Alex Deffner

Planning culture and time in a mega-event: Thessaloniki as the European city of culture in 1997

Abstract This paper addresses the growing importance of mega-events in urban cultural development, focusing on the atypical example of the European Cities of Culture, in particular Thessaloniki in 1997. The launch of the event demonstrates the significance of the international role of cultural activities in urban and economic regeneration. Comparison of the evaluation of Thessaloniki before and after the event demonstrates a lack of strategic planning, particularly cultural and time planning, resulting in a variety of interconnected problems such as the construction of flagship projects, the lack of a city marketing perspective and the need for a tourism policy.

Developing place marketing pilot plans: the cases of Rostock and Kainuu

The purpose of this paper is to pinpoint the role of place marketing in the fields of tourism, culture, and business, through the development of place marketing pilot plans (PMPPs) for two places in northern Europe: the city of Rostock in Germany and the region of Kainuu in Finland. Specifically, the analysis is based on the combination of two basic marketing models, the Ashworth & Voogd (1990) model and the Kotler et al. (1999) model, aiming to present a methodological tool that could be effective for the successful promotion of a places image throughout its external environment. The data are provided from the INTERREG IIIc Project CultMark. The paper contributes to research in two ways: (a) by displaying an integrated methodological approach with specific phases of planning and supporting the image of a place, and (b) by amplifying current views according to which place marketing implementation is not simply an occasional procedure. The case studies used support the above arguments.

Using Critical Path Analysis (Cpa) in Place Marketing Process: a Methodological Approach in the Case of Rostock, Germany

The article awards the use of CPA as a methodological tool in Place Marketing implementation. Taking into account that Place Marketing is a strategic process based on ‘project’ meaning with particular actions in specific time horizon, the article proposed that CPΑ has the capacity to satisfy this hypothesis. For this reason, the article creates a hypothetical scenario of CPA in four phases, planning, programming, implementation and feedback, taking as a case study the city of Rostock in Germany. The analysis shows that CPA is an important tool for Place Marketing since Place Marketing implementation receives the character of ‘project’ in particular time horizon.

Marketing the National Marine Park image in Greece.

ABSTRACT The purpose of this paper is to uncover the importance of the combination of the global promotion of the image of the Alonnisos National Marine Park through place marketing procedures. The main source used is a research program carried out by the Laboratory of Tourism Planning, Research and Policy from the Department of Planning and Regional Development, University of Thessaly. The goals of the program are the incorporation of the park into an international network of tourism promotion aimed at the strengthening and specialization of tourist attractions, as well as the development of the politics of dialogue between the relevant organisations and the local population.

The development of planning education and its relation to the belated start of geography teaching in Greek Universities

Abstract Planning and geography teaching in Greek Universities has until very recently been extremely limited. Moreover, there were no planning and geography departments, which contrasted with the substantial research in the field since 1960. The subject of space was insufficiently covered by a number of courses offered unsystematically by various departments of the Greek Universities. Among them the most comprehensive coverage was given by the Departments of Architecture and Rural and Surveying Engineering. Space related courses were usually complementary to the core courses of the departments offering them. What was of primary importance to the way geography was taught was the scientific approach adopted by each department, and not the scientific subject. Students were often taught geography concurrently with subjects which did not allow for spatial differentiation. A pivotal question to be answered here is why planning and geography teaching has been so neglected in Greek Universities. The recent estab...

Landscape, Culture and Place Marketing—The International Dance Festival in Kalamata, Greece

This paper aims to analyse the interaction of landscape, culture and special events and the impact of this intangible relationship to a tangible level in a place. The paper begins with a theoretical analysis of the concepts of landscape, culture, special events, place marketing and cultural tourism that are relevant to the topic of this research. The theoretical framework is followed by the case study of the International Dance Festival in Kalamata. Special events, as place demonstration action, allow a place to promote its comparative advantages and upgrade its tourist product. Thus, special events influence landscape. The International Dance Festival in Kalamata, which has been going on for 22 years, has shaped city’s cultural identity and therefore its landscape. This paper provides a new perspective regarding the way that culture and place marketing can influence landscape.

WHAT ARE PUBLIC RELATIONS DOING IN A 'PLACE' LIKE PLACE MARKETING? A PROPOSED PUBLIC RELATIONS PLAN (PRP) FOR THE REGION OF KAINUU, FINLAND

Public relations constitute one of the core tools of place marketing. The aim of this paper is to analyse a proposed Public Relations Plan (PRP) for the region of Kainuu, Finland. This plan is strategic and focuses on the effective communication with all the actors that are active in Kainuu, aiming also to contribute to its sustainable tourism development. The PRP is separated in two sub-PRPs. The first one is related to the internal environment of Kainuu focusing on the planning and implementation of particular actions that strengthen the active participation of the internal groups (enterprises, public organisations, citizens etc) in the promotion of the region’s image and, consequently, in the region’s tourism marketing. The second one has the same logic but is more complicated, since it is related to the external environment of Kainuu. The data are derived from the INTERREG IIIC project CultMark (Cultural Heritage, Local Identity and Place Marketing for Sustainable Development) that has been in operation in five European places (Nea Ionia, Magnesia-Greece – which was the lead partner – Chester-UK, Rostock/TLMGermany, Kainuu-Finland, Pafos-Cyprus) from the beginning of 2004 till the end of 2006.