Here we look at the placemaking lessons from a Tasmanian Brand Guide. Our focus is on the transferable lessons from this case study that openly demonstrate the rigours of the brand identity process, the involvement of local stakeholders and the authenticity of the resulting place branding.
The case study is aimed at assisting place leaders interested in commissioning town, city or area-wide place branding and who want to learn more about the process involved. A full version of the case study of Lessons from Place Branding in Tasmania is available to download.
Lessons in place brand theory
This case study of placemaking lessons from a Tasmania Brand Guide, draws on my participation in a recent course run by the International Place Branding Association’s (IPBA) Academy. The course focused on the methods to define place brand identity.
Capturing a detailed understanding of a place’s brand identity is a pivotal step in transforming users’ original, organic image of a place to create a more desired and representative image. Too often, placemakers rush to focus on communicating a brand that is not based on a thorough understanding of place identity or through the close involvement of local stakeholders.
In the context of place branding, image and identity can be distinguished in the following way:
- brand image is the perception of a place held by the user.
- brand identity specifies the meaning, aim and desired image of a place.
Determining place brand identity
Place branding is a relatively new and evolving discipline. As such there is not yet an ‘industry standard’ approach for developing a place’s brand identity. Instead, there are various methodologies for developing a place brand identity. What is important though is that a systematic approach is followed that assesses key elements including the brand attributes, benefits and core values.
The Brand Pyramid, which is one of the simplest and longest-used approaches, was adopted and adapted in creating the Tasmania Brand Guide. The Place Brand Pyramid creates a brand logically from an assessment of a locality’s main attributes to focus in on the defining the essence of the place. Versions of the approach have become popular in both destination marketing and for more comprehensive place branding strategies.
Unlike product brands, successful place brands depend on being created through a “bottom-up” process that ideally grows from and with the community it represents. Co-creation of place identity refers to the meaning-making process involving residents.
Stakeholders’ role in the Tasmanian brand
From a place-making perspective, the Tasmanian Brand Guide is illuminating for the strong emphasis it places on involving internal stakeholders and by this contributing towards creating greater ‘pride in place’.
The Tasmanian Guide sought to help deliver a strong and coordinated brand for the region that engages an internal and external audience. Place branding it concluded, “is about aligning the messages a place already sends to the world with a strong, shared vision”. Local people are key co-creators, components and beneficiaries of the place brand. Their involvement is key in both identifying and implementing brand identity.
Beyond serving as an aid to destination marketing, the guide advocated that the development and management of the Tasmanian brand can be seen as the strategic communication plan for a broader government and community vision represented through “Tasmania Together”. As such, it was part of delivering an essential strategy for “creating a proud and confident society where our people live in harmony and prosperity”.
For place leaders grappling with encouraging high value visitors or inward investment, whilst seeking to boost local ‘pride in place’, the Tasmanian approach is an example of how to achieve this in a methodical and engaging way.
Evolution of the Tasmanian brand
One of the measures of an effective place brand identity process is the longevity and adaptability of the emerging brand. Authentic place brands can be adapted in the way they are communicated to different audiences. Image and captured brand identity will usually evolve gradually alongside investment and place-making on the ground. We should though expect to see a constant and recognisable thread through such an evolution.
Reading Brand Tasmania’s own assessment of the evolution of its brand, we can see a thread running through the evolving sophistication of the brand identity process, the distinctiveness of the resultant brand essence and its growing strength of focus on its internal stakeholders.
Brand Tasmania says that its evolving approach reflects that contemporary place branding is about feelings, emotions, and community action. It seeks to be an authentic portrayal of Tasmania’s identity that does not mask challenges. This is an approach that fits more readily with the role of place branding in supporting community-led place-making.
The current brand essence “Quietly pursue the extraordinary”. This is broken down into the following components that are based on the brand values:
- Quiet: Tasmanians are humble, quietly confident, and cool while the rest of the world is increasingly loud and hot.
- Pursuit: We’re isolated, so we’ve had to be inventive. We were underestimated, so nothing is ever “good enough.” We’ve had to work harder together, to make determination a core of our culture. The Bass Strait means everything from here is more expensive, so we have learned to focus on the boutique, the bespoke, on “better, not more.”
- The extraordinary: This is about quality taking precedence over quantity, on privileging the unusual, and on our choice to protect the wilderness and our environment.
Applying our lessons from Tasmania
The development of place brand identity in Tasmania offers encouragement and an example for place leaders struggling in balancing external marketing whilst seeking to boost local ‘pride in place’. It underlines how to achieve this in a methodical way that captures place brand identity, engages local stakeholders and enables the communication of an authentic brand.
Further reading
Read our related blog on branding that gets ‘beneath the skin’ of a place‘ or email services@people-places.net to receive a copy of the more in-depth good practice guide on “place branding beneath the skin“.
Read about the approach of think ‘local first’ in place branding from Lowestoft as well as an earlier case study of Blaenau Ffestiniog that uses the Welsh town’s distinctive and authentic identity.
Other related posts include a detailed look at good practice in reviving historic town centres, an outline of four guiding principles for transforming public spaces and a guest blog based on Stockport about creating pride in place through social media.
The revitalising town centres toolkit, prepared for the Local Government Association, provides comprehensive guidance on leading a local town centre revival.
Contact service@people-places.net if you’d like to talk about place branding in your town or perhaps work with us to host a free introductory webinar for local stakeholders.
