Page 12 - ENGAGE -- Issue #10 -- Fall 2017

10
Fall 2017
FEATURE
PLACE+BRANDING= OPPORTUNITIES FOR ENGAGEMENT
i f you keep up with the local goings-on in your hometown or city, or if you
happen to be a frequent traveler who looks for cool, new spots to visit or festivals to cross off your bucket list, you’ve probably been exposed to something called “place marketing”
or “place branding.” A trend that began with bigger municipalities looking to brand themselves effectively or accentuate their most attractive attributes, place marketing is “at the intersection of marketing and brand-building for a specific destination,” says Ben Friedman (Partner, IMBIBE), who has worked in the field for a decade.
Friedman helps civic entities at the city,
state, and national level—as well as private enterprises such as larger, mixed-use commercial real estate developments—build their brands to emphasize the value of engaging with a physical space. He believes successful place branding
today is all about experiences. “With an Internet that can facilitate performing a task simpler, cheaper, or faster, place branding is about creating opportunities for consumers to engage on a deeper, more personal level,” Friedman says. “If successfully done, consumers spend extra money and time personally and provide valuable word of mouth recommendations to others about why they should also pursue those experiences.”
Whether we realize it or not, we’ve all been exposed to place branding. It could be the banners hanging from the light posts along a main street, the Saturday farmers’ market that pulls in locals and out-of-towners, the Art in the Park festival, or the summer concert series, to name a few of the strategically planned “experiences” that draw us to a place’s brand.
So why is it important for marketers to pay attention to place branding? There may be no better representation of experiential marketing. Marketers create the experience, set the stage for it, promote it, then deliver it for our consumption. When consumers come, they will (presumably) love being a part of it and become brand advocates. Sounds familiar, right?
As with most marketing initiatives, the audience in place marketing campaigns receives information from a variety of sources (TV, social media, local publications, merchants, neighbors, realtors, etc.). “It’s all about establishing a profound connection for their consumers with their brand,” Friedman says. “This is done in many ways, and execution should be consistent across all mediums. However, the most successful connections are built via word of mouth.” Yes, personal brand advocates and influencers—every marketer’s dream!
Austin, Texas, which bills itself as the Live Music Capital of the World, is a prime example of place branding. Austin’s music commission coined
“There may
be no better representation of experiential marketing than place branding.”
the name after a local brought the idea to their attention. Adopting the slogan was brought to a vote in 1991 at city hall, and it passed. Today, the trademark of Live Music Capital is owned by the Austin Convention and Visitors Bureau. The good people of Nashville may have their own opinion on this, but Austin has enough honest heritage as a bastion of live music to successfully brand itself this way.
“When building a brand, whether from scratch or in helping to better define one that already exists, it is important that what is created is both authentic and aspirational,” Friedman confirms. “It should represent who you are today in a relatable and truthful manner, while also establishing a vision for where you are heading.