Community-Focused Place Branding - “The New Dimension” of Place

Insights from Malcolm Allan on the early application of this dimension of place in the development of community focussed place brand strategy.

This is part 1 of a 2 part blog on Malcolm’s early thinking on the development of place branding as a key dimension of place - its planning, implementation and management.

Part 2 is a case study that revisits the development of the Cork City Region brand strategy between 2013 and 2015 which was guided and developed with Malcolm’s thinking on the importance of community engagement in the development, management and implementation of place brand strategy.

A Pioneering Approach Based on Community Engagement and Involvement

Let’s take a moment to get to know Malcolm and how his journey led him to become a leading voice in place branding over his 23 years working in the field of place brand strategy and marketing.

In the constantly evolving world of place branding, practitioners face complex challenges, from securing stakeholder buy-in to ensuring strategies truly reflect the identity and aspirations of a place. Among these challenges, one stands out as a critical success factor - the meaningful involvement of local communities.

This blog post offers an overview of those key challenges, and highlights why community engagement is essential.

Malcolm’s Continuing Journey Pioneering a Better Understanding of Place

Malcolm Allan’s interest in place branding began over 35 years ago when, working as a town planner specialising in the economic development of place, he realized many built environment professionals often overlooked how people truly experience places and how places are managed.

He saw that effective development and management of place requires understanding of what makes places work for those who live, work, and visit there in addition to three dimensional spatial design. 

Malcolm Allan, Co-Founder of the Place Brand Academy

Branding - A New Dimension of Place?

In 2013 he envisaged and termed his evolving thinking on place branding as “The New Dimension of Place” - joining with the other inter-connected dimensions of physical, spatial, cultural and community, one that, 12 years later, is now an established Dimension of Place.

Starting his career just over 50 years ago, when place branding and marketing were virtually unknown terms, Malcolm began to think of places as brands while working on the improvement of local “District and Town Centres” in London (1979 - 1987). Over the following 38 years his initial insights helped him to deeply understand how places develop and function and to formulate early principles of place brand strategy, introducing a new way to view places from a resident, user, consumer and investor perspective. He created an approach to place development and management that resonated with people who live and work there, people who govern and plan places, people who fund and develop places and other built environment professionals.

Today, following seven years as President of Bloom Consulting working internationally on nation and city branding, Malcolm is a Co-Founder of the Place Brand Academy, using his extensive experience to create courses and masterclasses for professionals working in place brand strategy and related fields.

Key Challenges in Place Branding Faced by Place Branding Professionals

Place branding is a complex and evolving field, and professionals working in this area often face a range of challenges that require political nous, strategic thinking, individual specialisms and cross-sector collaboration.

One of the main and ongoing challenges is convincing key stakeholders, in particular fellow professionals in the built environment sectors such as urban planners, architects, surveyors, and real estate agents, of the relevance and importance of place brand strategy and how it can help them work more effectively.

City administrations, including both politicians and their professional staff, need to be properly equipped to truly understand what place brand strategy involves, its purpose, what it can achieve that is distinct from local marketing or advertising efforts, for example:

• Place branding requires rigorous thinking and a structured process, and therefore should not be rushed.

• A successful place brand strategy depends on collaboration between the community, the private sector, and the public sector. 

• People must feel genuinely consulted, actively involved, and see tangible benefits from the process if it is to work and achieve positive results.

In recent years, there have been encouraging developments, particularly a deeper understanding among committed practitioners of the difference between superficial approaches to place branding, such as logos, slogans, and advertising campaigns, and the solid, comprehensive nature of a well researched, well developed and well-executed, professional strategy.

With proper training and access to the right knowledge, processes and tools, place brand professionals are increasingly able to overcome key challenges such as establishing legitimacy for their work, navigating complex political dynamics, and achieving effective stakeholder and wider community engagement.

Community Engagement - The Kernel of a Successful Place Branding Strategy

The involvement of local communities is essential for several reasons.

First and foremost, place brand strategies should be created for their benefit. These are the people, businesses and organisations who live with their place every day. They need to feel that the brand positioning is honest, reflects a shared and authentic reality, and represents their hopes and aspirations for the future development of their place.

They are key investors in the strength of the brand. Taken as a whole, the local population and local businesses play a major role in a place’s development through their spending on goods and services and their contribution to local taxation. They need to feel that the brand is worth investing in, starting with their choice to remain in the area and encouraging others to move there.

They can make or break a place branding strategy, by fully supporting and investing in it, or by ignoring it, leaving the area, or speaking negatively about it if they feel neglected, frustrated, or forgotten. When they are engaged and supportive, local communities add credibility and weight to the brand. They help legitimize the entire branding process.

Part 2 of this blog will look back to 2013-2015 when Malcolm and colleagues in Colliers International and Fuzion Design worked with the County of Cork and the City of Cork in south-west Ireland to develop a City Region Brand through extensive consultation and engagement with people, business and organisations in the area.