Identity of Place in the Branding of Small and Medium-Sized Communes
Sylwia Dudek-Mańkowska
Faculty of Geography and Regional Studies, University of Warsawhttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-7844-8644
Abstract
The place brand is an extremely complex and multidimensional concept. Creation of a strong territorial brand is largely dependent on identifying aspects which define the attractiveness of a given place. As the literature on the subject and studies prepared by experts tend to devote a lot of attention to large urban centres, I decided to analyse how small and middle-sized local government units deal with the brand building process. The aim of the study was to determine the aspect of attractiveness that build identities of small and medium-sized communes (gminas), the dimensions of identities of such communes, and the typological classes of communes defined on the basis of these dimensions. Local authorities tend to perceive place brands primarily through the prism of key attributes of individual places. Natural attributes and attractions, geographical location, events, and sport facilities are the building blocks of attractiveness for small and middle-sized local government units. The key dimensions of the communes’ identities are the aspects of their attractiveness in terms of settlement, tourism and economic activity. The conducted analysis allowed also to distinguish communes with strong and distinctive identities, communes whose identities are defined primarily by their offer dedicated to the residents, ones defined most strongly by their business and cultural offers, communes whose identity is not very clear and requires intervention, as well as communes with a high level of tourist attractiveness and good recreational offerings.
Keywords:
place identity, place brand, place brand powerReferences
Marketing Definitions: A Glossary of Marketing Terms. (1960). Chicago: AMA, American Marketing Association.
Arnold, D. (1992). The Handbook of Brand Management. The Economist Books. New York: Century Business.
Bagiński, E. (1998). Małe miasta w strukturze sieci osiedleńczej Polski. Wrocław: Politechnika Wrocławska.
Bennett, P.D. (1988). Dictionary of Marketing Terms. Chicago: The American Marketing Association.
Brol, R., Maj, M., & Strahl, D. (1990). Metody typologii miast. Wrocław: Skrypty Akademii Ekonomicznej im. Oskara Langego.
Crainer, S. (1995). The Real Power of Brands: Making Brands Work for Competitive Advantage. London: Pitman Publishing.
Czarnecki, W. (1965). Planowanie miast i osiedli. Warszawa: PWN.
Chernatony, L. de (2003). Marka. Wizja i tworzenie marki. Gdańsk: Gdańskie Wydawnictwo Psychologiczne.
Dudek-Mańkowska, S. (2011). Wizerunek Warszawy w działaniach promocyjnych władz lokalnych i świadomości społecznej. Warszawa: Wydawnictwo UW.
Dudek-Mańkowska, S., & Balkiewicz-Żerek, A. (2015). Siła marki miejsca. Marketing i Rynek, 6, 14-23.
Girard, V. (1997). Marketing terytorialny i planowanie strategiczne. In T. Domański (Ed.). Marketing terytorialny: strategiczne wyzwania dla miast i regionów. Łódź: Uniwersytet Łódzki.
Kavaratzis, M., & Ashworth, G.J. (2005). City branding: an effective assertion of identity or a transitory marketing trick? Journal of Economic & Social Geography, 96(5), 506-514. https://doi/org/ 10.1111/j.1467-9663.2005.00482.x.
Korczyńska, M. (2006). Marka miasta. Marketing i Rynek, 12, 2-10.
Runge, A. (2012). Metodologiczne problemy badania miast średnich w Polsce. Prace Geograficzne, 129, 83-101.
Stanowicka-Traczyk, A. (2008). Kształtowanie wizerunku miasta na przykładzie miast polskich. Bydgoszcz-Olsztyn: Oficyna Wydawnicza Branta.
Wiktor, J. (2001). Tożsamość i wizerunek – wyznacznik roli przedsiębiorstwa w procesie komunikacji marketingowej. In A. Czubała, J. Wiktor (Eds.). Marketing u progu XXI wieku. Księga jubileuszowa dla uczczenia 70. urodzin prof. J. Altkorna. Kraków: Akademia Ekonomiczna.
Wood, L. (2000). Brands and brand equity: definition and management. Management Decision, 38(9), 662-669. https://doi/org/ 10.1108/00251740010379100.
Wskaźniki dochodów podatkowych dla poszczególnych gmin, powiatów i województw na 2018 r. (2018). Ministerstwo Finansów. Retrieved from http://www.mf.gov.pl/ministerstwo-finansow/dzialalnosc/finanse-publiczne/budzety-jednostek-samorzadu-terytorialnego/kwoty-i-wskazniki/-/asset_publisher/RJc8/content/wskazniki-dochodow-podatkowych-dla-poszczegolnychgmin-powiatow-i-wojewodztw-na-2018-r?redirect=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.mf.gov.pl%2Fministerstwo-finansow%2Fdzialalnosc%2Ffinanse-publiczne%2Fbudzety-jednosteksamorzadu-terytorialnego%2Fkwoty-i-wskazniki%3Fp_p_id%3D101_INSTANCE_RJc8%26p_p_lifecycle%3D0%26p_p_state%3Dnormal%26p_p_mode%3Dview%26p_p_col_id%3Dcolumn-2%26p_p_col_count%3D1 (25.02.2018).
Faculty of Geography and Regional Studies, University of Warsaw
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7844-8644
License
An Author declares that his paper has not been published before (under the same or another title, or is a part of another publication) and does not infringe copyrights of other persons**. At the same time, the Author transfers to the Publisher the exclusive right to publish and to circulate this work in print in the form of a non-serial journal publication and in a form of an electronic publication.
The journal is available on Creative Common license CC-BY-NC-ND
