PASOS. Revista de Turismo y Patrimonio Cultural ISSN: 1695-7121 [email protected] Universidad de La Laguna España Rizzi, Paolo; Dioli, Ilaria From Strategic Planning to City Branding: Some Empirical Evidence in Italy PASOS. Revista de Turismo y Patrimonio Cultural, vol. 8, núm. 3, 2010, pp. 39-49 Universidad de La Laguna El Sauzal (Tenerife), España Available in: http://www.redalyc.org/articulo.oa?id=88112773005 How to cite Complete issue Scientific Information System More information about this article Network of Scientific Journals from Latin America, the Caribbean, Spain and Portugal Journal's homepage in redalyc.org Non-profit academic project, developed under the open access initiative Vol. 8 Special Issue págs. 39-49. 2010 www.pasosonline.org From Strategic Planning to City Branding: Some Empirical Evidence in Italy i Paolo Rizzi ii Ilaria Dioli Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore (Italy) Abstract: In a globalized world where places compete with each other, the image of the city plays a crucial role to attract tourists and investors, and to make citizens stay with satisfaction and avoid their moving away. By exploring the connections and implications between theory and empirical outcomes of some Italian cities as to its attractiveness for tourists and investors, this paper intends to offer a useful overview both for academicians and practitioners. The purpose is not only to go through the extensive literature on strategic planning place marketing and city branding, but to focus specifically on some Italian cases (Turin, Genoa, Venice, Piacenza), where the application of the above mentioned instruments has provided interesting results to compare. Keywords: Strategic planning; Place marketing; City branding; Events hosting; Tourism and foreign direct investment attraction. Resumen: En un mundo global en el que los sitios compiten entre ellos, la imagen de la ciudad juega un papel crucial para atraer turistas e inversores, y para conseguir que los ciudadanos se queden satisfechos y evitar su desplazamiento. A través de la exploración de conexiones e implicaciones entre la teoria y los resultados empíricos obtenidos en varias ciudades italianas en relación a su atractivo para turistas e in- versores, este artículo pretende ofrecer una útil visión general para académicos y profesionales. El obje- tivo es no sólo el de revisar la extensa literatura de la planificación estratégica en marketing y el proceso de marca de las ciudades, sino también es el de concentrarse específicamente en algunos casos italianos (Turín, Génova, Venecia y Piacenza), donde la aplicación de los instrumentos mencionados ha propor- cionado resultados interesantes para comparar. Palabras clave: Planificación estratégica; Marketing de sitios; Marca de ciudades; Patrocinio de even- tos; Atracción de los fondos extranjeros de inversión directos de turismo. i Director of Laboratory of Local Economy (LEL) at the Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore – Piacenza; [email protected]. ii Researcher of Laboratory of Local Economy (LEL) at the Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore – Piacenza; [email protected]. © PASOS. Revista de Turismo y Patrimonio Cultural. ISSN 1695-7121 40 From Strategic Planning to City Branding Introduction intangible elements play a crucial role for a successful image renewal. According to a In the contemporary globalized econ- cross-fertilizations of themes, where many omy, cities are in great competition and try different fields of studies combine together, as best they can to attract investments, cities can change their former look, become business, residents and tourists, and to vibrant hubs and thus attract the class improve citizens’ satisfaction. In order to Florida (2000) called “creative”. Nowadays, deal with this competition, which puts un- more than ever, what is really important is der pressure not only enterprises but also no longer the purchase and consumption of territorial areas, they use different tools: goods, but rather the aesthetic consensus strategic plan adoption, place marketing obtained through strategies to create and strategies and city branding actions, as promote a new identity built on symbolic well as event hosting. Where all these ele- dimensions and shared emotions. ments are well managed and governed, the potentials to obtain good results are defi- Strategic Planning and Place Marketing: nitely higher. Triggering the Process Some Italian cases have been chosen to exemplify such practices, tools and tech- In the framework of such complex proc- niques, outlining relevant topics for further esses, urban planning plays an essential research, critical reflections and discus- role through its local actors who define sions about the measurement of relevant visions and lines to change and improve a results and outcomes. In the second part of city. Strategic planning has substituted the this paper, devoted to empirical data, there traditional government approach with gov- is an attempt to evaluate what is described ernance, an instrument to improve com- theoretically in the first part. The cities petitiveness by building a shared perspec- taken into consideration - Turin, Genoa, tive among the local stakeholders on eco- Venice and Piacenza - are different on di- nomic and social levels (Lindblom, 1975; mensions, history and processes under- Friend & Jessop, 1977; Faludi, 1984). Aim- taken, but it is interesting to try to define ing at stimulating and coordinating – ac- among these case studies the ones which cording to a bottom-up framework – the obtained the best results. That is why some city development processes, all actors of the findings have been provided in order to local community are involved in order to compare and evaluate the goals reached in reach a consensus (Bryson, 1988; Houghton terms of attraction of investments and & Counsell, 2004). Strategic plans, charac- tourists, and in relation to the level of resi- terized by medium- and long-term visions dents’ contentment. and grounded on a voluntary basis, have From a methodology point of view, open taken various forms according to the differ- interviews to each case’s operators have ent situations where they were produced been made, local administrators belonging (Perulli, 2004; Borelli, 2005). When it was to the economic and tourism sectors and first adopted – San Francisco was one of development agencies have been contacted the very first American cities to carry it on and met, and existing documents have been between 1982 and 1984 –, strategic plan- analysed (i.e. strategic plans, advertise- ning belonged almost exclusively to big ment campaigns, etc). On a more quantita- metropolitan areas facing a need for inter- tive level, each case has been studied national re-positioning and improving per- through data comparisons in order to esti- formances. In Italy, it has been applied a mate some policies’ effects, mainly through couple of decades after its application in tourism and Foreign Direct Investments other European cities (Barcelona, Lille, (FDI) attraction provided by the Italian Bilbao, Lyon) and it has taken into consid- National Institute of Statistics (the Istat) eration not only large but also middle-size figures. cities. Another aspect that has been pondered In this paper, some interesting Italian on is the weight of creativity on re-thinking cases have been chosen to illustrate the the design of the city. The immaterial and different kinds of planning they have un- PASOS. Revista de Turismo y Patrimonio Cultural, 8(3) Special Issue. 2010 ISSN 1695-7121 Paolo Rizzi and Ilaria Dioli 41 dergone and the instruments they have an understanding of the total complexity of decided to use according to the overall vi- the place product, such as its geography, sion of every single city. history and local economic system. Place Turin has been one of the first Italian marketing tries to put the basis of this dia- cities to adopt a strategic plan (2000), trig- logue between the local and an essential gering a virtuous process on different lev- international openness and to make supply els. Drawn up in collaboration with both and demand meet. Good place marketing public and private representatives, it out- contributes to create a favourable location lines six strategic guidelines – with objec- to attract capitals, talents and investments, tives and actions – and eighty-four pro- and to limit the risk of “commodification”. jects, aiming especially at integrating the Unlike Turin, Genoa did not really have metropolitan area within the international a strategic plan but started a programme system. Since then, Torino Internazionale shared and coordinated by public actors is the association that has been implement- and private stakeholders, and carried on ing the process. It encompasses a lean precise place marketing actions within the structure with few officers, but with a large whole process. A specific Committee was number of collaborators and many private chaired by the Mayor and included repre- and public partners. Its mission is to pro- sentatives of the Region and Province, the mote strategic planning methods, monitor University, the Chamber of Commerce and its actions, organize specific workshops, the Port Authority. The management in all communicate the plan’s results and en- of its aspects was deferred first to a society courage the citizenship participation. The called Porto Antico, then to an agency mission of the second strategic plan (2005- named Waterfront & Territorio, which be- 2010) is to transform Torino into a knowl-