Place Brand Co-Creation through Storytelling: Benefits, Risks and Preconditions
Abstract
:1. Introduction
2. Literature Review
2.1. Co-Creation for Places and Destinations
2.2. Storytelling
2.3. Co-Destruction
3. Materials and Methods
3.1. Luton as a Site for this Research
3.2. Data Collection
3.2.1. Interviews
3.2.2. Netnographic Data
3.3. Data Analysis and Ethics
4. Results
4.1. Co-Creation through Storytelling
4.2. Place Brand Co-Creation and Co-Destruction
4.2.1. Selective Recruitment of the Storytellers
4.2.2. Involvement of Unwanted Parties from Outside of Luton to Take Decisions for Luton
4.2.3. Communication Issues
5. Discussion
6. Conclusions: Implications for Place Brand Co-Creation through Storytelling
- The stories: As we saw in MVOT, the stories chosen to be told were not seen as appropriate by many residents and they were not considered relevant. While arguably no story can become well received by all, it is important to carefully plan the stories that will be told through the project and to ensure that their reception is tested before the project’s implementation. The challenge lies in identifying and shaping stories that are balanced between being perceived as authentic and having the potential to appeal to a wide basis of ‘listeners’.
- The storytellers: The same inconsistency was noted in MVOT for the chosen storytellers, whose motivations and truthfulness were doubted by many. In this sense, the storytellers who will share their personal stories as part of the project need to be chosen based on specific and clear criteria through a transparent and consistent process of selection.
- The framing and context of the stories: The stories told as part of MVOT were not judged and perceived solely as individual stories but were framed by the campaign’s design and execution and they became part of the project’s context. For instance, as discussed in the findings, the fact that outsiders had designed the whole project negatively affected the way in which the stories were perceived and evaluated. As Hudak [49] convincingly argues, it is essential to consider and contextualise how each story interweaves with wider narratives of the community and how the stories can demonstrate the role that residents play in the constant re-creation of the meaning of the place brand as well as its communication internally and externally.
- The communication and feedback mechanisms around the project: Finally, the communication issues that marked MVOT were another crucial factor. In fact, the Council did attempt to contextualise the stories, as noted in the previous point, through wider engagement, but people were not aware of this as it had not been communicated effectively. It is therefore essential to integrate in storytelling projects (and, arguably, in all place branding projects) communications and feedback mechanisms that will allow effective communication between the initiators and the audiences of the campaign.
Author Contributions
Funding
Institutional Review Board Statement
Informed Consent Statement
Data Availability Statement
Conflicts of Interest
References
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Stoica, I.S.; Kavaratzis, M.; Schwabenland, C.; Haag, M. Place Brand Co-Creation through Storytelling: Benefits, Risks and Preconditions. Tour. Hosp. 2022, 3, 15-30. https://doi.org/10.3390/tourhosp3010002
Stoica IS, Kavaratzis M, Schwabenland C, Haag M. Place Brand Co-Creation through Storytelling: Benefits, Risks and Preconditions. Tourism and Hospitality. 2022; 3(1):15-30. https://doi.org/10.3390/tourhosp3010002
Chicago/Turabian StyleStoica, Ioana S., Mihalis Kavaratzis, Christina Schwabenland, and Markus Haag. 2022. "Place Brand Co-Creation through Storytelling: Benefits, Risks and Preconditions" Tourism and Hospitality 3, no. 1: 15-30. https://doi.org/10.3390/tourhosp3010002