Executive summary of “Perceived images and vocations of local territorial systems: implications for place branding strategies”

Citation

(2015), "Executive summary of “Perceived images and vocations of local territorial systems: implications for place branding strategies”", Journal of Product & Brand Management, Vol. 24 No. 3. https://doi.org/10.1108/JPBM-05-2015-852

Executive summary of “Perceived images and vocations of local territorial systems: implications for place branding strategies”

Article Type: Executive summary and implications for managers and executives From: Journal of Product & Brand Management, Volume 24, Issue 3

This summary has been provided to allow managers and executives a rapid appreciation of the content of the article. Those with a particular interest in the topic covered may then read the article in toto to take advantage of the more comprehensive description of the research undertaken and its results to get the full benefit of the material present.

The challenge to place marketers has increased enormously in recent times. Greater mobilization means that competition between places to attract human resources, capital and tourists is more intense than ever. There is thus an urgent need for marketers to develop strategies which effectively raise the profile of their particular locale. The task is compounded by the fact that many place stakeholders often struggle to perceive significant differences between places.

Strategies must recognize the variation in goals or “fruition choices” among these different categories of stakeholder. Residents’ objectives are based around life and work, whereas tourists seek relaxation and enjoyment. Resource availability is important to local companies and establishing trade relationships will be the main focus for external firms or customers involved in export markets. These different motivations determine which products, services and other resources of a place are considered most important.

Stakeholders create an image of a place which is based upon such as their beliefs, ideals, impressions and prejudices. What scholars have termed “place image” is described as a “mental picture” that reflects both “tangible and intangible characteristics”, as well as the thoughts and feelings of the individual place user. Image is based on existing knowledge, influence of promotional materials, and actual experience. It is purported by some scholars that place image includes cognitive, affective and conative dimensions. Both functional and psychological aspects are incorporated within the cognitive dimension. The former refers to user perception of such as amenities and services, whereas how people view hospitality, reputation and other intangible features is covered by the latter.

Researchers note the importance of functional attributes and resources is determining place “vocation”. For instance, favorable climate and the presence of natural attractions and historic sites would be among the key factors in identifying somewhere as having a strong “tourist vocation”. Another place would be more oriented toward a “production vocation” when technologies, manufacturing capabilities and connections with national and overseas markets are among its major attributes. Both can co-exist and contribute to development, and the absence of a dominant vocation enables greater diversification in the local economy.

It is seen as crucial that the prevalent tourist or industrial vocation of a place is perceived as such by different stakeholder categories. Misalignment, in this case, can prove costly in that users could cease consuming key resources and/or the place might become more reliant on a narrower range of capabilities. A negative impact on development is almost inevitable either way.

Pino et al. note the importance of “inductional marketing strategies” in this respect. Such strategies are aimed at influencing user understanding, motives and perceptions with the aim being to persuade them to actively engage with the place by positively impacting on their image of it. The strategy deployed will be tailored toward the specific stakeholder category and the authors use the example of pointing out the low crime rate of an area to emphasize the safety of the environment. This would increase the appeal to residents, especially those who value security. Employed in this way, inductional marketing thus strives to address the sometimes distinctive expectations and desires of individuals within a specific user category. It is pointed out that such strategies can sometimes modify certain characteristics and/or provide new incentives. One possible consequence of this is a change in demand for products, services or resources of the place. In turn, this could attract new users and lead to a shift in the prevalent vocation towards either greater specialization or diversity.

These issues are examined in a study conducted in the Southern Italian Province of Lecce. A questionnaire was administered to respondents in four Local Territorial Systems (LTSs), identified in previous research. These units of analysis are defined not by geographical or administrative boundaries but by similar socio-demographic, economic and morphological and physical features. The LTSs can be characterized as having an industrial or tourist vocation and compete for relevant resources with others of the same type in the region.

Earlier work categorized the 97 municipalities in the region into four LTS types labeled as Capital, Coastal, Inland and Western. Analysis conducted at this time revealed that Capital and Western LTSs have a predominantly industrial vocation, while municipalities in the Coastal LTSs are more oriented toward tourism. It was concluded that Inland LTSs do not have a prevalent vocation because of their low scores on both dimensions.

The 640 subjects who completed the survey were representatives of the four user categories: residents, tourists, local firms and export markets. Respondents from each category were surveyed from within the different LTSs. Business participants were owners, executives or managers of local firms, while export markets were represented by similar figures within companies based outside the LTSs.

Results showed that all users surveyed perceive the four LTSs as tourist-oriented even though it has been previously ascertained that only Coastal LTSs have a predominantly tourist vocation. According to Pino et al., this demonstrates the importance of accounting for user perceptions when creating place marketing strategies. One suggestion to address the misalignment is to use deploy inductional marketing as a means of transforming the “production structures” of the LTSs and their perceived images. It is recommended that policymakers responsible for the Inland LTSs should provide incentives to increase tourism to develop a vocation in line with user perceptions. Where the Capital and Western LTSs are concerned, scope exists to expand the tourism sector and diversify the economic base or focus on strengthening industrial specialization and attempt to change how users perceived LTSs. Reinforcing its tourist image is seen as the logical strategy for policymakers in Coastal LTSs.

Identifying aspects chiefly responsible for user perceptions was also indicated. Accessibility was important for Capital and Western LTSs, while the Coastal LTSs are influenced mainly by resident hospitality. Tourist attractions were considered most relevant for Inland LTSs.

The authors used the characteristics of the “Big Five” brand personality model to measure place personality. Main indications from this part of the research are that Agreeableness and Extroversion are most associated with a perceived tourist vocation and Openness to Experience and Emotional Stability are strongly correlated with a perceived industrial vocation. From this, Pino et al. deduce that a perceived tourist image is linked with a hedonic place personality and a perceived industrial image with an identity combining hedonic and utilitarian characteristics. The idea is proposed that knowledge of these traits should be incorporated into such as branding and advertising activities in order to help strengthen or transform particular images.

Another suggestion is to provide various incentives which can impact on the fruition choices of different stakeholders and increase their engagement levels with these places.

The uniqueness of these LTSs is recognized by Pino et al. who thus purport that future studies should consider other LTSs in a variety of geographical locations. Researchers could also investigate which factors are likely to impact most on fruition choices.

To read the full article enter 10.1108/JPBM-03-2014-0528 into your search engine.

(A précis of the article “Perceived images and vocations of local territorial systems: implications for place branding strategies”. Supplied by Marketing Consultants for Emerald.)