06/01/14 Colourful logos, dark realities | places | brands

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Colourful logos, dark realities

Posted by Eduardo Oliveira on Jan 5, 2014 in Articles, City Brand, Nation Brand | 0 comments

The top five most-read articles on PlacesBrands motivated me to write this post, along with some disquieting

thoughts I’d been having. I want to follow up on my thoughts about the application of branding techniques to

places, in particular by highlighting elements often hidden by scholars and misunderstood by practitioners.Nowadays, policy makers and practitioners tend to apply place branding as a ‘magical tool’ to solve

everyday challenges. But that application has pitfalls that should be carefully contextualised, not randomly

applied.

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photo credit: Arktekt via photopin cc

Place branding is not a magic solution

As a geographer researching place branding, I recently found myself confused about practical developmentsin place branding. Confused, and struggling to find a consistent storyline between the outputs of placebranding strategies, and the reality of places. This mismatch, in my view, brings traps and pitfalls. One trap of

place branding is the fact that everyone thinks they know what it means, because we confront brands daily inthe shopping mall or supermarket. Treating a place as if it were a branded product does not apparently seem

to be a major step in logic.

Adopting branding as a magic solution for a bewildering diversity of economic and social ailments in placescould sound like a paradox at the heart of place branding. Place management authorities often take the wrong

approach. They should first improve their places and then do the marketing. But it seems that policy makersare more focused more on the potential effects of a colourful logo and joyful strapline. In many cases, they

focus on these superficial marketing tools and less on their own communities, which often experience manytroublesome issues that do not enhance place reputation.

From traps to topophobia

Place branding commentators repeatedly point out that logos and slogans are insignificant in meaningful place

branding. But practitioners and policymakers continue to spend money and effort on them. In my view, this isnot the most outrageous approach. For example, I wonder about the sense of designing a colourful logo if thegovernment is still oppressive to the gay community. Or even, what is the sense of creating a catchy strapline,

aimed at attracting foreign investment, if there are non-incentives to the development of local business or alack of equal opportunities to access funding?

In our globalised environment we are bombarded every day by unrequested ads that attempt to communicate

place brands, mostly for tourism purposes but also for investment. The international mainstream media talksabout investment possibilities in Macedonia or Kosovo, Incredible India, the Winter Olympics Games in

Sochi or the tourism potential of Cambodia.

I can’t call these campaigns examples of place branding. They are simply place promotion and in some casesdangerous propaganda where taxpayers’ money has been wasted. Rather than communicate place

uniqueness, the contemporary place promotion exercises only express more of the same. Instead of

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enhancing the love of place, topophobia – fear of place, may be produced.

photo credit: Pink Sherbet Photography via photopin cc

From love to fear: phobias in branding places

People’s attitude towards certain places depends greatly on their perceptions and personal experiences.Feelings about a place are often produced through books, travel guides, documentaries, visual arts, television

and the internet. But instead of creating or maintaining interest, a place also risks developing a sort of phobia.Place authorities play a crucial role in this context. I ask again, what is the sense of branding the tourismpotential of Cambodia when the country faces a dark reality of human trafficking? Or do Russia’s branding

efforts make any sense when the policy making is clearly against equal rights and full respect of the LGBT

community?

Oppression of inhabitants generates fear and distrust. It directly contradicts the aim of a successful place

branding exercise. Branding places should encourage love of a place, enhancing the intimate relationship

between humans and the places to which they are attached. The basic steps of success for place brandingexercises recognises the need to engage communities and include them in the process, not unrest them.

Place brands only have value if they are created by everybody. If this process is fuzzy a topophobia may be

generated. This means that repulsive feelings regarding a place might be created in the mind of people. Ipersonally feel repelled, not attracted, by places that clearly do not respect the rights of their own citizens.

A mismatch between place branding exercises, and the hopes of communities for a better future plus the

expectations of the outside could make a place brand empty in nature and spirit. These ‘phobias’ in brandingplaces reflect my thoughts regarding the inequalities between place promotion and the reality of places. We

have witnessed countries condemning the gay community and even going as far as implementing anti-gay

laws.

In some cases places are wasting opportunities and money to make things right. The inside environment must

be ready before it can be positioned and marketed to the outside world. A more liberal attitude towards full

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freedom of their population naturally enhances place reputation and makes a place more attractive. Improve a

place, from physical elements to legislation and symbolic assets, is the best way to position a place.

Does it still makes sense to use place branding in countries which do not respect every single human being? Is

the world able to visit, live, invest, develop entrepreneur projects in places where the basic human rights are

knocked down every day? I personally wonder about the value of a brand when primary rights of citizens,

freedom of expression and behaviour are condemned by place authorities. I would rather settle in a place thatprotects and treats everyone, instead of a place that treats its own community differently.

photo credit: Darwin Bell via photopin cc

Not only sense of place, the place should also make sense

Another trap of branding places is the frequent failure of branding campaigns to meet expectations. Instead,

the place’s distinct assets often deteriorate as a result of homogenisation and standardisation. The sense ofplace begins to decline. The distant feelings of communities regarding a place or the decay of the ‘genius loci’

also has impact on the way the external audience perceive a place. They may perceive it as only a

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geographical location, or a place without spirit, and empty of human relationships. So a place should makesense as a place by taking all the ‘dwellers’ in deep consideration. When successful, a feeling of happiness

upon a place is created.

A recent article emphasised the proactive attitude of the mayor of Reykjavik, the capital city of Iceland,regarding the desire to host the 2017 World OutGames of the Gay and Lesbian International Sport

Association (GLISA). Reykjavik lost the hosting bid to Miami, but the city’s reputation has been reinforced.

Videos and blog posts show the excitement of the population and the depth of their involvement.

Ensuring the well-being and pride of local communities is of core value when conducting a place branding

initiative. Places that strike a balance between more profitable goals and the needs of their population are

more likely to be successful in their branding efforts.

Challenging notions of inclusion, tolerance, and equity

Well-being is fundamental but inhabitants should also feel they belong to the place. If so, they are more likely

to share that feeling with those close to them. As a snowball effect more people will try to stay or to visit andthe reputation will be improved. But some places are doing exactly the opposite . Countries currently doing

branding exercises may be affected by ‘negative internalities’. This includes a lack of tolerance regarding

sexual orientation of citizens, a lack of equity of treatment in terms of civil rights and a lack of inclusion andintegration of all social groups and their needs.

Place brands are designed to reveal the positive side. But it is dangerous is to hide the negative side without

attempting to solve it. Attempts to position a place in a globalised market environment could lead to nowherein particular. Place branding might be seen as a profitable exercise for those who drastically need the

reinforced image but could have disastrous consequences as well.

The practice of place branding continues the ‘logo fetish’, following branding fashion, ignoring realities oroppressing those that should be involved in any single effort of place branding. Many practical examples put

their faith in the false powers of logos, slogans or media campaigns, diverting focus, wasting resources and

effort from what actually is important in place branding.

Concentrating the assets of a place in the design of a logo or slogan can be highly controversial, ineffective

and often leads to very bleak concepts as a result of applying common denominators. So it is no surprise

when inhabitants reject the branding exercises of their place authorities. A successful place branding initiative

is the one that can ‘fix the bug’, one that can overlap the traps and build engagement with stakeholders andcommunities, as well as with the outside world. It should be tolerate, inclusive, promote equality and generate

the kind of desirable engagement that is impossible to replicate elsewhere. This is one reason why place

branding efforts that apply the ‘I’ such as ‘I Love New York’, ‘I AMsterdam’ or ‘I Feel Slovenia’ becamesuccessful.

Successful place branding exercises should be developed using future thinking, creativity and respect.

Respect for people, making the inhabitants feel proud of living there, but not ignoring ‘dark’ realities such ashuman traffic, or prostitution.

Without solving internal issues any place branding effort is doomed to failure.

New Year’s resolution #56: follow PlacesBrands!

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Eduardo Oliveira (5 Posts)

Eduardo is a Ph.D. candidate at the Department of Spatial Planning & Environment, Faculty of Spatial Sciences, University of

Groningen, The Netherlands. He was born in Braga, Portugal, and studied Geography and Planning at the University of Minho,

Portugal. Then, he completed a post-degree in Tourism and Regional Development at the Portuguese Catholic University and he

currently holds a M.Sc. in Marketing and Strategic Management from the School of Economics and Management, University of Minho

and University Sains Malaysia. His work focuses on the theory and practice of place branding in strategic spatial planning.

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