In the contemporary world, place branding is rapidly assuming the status of
a universal solution for the challenges presented by place competition. This
flawed thinking is the result of many misconceptions of its practice and its
limitations. Certainly during the last decade, the role of place reputation
management and public diplomacy in policy, strategy and operational contexts
has become increasingly important in national, regional and local governments’
attempts to improve, adapt or manage international place image,
and to inform and influence the perceptions of target audiences. Now is the
time, we suggest, to re-examine definitions of place brands and to develop
robust theoretical frameworks if the field is to move beyond its current status
as a fragmented area of enquiry dominated by case studies. In particular, we
call for greater dialogues between those schooled in cultural/ethnographic
approaches and those steeped in economic/marketing/management traditions
if the field is to address the relationships between place brands and issues
such as authenticity, authorship, performativity, cultural memory, contested
heritages and sense of place.