Beyond Place Branding? The Emergence of Place Reputation: A Comparative Study of NewcastleGateshead, Hull and Bristol Fraser Bell Submitted for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy School of Geography, Politics and Sociology September 2016 i Abstract While it has become widespread in an international context, place branding has reached an impasse in theory and policy alike as several weaknesses have been uncovered: i) places are too complicated to be branded; ii) place brands have lacked breadth in terms of their application; iii) place brands have proved homogenous and indistinctive and; iv) the outcomes and impacts of place brands have proved difficult to measure. This project examines the proposition that the conceptualisation of place branding can be repositioned as part of a more comprehensive and rounded notion of place reputation. Adapting ideas of personal and corporate reputation, an alternative is proposed that argues that places can improve their standing by constructing and accumulating reputational capital with various audiences. The specific aims of the study are: i) to engage critically with the place branding literature and develop a new conceptual and theoretical basis for the emergent idea of place reputation; ii) to map and explain the different stakeholders involved and the way in which they shape the reputations of places and; iii) to compare the differing processes developed in the case-study cities used to form, shape and manage the reputations of cities and regions. The empirical work focuses on three in-depth case studies of second-tier cities in England: NewcastleGateshead, Hull and Bristol. This strengthens the tenuous connections made between reputation and place in the corporate and place branding literatures and transfers the idea of reputational capital to geographical entities, the thesis makes three contributions. First, place reputation and place branding are interrelated and there is a degree of complementarity between branding practices and place reputation. Second, place reputation is a relational concept and the reputations of places need to be understood in relation to particular audiences (e.g. internal, external), sector (e.g. public, private, civic) and/or domain (e.g. economy, culture). Third, the effectiveness of leadership in a city or region can be fundamental to the quality of the reputation of that specific place. ii iii Acknowledgements I would like to begin by thanking all who participated in the study from NewcastleGateshead, Hull and Bristol. First, I am grateful for the support of the NewcastleGateshead Initiative (NGI) for facilitating interviews with key stakeholders here. In Hull, I would like to thank Andy Jonas, David Gibbs and Andrew Dixon for recommending participants in the city. In Bristol, big thanks go to Andrew Kelly of the Bristol Cultural Development Partnership who introduced me to several interviewees at a crucial and late stage of the fieldwork. Also, I would like to thank Marion Rogers for her much appreciated hospitality during my time spent in the South West conducting interviews. Additionally, I would like to thank my supervisory team, especially Andy Pike and Stuart Dawley for the insight, encouragement and reliability demonstrated throughout the duration of the PhD. In addition, I would also like to thank Ray Hudson for his important contributions in the early stages of the study. Also a special mention to staff at the department of Geography, Environment and Earth Sciences (GEES), University of Hull for providing myself with an excellent undergraduate experience which no doubt paved the way to further academic study. Moreover, I would like to thank Kathie Wilcox, Tina Snowball and Sharon McKee who assisted in a supervisory role from the NewcastleGateshead Initiative (NGI) and made significant contributions at various stages in the project. I would like to thank the NewcastleGateshead Initiative (NGI) as a whole, especially for the warm welcome received every time I have visited the office during the last three and a half years. Also, for tasks ranging from tracking down potential participants, to selecting case-studies and allowing me to participate in meetings and their place brand steering group, my time spent with the organisation has greatly benefited my personal development. In this regard, I would also like to thank Ian Thomas and the research team at the organisation for allowing myself to complete an invaluable three month internship towards the end of the PhD. Furthermore, I would like to thank the Centre for Urban and Regional Development Studies (CURDS) for providing a stimulating and thought-provoking research environment, in particular the platform which CURDS internal seminars has supplied in terms of the project’s development. A massive thanks to the Geography Postgraduate Researchers (PGRs) especially those who have helped with the project itself with particular thanks to iv Tom Strickland, Rebecca Richardson, Emil Evenhuis and Anja McCarthy. In addition, a huge thanks to Matt Jenkins for his meticulous approach to proof reading that has played a vital role in the completion of the thesis. Also, the social aspect of the office has been an important part of the last three and a half years and while there are far too many people to mention here that I have enjoyed spending time with, I would like to reserve special thanks for Alex MacLeod and Maddy Thompson. Also I would like to thank my friends at home for their encouragement particularly Stephen Jones who has been undertaking a PhD in chemistry at the same time. Finally, I would like to thank the unwavering support of my family, my father Robin, my sister Alison and my grandmother Betty. This thesis is written for my grandmother Margaret (1926-2015), my mother, Angela (1958-2006) and my pet Rottweiler, Molly (2005-2016) who was sadly put down less than three weeks before completion. v Contents List of figures x List of tables xii Chapter 1 Introduction 1 1.1 Why reputation matters 1 1.2 The research subjects and methods 11 1.3 Structure of the thesis 11 Chapter 2 Beyond place branding 18 2.1 Introducing place 18 2.2 Place branding 24 2.3 Reputation 37 2.4 Placing reputation 44 2.5 Constituent elements 53 2.6 Place reputation framework 58 Chapter 3 Methodology 66 3.1 Introducing the challenges and the requirements of the methodology 66 3.2 Research methods: interviewing local and regional stakeholders 68 3.3 Case-study selection 73 3.4 Research design: introducing the research strategy 93 vi Chapter 4 Reputation 100 4.1 Reputation and place 100 4.2 The elements of place reputation 112 4.3 Understanding varying reputations 120 4.4 Key institutions and their impact upon place reputation 125 4.5 Shaping place reputation 137 4.6 Place reputation and the media 146 Chapter 5 Place branding 153 5.1 Re-evaluating place branding 153 5.2 Relating place branding to reputation management 162 Chapter 6 Culture-led regeneration 171 6.1 Culture-led regeneration and reputation 171 6.2 Culture-led regeneration, policy change and reputation 180 Chapter 7 Governance 189 7.1 Governance and reputation 189 7.2 Local, regional, national upheaval and reputational challenges 202 Chapter 8 Inward investment 215 8.1 Inward investment and reputation 215 8.2 Reputation: attracting and retaining workers and students 225 vii Chapter 9 Conclusion 238 9.1 The “Northern Powerhouse” and continuing place brand cynicism 238 9.2 Summary 240 9.3 Conceptual and theoretical contributions 247 9.4 Limitations and future research 265 References 268 viii ix List of figures Figure 1.1 A map of NewcastleGateshead, Hull and Bristol’s location within England Figure 3.1 A bar chart displaying the populations of prospective English second- tier cities Figure 3.2 A line graph displaying the percentage of population change in English second-tier cities between 1981-2011 Figure 3.3 A bar chart displaying the populations of the respective primary urban areas of English second-tier cities Figure 3.4 A bar chart displaying the population growth of the respective primary urban areas of English second-tier cities between 2001-2011 Figure 3.5 A bar chart displaying the percentage of English second-tier cities population considered to be an ethnic minority Figure 3.6 A bar chart displaying the average indices of multiple deprivation ranking of English second-tier cities Figure 3.7 A bar chart displaying the unemployment rates of English second-tier cities Figure 3.8 A bar chart displaying the percentage of a working-age population in English second-tier cities with degree-level qualifications Figure 4.1 A map displaying the route of the Severn Bridge Railway and the levels of deprivation in Bristol Figure 4.2 A Venn diagram displaying the different elements of a place’s reputation Figure 4.3 A pie chart displaying the political affiliation of Newcastle City Council’s councillors Figure 4.4 A pie chart displaying the political affiliation of Gateshead Metropolitan Borough Council’s councillors x Figure 4.5 A pie chart displaying the political affiliation of Hull City Council’s councillors Figure 4.6 A pie chart displaying the political affiliation of Bristol City Council’s councillors Figure 5.1 An image of the Passionate People, Passionate Places brand used by One North East Figure 5.2 An image of the Hull Cog logo used by Hull Citybuild Figure 7.1 A map of Hull’s boundaries Figure 7.2 A map of Bristol’s boundaries Figure 7.3 A map of NewcastleGateshead’s boundaries Figure 7.4 A map of England’s Regional Development Agencies (RDAs) Figure 8.1 A bar chart displaying the percentages of graduates either gained or lost in the regions of universities of NewcastleGateshead, Hull and Bristol between 2011 and 2014 xi List of tables Table 3.1 Tables showing the percentage of population change in English second- tier cities between 1981-2011.