It's well recognized that the goal of place branding, in general, is to achieve tangible economic dividends coupled with greater political and diplomatic maneuverability.
Additionally, it's established that place branding efforts tend to target wider audiences. They do not operate in short-term cycles, but rather engage in long-term strategic efforts to effectively manage and enhance a specific place’s reputation, performance, and brand-promise delivery.
The endeavor is meant to demonstrate, on an emotional and experiential level, that a specific place is attractive and relevant — simultaneously.
Most places, especially nations, remain fixated on the need to "win" more political support.
Thus, they exemplify their unhealthy fixation by engaging in public debate. In the process, they tend to deploy legal and historical arguments. These arguments are mostly viewed, especially by younger demographics, as "cold" and "clinical," failing to create that much-anticipated emotional resonance.
To be able to succeed in today's competitive world, it is imperative for places to focus on being attractive, rather than just being "right."
What is the difference between a political campaign and branding?
A campaign has a short-term goal with a specific deadline in mind. The message changes from campaign to campaign. Place branding is strategic, long-term and never-ending in nature; and does not include very many actual campaigns. While a specific campaign can be adapted to suit the needs of a specific target audience, all campaigns within the branding process must support the overall brand concept.
Place branding efforts are unique, not because they tend to use different content or messaging but rather because they use different methods.
Many places, especially national governments, still rely on the classic advocacy model of telling people why the place is good or right, continuing to employ an inadequate self-congratulatory public affairs method.
The truth is that it did not work to begin with, at least not since the emergence of mass media. Ultimately, the goal of place branding is to direct all efforts and resources towards a single essence that the place would like to project. As one example, Austin, Texas works tirelessly to demonstrate its uniqueness — being "weird."
Place branding is meant to create a persona that people can relate to — and believe in — by "walking the talk" at home. The most effective way for places as brands to build their reputation (and persona) is by supporting their brand essence with infrastructure that turns the promise into action. For example, Bilbao and Sidney, are two places that have invested heavily in city-wide infrastructure to enhance their overall brand.
Ambassador Ido Aharoni serves as a global distinguished professor at New York University’s School of International Relations in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences. Ambassador Aharoni is a 25-year veteran of Israel’s Foreign service, a public diplomacy specialist, founder of the Brand Israel program and a well-known nation branding practitioner. He is the founder of Emerson Rigby Ltd., an Israel-based consultancy firm specializing in non-product branding and positioning. Ambassador Aharoni, who served as Israel's longest serving consul-general in New York and the tristate area for six years, oversaw the operations of Israel’s largest diplomatic mission worldwide. Ambassador Aharoni joined Israel’s Foreign Service in the summer of 1991 and held two other overseas positions in Los Angeles (1994-1998) and in New York (2001-2005). He is a graduate of Tel Aviv University (Film, TV, Sociology and Social Anthropology) and Emerson College (Master’s in Mass Communications and Media Studies). At the Hebrew University in Jerusalem he attended the special Foreign Service program in Government and Diplomacy. To reach more of his reports — Click Here Now.
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