Table Of ContentBranding Amsterdam:
The Roles of Residents in City Branding
Photo by Edwin van Eis
Tourism Master’s Thesis
Aalborg University, July 2015
By Birgitte Wraae
Supervisor: Lill Rastad Bjørst
Abstract
Local residents have great impact on the way visitors experience a city and may as such be
considered as influential city marketers, and thus they are an important parameter in terms of
city branding. Using empirical material from the city of Amsterdam , the purpose of this
thesis is to analyze the roles of local residents in city branding and the derived implications
and challenges for place brand management. This thesis contributes to empirical research
within the research area place branding with focus on local residents' attitudes to place
branding and their outlook on participation in co-creating the place brand.
The study is based on theoretical insights drawn from a review of relevant literature and
contemporary academic articles within place branding theory focusing on theoretical aspects
related to city brand perception, resident-city identification and the relationship between place
brand and place identity. The research takes a qualitative approach based on semi-structured
interviews with a management representative from Amsterdam Marketing and local residents
from Amsterdam. In addition, a part of the analysis is based on selected promotional material.
The first part of this study focuses on the managerial part of the place branding process in
order to examine what kind of initiatives Amsterdam Marketing makes use of in order to
stimulate participation and integration of the residents in branding the city, and how the
residents' roles in relation to place branding are translated into practice. Subsequently it is
investigated to what extent Amsterdam Marketing’s city branding objectives in relation to
‘Amsterdam identity’, ‘core values’, ‘tourism’ and ‘slogan’ are in line with the way local
residents look at their city. In addition, local residents' attitudes to being involved in the city
branding process is examined.
This study provides perspectives on the roles of residents in place branding and the derived
implications and challenges for place brand management. The results of the study showed that
Amsterdam Marketing faces a number of implications regarding the implementation of a
participatory approach to residents with respect to the communicated place brand and the
brand creation process. In this context findings indicate that the local residents do not easily
see themselves in the role as a participant in the efforts to brand the city, and therefore there
seems to be a rather limited support for Amsterdam Marketing's ideas and attitude to resident
involvement. This leads to the conclusion that there is a need among practitioners to work on
the premises and conditions for resident involvement in place branding, and that marketing
and organizations have to make their objectives for resident involvement clear and
communicate this to the collaboration forums.
Table of Contents
1. Introducing the thesis ........................................................................................................... 1
1.1 Research questions ............................................................................................................ 4
2. Theoretical framework......................................................................................................... 5
2.1 Literature review ............................................................................................................... 5
2.1.1 Defining place branding ............................................................................................. 5
2.1.2 From place marketing to place branding .................................................................... 6
2.1.3 The development and historical path of place marketing and place branding as a
research field ....................................................................................................................... 7
2.1.4 The conceptual foundation ....................................................................................... 11
2.1.5 Reflections on place branding theory ....................................................................... 12
2.2 Branding the city ............................................................................................................. 13
2.2.1 Place brand management – challenges, implications and approaches ..................... 13
2.2.2 The link between the place brand and place identity ............................................... 15
2.3 Residents and the brand .................................................................................................. 18
2.4 The conceptual approach and place branding theory applied to this study .................... 20
2.5 Discourse analysis as a tool ............................................................................................ 20
2.5.1 Discourse analysis and tourism research .................................................................. 21
2.5.2 Foucault – discourse, subject and positions ............................................................. 22
3. Methodology of the research ............................................................................................. 24
3.1 Qualitative approach ....................................................................................................... 24
3.1.1 Ontological considerations ....................................................................................... 24
3.1.2 Epistemological considerations ................................................................................ 25
3.1.3 Semi-structured interviews and interview design .................................................... 25
3.1.4 Analysis of documents - discourse analysis as a tool............................................... 26
3.1.5 Participant observation ............................................................................................. 27
3.2 Data collection method ................................................................................................... 27
3.2.1 Primary data ............................................................................................................. 28
3.2.2 Secondary data ......................................................................................................... 30
3.3 Condensing the data ........................................................................................................ 31
3.4 Reflections and limitations ............................................................................................. 31
4. Analysis ................................................................................................................................ 32
4.1 Amsterdam Marketing and the residents ........................................................................ 32
4.1.1 The roles of the residents ......................................................................................... 32
4.1.2 A participatory approach or a communication tool .................................................. 34
4.1.3 Challenges for place brand management ................................................................. 40
4.1.4 The creative and innovative city .............................................................................. 42
4.1.4.1 Core values in A-mag .................................................................................................... 44
4.1.5 Residents in A-mag .................................................................................................. 48
4.1.6 Residents in the video 'I Amsterdam – a city for all' ............................................... 52
4.1.7 Dominant discourses and the role of the residents ................................................... 53
4.2 Residents and the city ..................................................................................................... 54
4.2.1 Residents and the place brand .................................................................................. 55
4.2.1.1 Amsterdam identity ....................................................................................................... 56
4.2.1.2 The slogan ..................................................................................................................... 59
4.2.1.3 The tourism perspective ................................................................................................ 61
4.2.1.4 Residents' involvement in the branding process ............................................................ 62
4.2.1.5 'I amsterdam' - but who is Amsterdam? ........................................................................ 65
4.2.1.6 A city walk .................................................................................................................... 66
4. 3 Amsterdam - a city for all? ............................................................................................ 67
5. Conclusion ........................................................................................................................... 71
6. Reference list ....................................................................................................................... 77
7. Appendix printed ................................................................................................................ 84
7. 1 Appendix 1 – Abbreviations .......................................................................................... 84
7. 2 Appendix 2 – Interview guides ...................................................................................... 85
7. 2.1 Appendix 2 – Interview guide Amsterdam Marketing............................................ 85
7.2.2 Appendix 2 – Interview guide residents ................................................................... 88
7. 3 Appendix 3 – Transcriptions .......................................................................................... 90
7.3.1 Appendix 3A – Nico Mulder, Amsterdam Marketing ............................................. 90
7.3.1.1 Appendix 3A_X – Nico Mulder - Follow-up questions email ...................................... 97
7.3.2 Appendix 3B – Paul ................................................................................................. 99
7.3.3 Appendix 3C – Bob ................................................................................................ 104
7.3.4 Appendix 3D – Ans ................................................................................................ 109
7.3.5 Appendix 3E – Anne .............................................................................................. 113
7.3.6 Appendix 3F – Nico ............................................................................................... 116
7.3.7 Appendix 3G – Hans .............................................................................................. 121
7.3.8 Appendix 3H – Steven ........................................................................................... 126
7.3.9 Appendix 3I – Christel ........................................................................................... 130
7.3.10 Appendix 3J – Saskia ........................................................................................... 135
7.3.11 Appendix 3K – Janvier ......................................................................................... 139
7. 4 Appendix 4 – Thematic analysis of interviews - quote tabels ..................................... 143
7.4.1 Thematic analysis of interview with Nico Mulder, Amsterdam Marketing .......... 143
7.4.2 Thematic analysis of interview with residents ....................................................... 149
7.4.3 Thematic analysis of A-mag .................................................................................. 172
7. 5 Appendix 5 – Diary notes: A city walk in Amsterdam ................................................ 184
8. Appendix online ................................................................................................................ 190
8.1 Appendix 6 – ‘A-mag’ ................................................................................................. 190
8.2 Appendix 7 – ‘I amsterdam – a city for all’ ................................................................ 190
9. Appendix CD ..................................................................................................................... 191
9.1 Appendix 8 – Sound files interviews .......................................................................... 191
1. Introducing the thesis
Cities all over the world compete strongly with each other for attracting tourists, investors and
residents, and therefore marketers on local, regional and national levels increasingly focus on
establishing the city as a brand using techniques normally associated with product brands
(Beckmann & Zenker, 2013). A city's brand is considered to be an important asset for urban
development and an effective tool for cities to distinguish themselves, improve their
positioning and thereby gain market share. Thus cities use different kinds of approaches
including striking logos and catchy slogans in order to assert their individuality and shape a
specifically created place identity promoting themselves to audiences such as visitors, residents
and investors (Ashworth & Kavaratzis, 2009).
Facing increased competition is not the only motive for using the branding approach among
place marketers. A branding strategy often has the purpose to reverse a tainted and
inappropriate image to a more sophisticated one focusing on desirable aspects of the city and
targeting the type of visitors, residents and investors they want to attract (Kavaratzis, 2008).
A place-brand cannot be constructed and controlled in the same way as a product brand
since places are far more intangible and uncontrollable than products, and most places have a
lot of important influencers including different stakeholders such as public authorities, private
companies and investors. Furthermore the local population is a central and integrated part of a
place and thus an important stakeholder when it comes to place branding. Local residents
constitute a diverse group with many different opinions and preferences, and they can be
difficult to control in order to create a common profile in relation to branding of the place.
Local residents indeed make a difference when it comes to the sense of a place and the
atmosphere of a city also when it is about the city as a tourist destination, and local residents
may as such be considered as influential city marketers. Residents are target groups of place
marketing itself and therefore the main audience of several marketing initiatives. Besides
residents can be considered as an integrated part of creating the place brand given that their
characteristics, behavior and reputation could make a city more attractive to visitors, new
residents and investors, thus the local residents could function as ambassadors for the city
(Braun, Kavaratzis & Zenker, 2013).
Amsterdam, a city with a long tradition as a destination for culture, innovation and tourism, is
an example of a city that has seen its position as a cultural centre, attractive for national and
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international visitors, threatened by increasing competition from other European cities. This led
to a desire to improve the city's attractiveness to local and international audiences and re-create
the city's image by representing more desirable aspects of the city compared to the image of
Amsterdam as a city with an inappropriate image often associated with the liberal attitude
towards soft drugs and prostitution. Furthermore Amsterdam had over recent years too many
brand carriers without any continuity in the brand management process and with no agreement
on brand usage and uniformity (Kavaratzis & Ashworth, 2006). This problem combined with
the desire to improve Amsterdam's attractiveness, redefine what Amsterdam stands for in
people's minds and strengthen the brand thus resulted in a new branding campaign launched in
2004. 'Creativity', 'innovation' and 'spirit of commerce' became Amsterdam's three core values,
and the brand was positioned under the slogan 'I amsterdam' (Amsterdam Marketing, 2015).
It's now more than 10 years since the launching of the campaign, and the DMO, Amsterdam
Marketing, which is the city marketing organization of the Amsterdam Metropolitan Area, still
use the same core values, and the brand is still positioned in the market under the shared motto
'I amsterdam' which, according to Amsterdam Marketing, is presented as ”[...] a slogan, a
statement of inclusion [...] I amsterdam is the city's and its residents' collective catch phrase”
(Amsterdam Marketing, 2015. I amsterdam letters). Furthermore it is highlighted that the
slogan 'I amsterdam' intends to reflect the diversity, cohesiveness and individuality of all
Amsterdammers.
Amsterdam Marketing had a desire to change the city's image in order to redefine what
Amsterdam stands for in people's minds. Thus, they focus on branding the city in relation to
the core values, 'reativity', 'innovation' and 'spirit of commerce'' under the slogan 'I amsterdam'.
To judge from Amsterdam Marketing's stated objectives, as mentioned above, one could
imagine that the slogan 'I amsterdam' has been developed and the objectives articulated and
expressed having in mind the local residents as an important parameter in the brand creation
and communication.
As Insch (2011) points out, “the effectiveness of city brands depends on the support and
commitment of local constituents - residents, local business operators and community groups”
(p. 12). Local residents might feel that they 'are' Amsterdam. As residents they are an
integrated part of the location, and they contribute to create the atmosphere of the place. At the
same time, by means of the slogan 'I amsterdam' they serve to create and communicate
Amsterdam as a brand. But how do the residents perceive this? How is the their reaction to the
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marketing efforts of the city marketing organizations, and what kind of means and management
initiatives does Amsterdam Marketing make use of in order to involve the residents in branding
of the city?
This thesis accepts the premise that brand meanings are socially constructed and culturally
dependent. Thus, when making a destination branding strategy it is important to recognize the
cultural characteristics of the place and thereby understand the people who live there
(Campolo, Aitken, Thyne & Gnoth, 2014). Using empirical material from the city of
Amsterdam and considering the issues discussed above, it is the aim of this thesis to provide
perspectives on the roles of residents in place branding and the derived implications and
challenges for place brand management. According to Braun, Kavaratzis & Zenker (2013) little
theoretical or empirical evidence has been published on the role of residents in place branding.
Thus, from this analysis and discussion it is the aim of this thesis to contribute to research on
this topic.
As mentioned above local residents play a multitude of roles within the creation of place
brands, however, as argued by Merrilees, Miller & Herington (2009), residents' perceptions
and expectations of the place brand often differ from those of the place brand management.
Thus, a big challenge for place brand marketers in relation to creating a sustainable place brand
is the role of residents as citizens, since there is a risk that they undermine the whole place
branding effort.
As the first element, the aim of this thesis is therefore to examine what kind of management
initiatives Amsterdam Marketing make use of in order to stimulate genuine participation of the
residents in the various stages of the place branding process, and how the residents' roles in
place branding are translated into practice.
In addition, I am also going to examine whether Amsterdam Marketing's promotional material
reflect the organization's core values 'creativity', 'innovation' and 'sprit of commerce'. To
elucidate this, a discourse analysis will be made based on the magazine A-mag which is
Amsterdam's city promotion magazine, published especially for international visitors and
residents by Amsterdam Marketing, and a promotional video, 'I amsterdam - a city for all', also
made by Amsterdam Marketing. The analysis focuses on Amsterdam Marketing's use of the
place brand core values and the 'being an Amsterdam resident'.
As the next element, the local residents' perceptions and expectations of the place brand will be
investigated in order to uncover whether the initiatives, efforts and representations of
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Amsterdam Marketing is anchored in the way in which the residents perceive the city and its
inhabitants. Thus, I am going to analyze how local residents relate to, and how far they are in
line with, Amsterdam Marketing's city branding objectives as regards Amsterdam identity, core
values, slogan and tourism. Likewise, it will be elucidated how the local residents relate to
become involved in the city branding process.
A review of relevant literature and contemporary academic articles within place branding
theory, focusing on theoretical aspects related to city brand perception, resident-city
identification and the relationship between place brand and place identity, will reveal the
conceptual focus of this study and establish the main part of the theoretical framework.
Besides, discourse analysis is used as a tool in order to analyze how the local residents are
represented in the above mentioned promotional material about Amsterdam in order to uncover
the discourses that are generated in the material, and in order to uncover which forms of
subject positions are discursively constructed within this context. Thus theory about Foucault's
approach to the notion of 'subject' will be a part of the theoretical framework.
1.1 Research questions
Following a qualitative approach, based on an expert interview with a representative from
Amsterdam Marketing as well as interviews with local residents from Amsterdam, the aim of
this thesis is to answer the following research questions:
Which initiatives does Amsterdam Marketing make use of in order to involve the local
residents in branding the city of Amsterdam, and how are the residents' roles in relation
to place branding translated into practice?
Does Amsterdam Marketing's promotional material reflect the organization's core
values 'Creativity', 'Innovation' and 'Spirit of commerce', and how are the local residents
represented?
What are the residents' attitudes to involvement of residents in the branding process,
and are Amsterdam Marketing's city branding objectives in relation to 'core values',
'Amsterdam identity', 'tourism' and 'slogan' in line with the way local residents look at
their city?
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Description:The study is based on theoretical insights drawn from a review of relevant literature and contemporary academic articles within place branding theory focusing on theoretical aspects related to city brand perception, resident-city identification and the relationship between place brand and place ide
