Abstract
This chapter discusses the impact technology and the internet have had on the reputations of places, how online tools are used in place branding and what the future might look like. The discussion is interspersed with case studies such as Queensland’s Best Job in the World campaign, the @Sweden Twitter rotation account, the Province of Limburg, Netherlands, and social media analysis on Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Qatar. It is concluded that because of the importance of personal experience and word-of-mouth in place marketing, information technologies and social media will soon replace mainstream media advertising as the main tool for ‘branding’. Today, however, technology is still too often used in place branding as an end in itself, in order to reflect commoditised virtual brand values of modernity, openness and innovation, as opposed to being a tool to reflect meaningful, distinctive, relevant and real brand values through substance and symbolic actions.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Aaker DA, Joachimsthaler E (2000) Brand leadership. The Free Press, New York
Anholt S (2007) Competitive identity: the new brand management for nations, cities and regions. Palgrave MacMillan, Basingstoke
Anholt S (2010) Places: identity, image and reputation. Palgrave Macmillan, Basingstoke
Anholt S, Govers R, Hildreth J (2012) Competitive identity Limburg. Limburg Provincial Government, The Netherlands
Beerli A, Martín JD (2004) Factors influencing destination image. Ann Tour Res 31(3):657–681
Christensen C (2013) @Sweden: curating a nation on Twitter. Pop Commun 11(1):30–46
Dhar R, Wertenbroch K (2000) Consumer choice between hedonic and utilitarian goods. J Mark Res 37(1):60–71
ETC/UNWTO (2013) Handbook on E-marketing for tourism destinations, 2nd edn. World Tourism Organization, Madrid
Fouts J (2010) Impact of social media and immersive spaces on place branding. In: Go FM, Govers R (eds) International place branding yearbook 2010, vol 1. Palgrave Macmillan, Basingstoke, pp 113–120
Gallarza MG, Gil Saura I, Calderon Garcia H (2002) Destination image: towards a conceptual framework. Ann Tour Res 29(1):56–78
Gartner WC (1993) Image formation process. J Travel Tour Mark 2(2/3):191–215
Govers R (2012) Brand Dubai and its competitors in the Middle East: an image and reputation analysis. Place Branding Publ Dipl 8(1):48–57
Govers R, Go FM (2009) Place branding: glocal, virtual and physical, identities constructed, imagined and experienced. Palgrave Macmillan, Basingstoke
Govers R, Go FM, Kumar K (2007) Promoting tourism destination image. J Travel Res 46(1):15–23
Hildreth J (2010) Place branding: a view at arm’s length. Place Branding Publ Dipl 6(1):27–35
Hirschman EC, Holbrook MB (1982) Hedonic consumption: emerging concepts, methods and propositions. J Mark 46(3):92–101
Leemans H (1994) The multiform book: using information in purchasing hedonic products. Eburon, Delft
Munro J (2011) The digital challenge. In: Morgan N, Pritchard A, Pride R (eds) Destination brands: managing place reputation, 3rd edn. Butterworth-Heinemann, Oxford, pp 141–154
Sirakaya E, Woodside AG (2005) Building and testing theories of decision making by travellers. Tour Manage 26(6):815–832
Xiang Z, Gretzel U (2010) Role of social media in online travel information search. Tour Manage 31(2):179–188
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2015 Springer International Publishing Switzerland
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Govers, R. (2015). Rethinking Virtual and Online Place Branding. In: Kavaratzis, M., Warnaby, G., Ashworth, G. (eds) Rethinking Place Branding. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-12424-7_6
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-12424-7_6
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-12423-0
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-12424-7
eBook Packages: Business and EconomicsBusiness and Management (R0)