Dominic Medway

What about the 'place' in place marketing?

This article considers the concept of ‘place’ in the context of place marketing. Following a discussion of the disciplinary antecedents of place marketing/branding, the article evaluates the concept of the ‘place product’, with specific reference to the construction of place narratives. In particular, contrasts are drawn between notions of materiality and realm of meaning as devices for conceptualising places as products to be commodified and marketed. This is illustrated using as a case study, a place marketing initiative in the city of Manchester in the north west of England. The implications of this are analysed in terms of three questions, relating to (1) what is being marketed, (2) who is implementing the place marketing activity and (3) how places are represented as a consequence. The article concludes by arguing that the place product should be regarded as a dynamic concept, composed as much from changing and competing narratives in and over time, as it is from its tangible and material elements.

'Town centre management in the UK: A review, synthesis and research agenda'

Despite rapid growth in the number of town centre management schemes in the UK there have been few attempts to consider this topic from an academic perspective. This article develops a typology of town centre management schemes, based upon a comprehensive review of existing literature. The criteria of organizational structure and resource origin are identified as primary influences in the initiation and development of such schemes. The article concludes by outlining a research agenda which considers both local governance and spatial and temporal themes in the initiation and development of town centre management. The analysis of such factors is vital to a fuller understanding of this area.

Constructing luxury brands: exploring the role of consumer discourse

Purpose – The aim of this paper is to offer a discursive perspective on luxury brand consumption.Design/methodology/approach – Discourse analysis is used to examine how consumers construct their luxury brand consumption amidst countervailing cultural discourses in the market (Thompson and Haytko). Consumer discourse is generated through in‐depth, semi‐structured interviews.Findings – In the context of countervailing discourses that challenge the notion of luxury (e.g. “masstige”, “chav” and “bling”), respondents construct an ostensibly distinct and stable version of luxury expressing its subjective, experiential, moral and artistic constructs. Analysis demonstrates how these four themes operate at a linguistic‐textual level to delineate important cultural categories and boundaries around luxury. Luxury brand discourse operates strategic juxtapositions between normatively positive (ideal) and normatively negative (problematic) categories, which are paradoxically interdependent.Research limitations/implicat...

Alternative perspectives on marketing and the place brand

Purpose – This paper aims to consider the role of demarketing in the specific context of the marketing of places, and to introduce a typology of place demarketing and related place marketing activity.Design/methodology/approach – Following a review of the extant literature on place marketing and branding, place image and demarketing, the paper outlines a number of different types of place demarketing and more unusual place marketing strategies, with examples of each.Findings – The marketing of places has grown in scale and importance, both as a practice and as an area of academic research, as places have had to become more entrepreneurial in an ever‐increasing competitive environment. Places are increasingly conceptualised as brands to be marketed, and a key emphasis of such activity is the creation of an attractive place image and/or the dilution of negative place images. This is reinforced in the academic literature. Counter to this “conventional wisdom”, this article conceptualises various types of pla...

Marketing at the public/private sector interface; town centre management schemes in the south of England

Abstract The last ten years have witnessed the rapid expansion of town centre management (TCM) schemes in the UK. In many TCM schemes the original ‘janitorial’ emphasis on improvements to the fabric of the town centre has been replaced by a more ‘strategic’ perspective, manifested inter alia by the increased use of marketing and promotion. The article considers the use of marketing planning concepts and specific marketing and promotional techniques (using Kotler et al’s Principles of Marketing, 2nd European Edition, Prentice Hall Europe, Harlow, 1999) four-stage marketing planning framework, comprising analysis, planning, implementation and control) in five contrasting TCM schemes in the south of England. A framework of marketing objectives for TCM schemes is proposed and three broad types of marketing activities identified: footfall drivers; participation builders and awareness builders. The article concludes with a discussion of the implications for TCM schemes.

Reasons for retailers’ involvement in town centre management

Building on an earlier publication in the International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management, the following article investigates the reasons for retailers’ involvement in town centre management (TCM) schemes in the UK. Findings are drawn from interviews with representatives of independent traders and national multiples, and a questionnaire survey of town centre managers. The article reveals several key reasons for retailers’ involvement in TCM and identifies some significant differences between independents and multiples in this respect. The findings show that the overriding motivation for the participation of retailers in TCM is their belief that it may benefit their business in some way. Equally importantly, the research identifies a number of reasons why retailers do not become involved in TCM schemes. The article concludes by showing that an understanding of the reasons for retailers’ involvement in TCM can play a significant role in attracting retail support for the concept.

Town centre management by co-operation. Evidence from Sweden

Abstract The 1990s have witnessed the rapid expansion of the concept of Town Centre Management (TCM). This article considers the extent to which urban stakeholders (particularly retailers and property owners) participate in TCM schemes, drawing on evidence from three towns in Sweden. Perceptions relating to participation, and motives for actual participation (or non-participation) in TCM schemes are analysed using as frameworks models of co-operative behaviour. The problem of “free-riders” is discussed and the article concludes with a typology of co-operative behaviour amongst urban stakeholders and possible strategies for overcoming problems of non-co-operation.

Strategic alternatives for small retail businesses in rural areas

The issue of retailing in rural areas has received relatively little attention in recent years. This article considers retail businesses in a remote, rural area, the Uist chain in the Western Isles of Scotland. Drawing on the marketing and retail strategy literatures, a “funnical” model of rural retail strategies is developed, and examples of independent retail businesses that have adopted both market‐led and product‐led strategies are posited. These have ranged from a situation of “strategic stasis” within some retail organisations, where more “extensive” methods of running retail outlets have been adopted, through to various new development strategies. Overall, it is evident that retailers may mix strategic directions for their business within the specific geographic context that they are located. This appears to contrast with Jussila et.al. (1992: 192), who imply that their strategic alternatives are mutually exclusive and that the individual strategies are “spatially bound”. In the light of these findings, the article considers the implications presented for retailers in other rural areas of the UK.

What’s in a name? Place branding and toponymic commodification

If places are increasingly regarded as brands in both the practice of place marketing and its associated theory, then the study of place names (toponymy) arguably overlaps with theories and concepts involving brand naming within the marketing literature. This paper synthesises the diverse literature streams surrounding critical toponymy and brand naming through an exploration of place branding activities. The paper develops the concept of place name commodification, beyond the limited attention it has received within existing critical toponymy research, before examining the issues of endogenous and exogenous contestation that surround it. The paper concludes by discussing how the commodifying effects of places as brand names, with their associated brand values and imagery, can potentially suppress the alternative place perceptions of users, and in doing so stifle the natural potential for cocreation of the place ‘product’ and its related value. Keywords: toponymy, place branding, commodification, contestation

Revisiting retail internationalisation: Drivers, impediments and business strategy

Purpose – In the light of recent changes in the international environment, the purpose of this paper is to consider whether the drivers of, and impediments to, retail internationalisation and the business strategy adopted have also changed.Design/methodology/approach – Interviews were conducted with 12 UK and US retailers. These exploratory data were combined with a review of the literature to explore changes in the drivers and impediments of retail internationalisation.Findings – Findings of this study suggest that, while a variety of factors drive retail internationalisation, profit growth is the most dominant motivator. In terms of impediments to foreign expansion, domestic market conditions were a barrier to the initiation of foreign expansion, whilst the regulatory environment and previous experiences presented obstacles in the process of internationalisation. Interviewees also expressed a desire for increased standardisation, while acknowledging the need for a substantial degree of adaptation in res...In light of recent changes in the international environment it is important to consider whether the drivers and impediments of retail internationalisation and the business strategy adopted have also changed. The findings from 12 qualitative interviews with UK and US retailers indicate that a variety of factors, ranging from historical precedence and investor pressures to saturation of the domestic market and foreign market attractiveness, drive retail internationalisation. In terms of impediments to foreign expansion, issues such as political and economic instability, previous experience and perceived cultural differences presented obstacles to internationalisation. Interviewees also expressed a desire for increased standardisation, while acknowledging a substantial degree of adaptation in response to cultural differences.