the streets of New York City. What makes it unique is the sheer originality and

focus on putting people’s real-life stories, their passions, struggles and hopes at the forefront. This

project helps to reveal the real essence of the city, what makes it desirable to visit, or work and live in.

It makes us think deeply about the purposefulness and meaningfulness of life and thus generate

images about New York which are very different from traditional destination promotion.

What are the three fundamental place branding principlesthat contribute to sustainable regional development?

There are some unresolved issues within the application of branding principles to places that hinder a

greater contribution of place branding to sustainable development. Here, I will only emphasize three

aspects.

First, it is important to overcome the issue of the one-size-fits-all approach by capitalizing place-

specific qualities through tailor-made and context-sensitive place branding strategies.

Secondly, place branding often works to conceal power struggles and to impose elite-ledinterests and directions, while suppressing opposing voices or neglecting citizens’ needs andhopes. In this regard, to contribute to social, economic and environmentally sound regional

development, there is a need for co-production in place branding. In other words, to produce a place

branding strategy collectively, so it meets the real needs of local communities.

Thirdly, there is an excessive concentration on inter-place competition as the ultimate goal ofplace branding.

Could you recommend some recent publications on placebranding as a strategic spatial planning instrument?

Specifically, on place branding as a strategic spatial planning instrument, I would recommend my PhD

thesis entitled Place Branding in Strategic Spatial Planning: An Analysis at the Regional Scale with

Special Reference to Northern Portugal.

I recommend the article by Massimo Giovanardi and Andrea Lucarelli on Sailing through Marketing:

A Critical Assessment of Spatiality in Marketing Literature.

I found Jelmer Jeuring and Tialda Haartsen’s article very interesting: Destination Branding by

Residents: The Role of Perceived Responsibility in Positive and Negative Word-of-Mouth.

The working paper by Kristof van Assche and Raoul Beunen on the links between governance and

place branding is an inspiring read for those who want to know more about how to lend a more

strategic approach and geographical/spatial consciousness to the process of place branding.

Also highly recommended, the paper by Fabiana Gondim Mariutti on The Placement of Country

Reputation Towards Place Management.

Thank you, Eduardo.

Connect with Eduardo Oliveira on LinkedIn or follow him on Twitter.

Enjoyed our interview with Eduardo Oliveira on the links between place branding and strategicspatial planning? Share and spread the word!

It is fundamental to align place branding with regional development plans and strategic spatial

planning goals, thus improving social and economic aspects, as well as protecting natural

resources.

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