Developing Successful Brands about Places

Ed Burghard sends along his blog post on developing brands about places.  Thoughtful. 

" ... I started the article off with a definition of place branding. At the time I remember being intrigued with the idea that a sub-set of branding existed to describe what I was trying to accomplish in branding the state of Ohio. I defined place branding as a strategy to position a location (or “place”) so it can effectively compete for capital investment. Since 2007, I have come to understand that there are actually a number of terms that are used in the industry to describe place branding. It is sometimes called nation branding, city branding, Regional branding, community branding or destination branding (not an exhaustive list). 

This is important if you are looking to use Google to learn more about the subject. I now find that I search all the listed terms to ensure I don’t miss something important. The definition I used in 2007 is still valid today. However, now I differentiate between place marketing and place branding. I describe place marketing as managing the image of a place. It focuses on “what is true today”. I describe place branding as managing the desired identity of a place. It focuses on “what needs to be true tomorrow”. As a consequence, when I lecture on place branding, in addition to marketing I also speak about long term strategic planning focused on place improvement (asset creation, infrastructure investment, public policy reform).... "