Practitioners views on the essence of place brand management

This study seeks to complement existing theoretical definitions of place branding proposed by earlier research, and offers a practitioner definition of place brand management. As part of a wider study on place brand management, 15 place brand practitioners working across 15 different geographical locations and in various destination management organisations were asked to elaborate on what they understood by 'place brand management'. This is the first study to capture and integrate practitioners' views on the essence of place brand management. The study generates a multi-faceted definition, which centres on the place identity, experience of the place, stakeholder engagement, and the place brand practitioner's leadership role in positioning and promoting the place proposition and experience. © 2012 Macmillan Publishers Ltd.