The Role of Place Branding As a Tool of Local Economic Development in Ontario, Canada
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ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT IN THE CONTEMPORARY GLOBAL ENVIRONMENT: THE ROLE OF PLACE BRANDING AS A TOOL OF LOCAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT IN ONTARIO, CANADA (Thesis Format: Monograph) By Evan P Cleave Graduate Program in Geography A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment Of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts The School of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies Western University London, Ontario, Canada © Evan Cleave 2014 Abstract Over the past three decades, place branding has emerged as a strategy for local economic development for municipalities in Canada and globally, as communities seek to (re)assert themselves in a dynamic global economic market. Due to the infancy of the research domain – as it has only been in the last 15 years that place branding has received critical academic attention – there are several major lacunae within the existing scholarship: (i) current research is primarily focussed on Europe; (ii) research has mainly focused on nation branding and the largest urban centres, so place branding within ‘typical’ municipalities is not well understood; (iii) there are few testable models or hypotheses that have been developed; (iv) most is conducted through one-off case studies, and therefore it is difficult to make generalizations or conclusions; and (v) most place branding privileges tourism attraction as the context of study. To expand existing research, a mixed-method approach was adopted drawing on statistical, spatial, and qualitative methods to explore the breadth and depth of the place branding issue in Ontario. Statistical analysis was used to examine the usage and message of place branding in Ontario’s municipalities (n = 414). Spatial analysis examined the underlying spatial pattern of the place brands, and attempted to find potential locations for municipal collaborations. Finally, in-depth interviews were conducted with key stakeholders connected with place branding process to gain insight into the background, rationale, process, and utility of place branding. The results of the three phases of research show that place branding is occurring in a majority of Ontario’s municipalities (in well over 90% municipalities). The distribution of place brands show that they are not random, and that municipalities with similar brands tend to cluster together, providing an opportunity for inter-regional collaborations. Finally, the results show that municipalities are using similar approaches to ensure economic advancement and that place branding is seen as critical component of local development. The findings call for the inclusion of place branding as a local strategy for economic growth; however, it requires readjustment in the brand positioning to allow greater effectiveness in attraction of target audiences. Keywords: Place Branding, Economic Development, Business Attraction, Entrepreneurial City, Policies, Municipalities, Ontario. ii Acknowledgements As I feel this thesis is long enough on its own, I will be brief in my acknowledgements. First, I would like to thank my supervisor, Dr. Godwin Arku, for the support that he has provided over the last two years. The patience and guidance that you provided as I re-entered the domain of urban and political-economic geography was vital if this thesis was ever going to be completed. I appreciate how you allowed me to expand my research and look at the issue of place branding from multiple angles. Your encouragement to pursue writing and publishing my findings has also been a key contributor in shaping both this thesis and my academic interests and research. I look forward to further collaborating on the long list of place branding related research that we have developed. To my defence committee members (Dr. Jason Gililland, Dr. Michael Buzzelli, and Dr. Neil Bradford) I greatly appreciate all your suggestions and recommendations which helped to further strengthen my thesis and consider the issues of place branding from other perspectives. I will also like to take the opportunity to thank all colleague students and staff of the department. It has been a fun ride. In particular, I would like to thank Dr. Rick Sadler for his edits and suggestions in early iterations of my research writing, and for collaborating on place branding research in Michigan’s municipalities. To all the interview participants from the various municipalities, consulting agencies, and site selection firms I am grateful for the perspectives that you have provided. Your insights shaped my perspective on place branding and helped me gain a greater understanding of the state of place branding in Ontario. Also, thank-you to my friends across the province who gave me places to stay (often with little or no notice) as I travelled to meet with the interview participants. Finally, thank-you to my friends and family in Brighton that have put up with my changing academic interests, seemingly never-ending schooling, and general neuroticism as I have figured out what I want to do with my life. iii Table of Content Abstract ........................................................................................................................... ii Acknowledgements ........................................................................................................ iii Table of Content ............................................................................................................ iv List of Figures ................................................................................................................ ix List of Tables .................................................................................................................. x CHAPTER ONE ................................................................................................................ 1 INTRODUCTION .............................................................................................................. 1 1.1 Research Background ........................................................................................... 1 1.2 Statement of Research Problem and Objectives .................................................. 8 1.3 Study Area: Municipalities of Ontario .................................................................... 10 1.3.1 Why Ontario? ................................................................................................... 11 1.3.2 Institutional Context ......................................................................................... 12 1.4 Methodological Approach ...................................................................................... 14 1.5 Conclusion and Outline of Thesis ........................................................................... 18 CHAPTER TWO ............................................................................................................. 21 LITERATURE REVIEW ............................................................................................... 21 2.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................. 21 2.2 A Brief History of Place Branding: From Marketing to Branding ......................... 22 2.2.1 Boosterism ....................................................................................................... 22 2.2.2 Place Branding in the 20th Century .................................................................. 23 2.2.3 Contemporary Place Branding ......................................................................... 25 2.2.4 Developing Place Management ....................................................................... 27 2.3 Integrating Place Branding into Economic Development Strategy ........................ 28 2.4 Place Branding: working towards an understanding .............................................. 32 2.4.1 Components of Place Brands ........................................................................... 38 2.4.2 Types of Place Brands ..................................................................................... 41 2.5 Integrating Place Branding into Geography – Place, Space, and Sense of Place ... 47 2.8 Conclusion .............................................................................................................. 50 CHAPTER THREE ......................................................................................................... 52 THE EXTENT AND CHARACTERISTICS OF PLACE BRANDING IN ONTARIO: A QUANTITATIVE ANALYSIS ................................................................................... 52 iv 3.1 Introduction: Setting the Scene with Descriptive Statistics .................................... 52 3.2 Rationale for Quantitative Research ....................................................................... 54 3.3 Methodology ........................................................................................................... 55 3.3.1 Data Sources .................................................................................................... 55 3.3.1.1 Simple Brand Data Collection ................................................................... 56 3.4 Data Analysis .......................................................................................................... 62 3.4.1 Developing Hypotheses about Municipality Characteristics and Place Branding ................................................................................................................................... 62 3.4.2 Developing a Hypothesis about Actual and Communicated Brand Identities