Co-creation and internal place branding: a case study of Plettenberg Bay, South Africa

Co-creation is a common term used in place branding to describe the involvement of stakeholders in the creation of a place’s brand. The motivation behind co-creation is that it will add depth and legitimacy to the brand. Through a process of co-creation, it is also hoped that stakeholders will become active ambassadors of the brand and its values. Co-creation, however, is far from simple in practice—places are complicated, budgets are often small and competing interests are many. This paper examines the processes of co-creation that were initiated by Plett Tourism, a tourism office in a South African seaside town called Plettenberg Bay. By considering this case study, and case studies from other places, it is hoped that a broader conception of co-creation can be understood, one that goes beyond the early stages of involving stakeholders in the creation of a place brand and instead creating a platform for continuous engagement with stakeholders. Part of this engagement is sometimes called internal place branding, and so the ways in which internal place branding intersects with co-creation will discussed in this paper too.