The Role of a City Council in a Place Branding Campaign: The Case of Vic in Catalonia

Xavier Ginesta, Jordi de-San-Eugenio-Vela, José-Antonio Corral-Marfil and Jordi Montaña
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Xavier Ginesta: Department of Communication, University of Vic-Central University of Catalonia, Sagrada Família 7, 08500 Vic, Barcelona, Spain
Jordi de-San-Eugenio-Vela: Department of Communication, University of Vic-Central University of Catalonia, Sagrada Família 7, 08500 Vic, Barcelona, Spain
José-Antonio Corral-Marfil: Department of Economics and Business, University of Vic-Central University of Catalonia, Sagrada Família 7, 08500 Vic, Barcelona, Spain
Jordi Montaña: ESADE, Ramon Llull University, Av. Pedralbes 60-62, 08034 Barcelona, Spain

Sustainability, 2020, vol. 12, issue 11, 1-15

Abstract: The fundamental goal of this article is to show the implications that place branding has for regional public management through a case study of the brand “Vic, a city with a human dimension” [Vic, ciutat a la mesura humana, in Catalan language], a project commissioned by the city council of Vic and carried out by the city’s university (University of Vic-Central University of Catalonia). Vic is the capital of the Osona region, in the centre of Catalonia, with a population of 45,040 inhabitants. Methodologically, this research utilised 14 focus group discussions, two in-depth interviews and a survey addressed to citizens and answered by 855 people. In regards to results, the research shows that the practice of place branding transcends the traditional action areas of place marketing and place promotion, in order to be fully integrated in the region’s overall management policies, that is to say, its urban governance. The article also concludes that the processes of conceptualisation and implementation of new place brands must be framed within a bottom-up approach, integrating all the stakeholders (public–private cooperation) in the decision-making process.

Keywords: place branding; city branding; public branding; urban governance; public–private cooperation; Vic; Catalonia (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

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