Andrea Insch

A great place to live, work and play

Purpose – A citys resident population is strategically the most valuable segment among those targeted by place marketing practitioners. Residents quality of life and their satisfaction with their city of residence should be the ultimate aim of place management. The aim of this paper is, therefore, to develop a conceptualisation of place satisfaction for city residents that can be applied by place managers.Design/methodology/approach – By reviewing prior definitions and conceptualisations of the related concepts of quality of life and satisfaction, a model of city resident place satisfaction is presented.Findings – From a broad survey of the literature, three main fields were identified that have dealt with satisfaction – psychology, sociology and human ecology, and marketing. Drawing on, and integrating insights from, these separate, yet interrelated fields, the concept of resident place satisfaction is established and then the identified components of the working model of resident place satisfaction ar...

When Fit Matters: Leveraging Destination and Event Image Congruence

This article develops a framework for conceptualizing and managing destination and event image congruence. Building on the foundations of Roth and Romeos (1992) product–country image fit matrix, a framework for categorizing the interactions between destination and event image is presented that can be applied to leverage positive, relevant associations and rebalance less positive associations of both types of images. The usefulness of the matrix is shown through an in-depth case study of the image-rebalancing program of the FIFA 2006 host country Germany. This case and others demonstrate the suitability of the framework for managing, and more importantly leveraging, image congruence in this context. Implications for managers and researchers derived from applying the framework are also discussed.

Online communication of Corporate Environmental Citizenship: A study of New Zealand's electricity and gas retailers

This paper presents a study of how companies in New Zealands electricity and gas retail sector communicate their Corporate Environmental Citizenship (CEC) on the World Wide Web. The natural environment is the focal issue for analyzing the way these companies present their commitment to the community and society in general, for two reasons. First, concern for and management of the natural environment is one of the most important social issues facing corporations. Second, prior empirical studies of corporate communication of social responsibility initiatives have investigated the extent and content of these messages without focusing on a particular issue. A content analysis of the web pages of 18 companies in an environmentally sensitive industry was chosen to investigate which environmental issues and stakeholder groups are given priority and how companies attitudes to stakeholders and relationships with them are described. The results demonstrate an instrumental reformist moral position underlying their online communications. This philosophy was present in the environmental issues most frequently mentioned and in the principles motivating their Corporate Environmental Citizenship activities. While the majority of companies presented their environmental initiatives on their web sites, most did not employ interactive features to encourage dialogue with stakeholders and enhance these relationships.

Branding the City as an Attractive Place to Live

As a sense of urgency grips many city authorities to create a brand for their urban place, the needs, interests and values of important stakeholders might be overlooked. One group is often neglected in the process of building city brands. Undervaluing the stake that residents have in shaping and enhancing a city’s brand could undermine the aims and intentions of a city’s original brand strategy. While it might be unrealistic to satisfy the demands and desires of all residents, they are instrumental in building the city brand, as they ‘live and breathe’ the city’s brand identity. Residents’ attitudes and attachment to the city where they live, work and play can influence the perceptions of tourists and visitors through their recommendations and complaints. Residents’ skills, talents and entrepreneurial drive also contribute to the city’s and region’s growth and prosperity. In these and other ways, residents can add value to the brand equity of the city in which they live.

Prevalence of country of origin associations on the supermarket shelf

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the prevalence and types of country associations on product labels and packages across a range of grocery product categories.Design/methodology/approach – An audit of New Zealand and Australian country associations as they appeared on products in 26 categories was conducted in a major New Zealand supermarket outlet.Findings – The results of the content analysis of 788 brands revealed that the majority featured at least one country of origin (COO) association and indicated that they were either “made in” New Zealand or Australia.Research limitations/implications – Even though the findings are potentially restricted to the New Zealand context, this paper provides evidence of the prevalence of common and distinctive country associations across a diverse range of product categories. This suggests that these associations are still relevant to grocery manufacturers and supermarket retailers as a way of positioning their branded products.Practical implication...

Social Stigma and Consumer Benefits: Trade-Offs in Adoption of Genetically Modified Foods

Attitudes toward genetically modified (GM) foods have been extensively studied, but there are very few studies of actual consumer purchasing behavior regarding GM foods offering a consumer benefit. Using a field choice-modeling experiment, the authors investigate the trade-off between price and social desirability in consumer choices with regard to conventional, organic, and GM fruit. What consumers say they will choose in a survey and what they actually choose in a real-purchase situation may differ substantially when their decision is framed by a socially charged issue such as genetic modification. The results are analyzed in relation to established principles of diffusion of innovation.

The trademark protection of country brands: insights from New Zealand

– The purpose of this paper is to present the opportunities for and challenges of the trademark protection of country brands., – Insights into the challenges and possibilities of country brand trademark protection are identified using New Zealand as a case study. This evaluation is divided into four sections. In the first section, the relations and differences between brands and trademarks are discussed in the context of the country trademark. Then, possible sources of country trademarks are identified. Next, the benefits and challenges of creating and managing country trademarks are discussed based on the case of the New Zealand Fern Mark. The final section addresses the determiners of country trademark implementation and offers recommendations for country brand managers., – This study makes the case that a nations heritage is a rich source of country trademarks. The selection of country trademarks must ensure that the chosen symbol conveys meaning and associations that serve a countrys often broad range of offerings and resonate with a diversity of stakeholder audiences., – Governance structures need to be established to manage a country trademark to ensure the country brands integrity. This includes a licensing system and protocols to prevent successive governments from altering the brands essence which would destroy its equity built up over time., – This paper extends the concept of trademarks, once the domain of products and service brands, to the emerging field of place brand management.

Consumer understanding and use of country-of-origin in food choice

Purpose – This study aimed to investigate consumers understanding of country of origin (CoO) information and its relative importance in the context of their everyday food purchase decisions. Design/methodology/approach – A cross-sectional intercept survey of 402 consumers in two cities in New Zealand was conducted. Respondents were asked to describe what they had considered when selecting a food item in their trolley. This was followed by questions to assess respondents knowledge of CoO and their use and understanding of common CoO labels. Findings – Price (42 per cent), taste (40 per cent), health (18 per cent), and quality (18 per cent) were the most important factors that respondents mentioned. Only 3.5 per cent of respondents mentioned CoO as one of the factors influencing their decision. Of respondents 61 per cent, when prompted, stated that they knew the CoO of the food product selected. Of these respondents, 90 per cent were correct. Of respondents 62 per cent stated that they look at CoO labels ...

Conceptualization and anatomy of green destination brands

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to extend the concept of green brands to destinations and to examine the application and limitations of green destination brands for nations adopting this positioning strategy.Design/methodology/approach – The paper identifies characteristics of green destination brands, drawing on established concepts in corporate branding, destination branding and green marketing. The paper demonstrates the application and limitations of the concept through an in‐depth case study analysis of New Zealands destination brand to explain the possibilities and problems of building green destination brands at a national level.Findings – The findings suggest that a holistic, strategic approach to building a green destination brand which emphasizes and qualifies the green essence of a nations brand is required to avoid the pitfalls, cynicism and criticisms of greenwashing.Research limitations/implications – The research findings are embedded in the context studied – New Zealands destinat...

University students' needs and satisfaction with their host city

Purpose – The purpose of this study was threefold: to identify which attributes of the host university city are important to students; to assess students satisfaction with the key attributes of their host university city; and to determine the drivers of students overall satisfaction with their host university city. Design/methodology/approach – A two stage, mixed methods research design was selected for this study. Focus groups comprised the first stage and a survey of 159 full time university students attending the university of Otago in Dunedin, New Zealand, comprised the second stage. Findings – The survey findings indicate that students at the university of Otago perceive accommodation, socialising and sense of community, safety and cultural scene as the most important attributes of their host university city. Alternatively, the results of the regression analysis which assessed the relative strength of city attributes in explaining their overall satisfaction with Dunedin, demonstrated that shopping ...