Research Colloquium
13 February 2013
A one-day workshop, suitable for students of place management and branding and early career researchers in the area to develop their research proposals, presentations skills and learn how to get published. In addition, those attending the colloquium, who have a paper accepted in the conference, have an opportunity to compete for one of the ‘best new researcher’ slots in the full conference programme. Continue reading
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Humboldt University Berlin, Unter den Linden
by Ares Kalandides
There is something very symbolic about the way that the two Humboldt brothers perch in front of the main University building that bears their name in Berlin. Academia sits on a pedestal as a “grand seigneur”. This demonstration of both upper class and masculinity is not a coincidence. It is the guiding principle behind the academic world – at least in Germany. I will not talk about the frightingly low percentages of women among academics in higher positions; or about the still strong class and ethnicity bias in German universities; not even about the patriarchal relations that reproduce academic traditions in this country. There is enough evidence about all of that for anybody who cares to research. I would like to report from my own experience, at the borderline between an academic and a consultant, trying to reflect upon fake dichotomies. Continue reading
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Special Edition: Roots – Politics – Methods
Conference Proceedings
The book is now available for download under www.inpolis.de
The first two International Place Branding Conferences have provided a highly valuable input into the still emerging field of place branding. In Berlin 2008 and Bogotá 2011, scholars, practitioners, and city representatives came together to discuss various aspects related to the branding of places. A ‘common language’ among the different disciplines has been sought and different perspectives on the issue have been examined. The conferences provided important insights to the subthemes of place branding, but open questions remained. These questions deal with the general understanding of what the place branding profession does as distinguished from affiliated fields, such as place marketing or city management. Conference participants urged to solve the ambiguities in the analytical understanding of place branding.
It is for these unsolved issues that the format of a special session was developed for the International Place Branding Conference. Scholars and practitioners met in Utrecht January 2012 to approach place branding from a theoretical and methodological standpoint. Keynote lectures, paper sessions and panel discussions contributed to a more precise understanding of the definition, concepts, and roots of place branding. Also, the special session helped in enriching the dialogue between various actors from different disciplines.
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Link to site: Place Management and Branding Conference.
Place branding, place management, place marketing, strategic spatial development, public-private place partnerships, all synonyms describing one thing – the application of business principles to place. The language and conventions of business have spread across the world, to places of all scales, from district centre management through to nation branding. This widespread extension of market principles to places (districts, towns, cities, regions, countries and even continents) is not without critics, with many economists explaining that it is firms that compete not places. Nevertheless, those charged with place leadership chant the mantra of place competition, hence the expanding business of place. Continue reading
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Conference venue: The new Business School of the Manchester Metropolitan University.
Manchester Metropolitan University 13th-16th February 2013
The Business of Place: Critical, practical and pragmatic perspectives
Conference Chairs: Professor Cathy Parker and Dr. Ares Kalandides
Place branding, place management, place marketing, strategic spatial development, public-private place partnerships, all synonyms describing one thing – the application of business principles to place. The language and conventions of business have spread across the world, to places of all scales, from district centre management through to nation branding. This widespread extension of market principles to places (districts, towns, cities, regions, countries and even continents) is not without critics, with many economists explaining that it is firms that compete not places. Nevertheless, those charged with place leadership chant the mantra of place competition, hence the expanding business of place.
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From the Guest Editorial by Ares Kalandides, Mihalis Kavaratzis and Martin Boisen:
This is a special edition of the International Place Branding Conference series and the third special issue of the Journal of Place Management and Development dedicated to the conference. The two previous special issues have proven to be valuable reference points in recent place branding literature. Since the first International Place Branding Conference in Berlin in 2008, a particularly interesting tendency can be noted. In the beginning, the discussion had focused on the general discrepancies in place branding conceptualisations and approaches to its practical implementation. While, of course, these issues remain important and not entirely clarified, it seems that we are now ready to move towards a more elaborate discussion of partial issues. A certain amount of clarity and agreement has indeed been achieved. In this special issue a set of significant issues that affect the whole place branding endeavour are examined. The papers elaborate all of the conference’s themes: the roots and politics of place branding, analytical and assessment methodology as well as the relationship between culture and place branding….
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Utrecht. Photo by Marinda Scaramanga
by Valentin Schipfer
What does Place Branding actually mean? Is the theoretic fundament clear or is it questionable? Can already more clarity be provided in its definitions and methods? Is there some progress made in this field by the scientific community? Into which directions has this field developed? Are there any new influences to this interdisciplinary discourse? All these self-reflecting questions were asked by the community during the International Place Branding Conference Special Edition in Utrecht from 20th to 21st of January 2012. Of course not all of them could be answered at once. Continue reading
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From left to right: Jan Brown, Greg Ashworth, Robert Govers, Martin Boisen, Keith Dinnie, Ares Kalandides
by Ares Kalandides
With my impressions on the Special Edition on the Place Branding still fresh, both exhausted and enthusiastic after two days of intensive work, I will try to sum up my thoughts from the event, more or less as I presented them in the closing panel:
There were two issues that came up during the conference, one to be expected the other rather a surprise. The first was about the nature of Place Branding – and by extension of place itself. Are we dealing with the real place or with perceptions of place? And could we call the former place identity and the latter place image? Now the ones who follow my research will know that I have written repeatedly about place identity (1) and that I am still intrigued by the many different ways the term is used. Continue reading
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Dear Colleagues,
We are happy to announce that the finalized programme is now online for the International Place Branding Conference «Roots – Politics – Methods» to be held in Utrecht, Netherlands, between 20th and 21st January 2012.
Please visit the official conference website (http://de.amiando.com/FNFBVAT.html?page=594081) and click on the “programme tab”. Also, please note that papers written by multiple authors will be presented by the author with a “*” appearing next to their name.
If you have any questions about the programme, do not hesitate to contact Verena Röber at (conference@inprojectis.com)
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Dear Colleagues,
We are happy to announce that the registration for the International Place Branding Conference «Roots – Politics – Methods» to be held in Utrecht, Netherlands, between 20th and 21st January 2012, is now open.
You can find the official conference registration tool here: http://de.amiando.com/FNFBVAT.html.
Please check the conference website around October 15th for further information regarding travel and accommodation.
Registration for authors presenting their paper at the conference ends 20th October 2011.
Registration for conference attendants (non-presenters) ends January 5th, 2012.
Please feel free to forward this information to anyone who might be interested in attending the conference.
If you have any questions, do not hesitate to contact the conference secretariat Verena Röber.
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