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on Marketing |
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Issue of 2012‒07‒29
six papers chosen by Joao Carlos Correia Leitao University of Beira Interior and Technical University of Lisbon |
| By: | Erik Braun; Sebastian Zenker |
| Abstract: | The number of cities claiming to make use of branding has been growing considerably in the last decade. Competition is one of the key drivers for cities to establish their place as a brand and promoting that place to visitors, investors, companies and residents. Unfortunately, place marketers often believe that the place brand is a controllable and fully manageable communication tool. Yet a brand is by definition a network of associations in consumers’ minds and is therefore based on the perceptions of the different target groups, making branding a multi-faceted subject. Furthermore, the perception of a place (brand) can differ significantly given the various target groups’ diverse perspectives and interests. Hence, place branding theory as well as practice should focus more on the place brand perception of its different target audiences and develop strategies for how places can build an advantageous place-brand architecture. Combining insights from a literature review of place-related academe and marketing academe, this paper outlines an integrated approach to place brand management called the Place Brand Centre. After reviewing the literature on place branding, brand architecture and customer-focused marketing, the paper contends that a target group-specific sub-branding-strategy is central for effective place brand management of cities. Gaps for future research and practical implications for place brand management are discussed. Keywords: Place Branding, Place Brand Management, Place Marketing, Place Management, Urban Planning, Customer-orientated Marketing |
| Date: | 2011–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wiw:wiwrsa:ersa10p181&r=mkt |
| By: | Affeldt, P.; Filistrucchi, L.; Klein, T.J. (Tilburg University, Tilburg Law and Economics Center) |
| Abstract: | Abstract: Pricing pressure indices have recently been proposed as alternative screening devices for horizontal mergers involving differentiated products. We extend the concept of Upward Pricing Pressure (UPP) proposed by Farrell and Shapiro (2010) to two-sided markets. Examples of such markets are the newspaper market, where the demand for advertising is related to the number of readers, and the market for online search, where advertising demand depends on the number of users. The formulas we derive are useful for screening mergers among two-sided platforms. Due to the two-sidedness they depend on four sets of diversion ratios that can either be estimated using market-level demand data or elicited in surveys. In an application, we evaluate a hypothetical merger in the Dutch daily newspaper market. Our results indicate that it is important to take the two-sidedness of the market into account when evaluating UPP. |
| Keywords: | Merger evaluation;two-sided markets;network effects;UPP. |
| JEL: | L13 L40 L82 |
| Date: | 2012 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:dgr:kubtil:2012029&r=mkt |
| By: | Krister Olsson; Elin Berglund |
| Abstract: | In contemporary western cities, city marketing is widely applied as a means for local economic development, city competitiveness and attractiveness. In practice, city marketing generally includes a wide range of promotional, organisational and spatial strategies and activities. It is often manifested in city centre revitalization including upgrading of public space, the construction of spectacular entertainment and cultural amenities, and image enhancing activities. Parallel to the growing practice of city marketing, there has been a growing interest in city marketing within the academia. However, the literature on city marketing is by no means homogenous. City marketing is interpreted, described and valued in very different ways and there is, apparently, diverging opinions what city marketing is and what it means to a city and its citizens. Furthermore, the literature on city marketing tends to make general assumptions about the prevalence and nature of city marketing practice and fails to consider local and regional variations. Most empirical studies are concerned with big cities in international competition. To a great extent, there is a lack of knowledge in how city marketing is performed in small and medium-sized cities in a regional context. The aim with the paper is to contribute with empirical and theoretical knowledge about the prevalence, nature and meaning of city marketing by focusing Swedish small and medium-sized cities in various regional contexts. Through a review of city marketing literature, the development of a theoretical framework of city marketing, and an empirical study of city marketing practice in all Swedish municipalities, the paper is expected to contribute with new knowledge about both the practice and theory of city marketing. |
| Date: | 2011–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wiw:wiwrsa:ersa10p236&r=mkt |
| By: | Sebastian Zenker; Sibylle Petersen |
| Abstract: | The aim of this paper is to determine why and under which condition residents enter into a strong and committed relationship with their place of living. We will present a model which outlines how cities could strengthen the resident-city identification by increasing the perceived place complexity. The model translates the Customer Relationship Management (CRM) approach of the general field of marketing (Customer-Company Identification) to the field of place marketing and combines it with theory development in Social Identity Theory and Theory of Organizational Identification. We hypothesize that a strong residents-city identification results from identity fit between the city prototype and the self-concept of the resident. The proposed model outlines the important role of the perceived place complexity as moderating variable. We propose that higher perceived complexity of a city allows for higher perceived fit between the self and the city, higher optimal distinctiveness, and higher perceived attractiveness of identification with the city. The question of how to increase identification with a place is crucial for place marketing and urban governance. Based on a review of existing research in social science we will outline the positive effects of identification on commitment, resilience towards negative information, selective information seeking and satisfaction. Practical implications for place marketers and potential for future empirical research are discussed. |
| Date: | 2011–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wiw:wiwrsa:ersa10p99&r=mkt |
| By: | Tether, B.; Bascavusoglu-Moreau, E. |
| Abstract: | Introducing and innovating services is advocated as a means by which manufacturing firms in advanced economies can retain or enhance their competitiveness. But little is known about how manufacturers innovate services, nor about the impact of service innovation on manufacturers' performance. Using two consecutive waves of the UK Innovation Survey, this paper first examines how manufacturers innovate services, comparing this with how they innovate goods (i.e., material products) and production processes. We find that manufacturers tend to innovate services differently: R&D is found to be unimportant, whilst investments in marketing and training are found to be related to service innovation. The paper then examines the impact of service innovation on performance, in terms of innovative sales per employee and total sales per employee. We find that service innovation does not increase innovative sales but is associated with higher total sales per employee. |
| Keywords: | Service Innovation, Servitization, Innovation Survey, Multivariate Probit, Multinomial Logit. |
| JEL: | O30 O32 O40 |
| Date: | 2012–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cbr:cbrwps:wp433&r=mkt |
| By: | Jiri Jezek |
| Abstract: | The paper deals with theoretical and application problems of city marketing. It is based on a series of researches which have been worked mainly in the Czech Republic, Slovak Republic, Austria, Germany and in the Netherlands. At the same time it points out the specific conditions and sometimes also different interpretations of city marketing in the countries mentioned above. The paper also points the series of discrepancies between theoretical hypothesis and practical realization of city marketing and in its final part it proposes a future of city marketing. |
| Date: | 2011–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wiw:wiwrsa:ersa10p1154&r=mkt |