Partnerships in the

culture industry:

cultures, tourism and

city branding

Can-Seng Ooi Copenhagen Business School

www.ooi.dk

Agenda

• Culture industries and tourism

• Place branding’stwo basic challenges

• Three paradoxes

• Beyond hopeful place branding

Culture industries

and tourism

• Cultures:

– Fine arts to public art

– Movies to pop music

– Theme parks to museums

• Everyday life

• Encapsulated within the creative industries

• Tourism and public diplomacy

Place branding: As a

quality of assurance tool

• Assured quality

– An exciting place to visit

– Products from a place

– Educational, medical and other services

– Infrastructure for businesses

– Attract FDIs and quality of workforce

– Skilled workers and quality of live

As perception-shaping

tools

• Packages the place-product

• Asserts place-uniqueness

• Imagines place-identity

• Acts as gaze lenses

I. Does every city need a

brand?

• Every city has an image

• A city brand creates an city image conversation

or at least become part of that conversation

• Brands help shape public perceptions

• A brand focuses minds

– Who are we?

– Who do we want to be?

• Essentially, the brand is a set of tools to help

manage the city

Two Basic Challenges to

Place Branding

• A clear message to diverse audiences

• Directed, commercial and managed

Three Resulting Paradoxes

• Places are becoming the same, when they

are marketed as different

• Destinations are marketed as authentic but

commercialization is ubiquitous

• Cooperation with stakeholders is important

and yet few stakeholders cooperate

I. Why are Destinations

Becoming Alike?

• Unique-story approach

– Brand identity

– Unique

– A good story

– Good images

• Cultural products play an

important role

… that’s why

• Best practices

• Rankings

• Events and attractions that

sell

II. Why are Locals

Complaining?

• Selection: What’s hot and what’s

not?

• Society changes

• Descriptive-normative brand

identities

– Tradition and change

– Normative or descriptive?

II. Example: Perspectives on

Copenhagen - Naturally diverse

Residents International

Aspirations 'Cosmopolitan',

'Sustainable',

'Dynamic',

'Exciting', 'Perfect'

'Hopenhagen',

'Creative', 'Friendly',

'Business-oriented',

'Dynamic', 'Perfect'

Descriptions 'Hygge', 'Safe',

'Creative',

'Democratic',

'Comfortable',

'Tolerant'

'Wonderful Copenhagen'

'Open Copenhagen'

'Expensive', 'Cold'

'Christiania', 'Nordic-

miracle'

III. Why are stakeholders

not cooperating?

• When do stakeholders care?

• Foreigners as stakeholders

• Tourism and culture/society/art

– Locals and foreigners

– Culture and business

• Ideally, all stakeholders should be consulted

• Identify stakeholders

• Some contradictions in stakeholder interests

• There will be coordination costs

• Lessons from democratic systems

– Win-win broad brand

– Danger of the lowest common denominator

– No single message but fragmented brand

messages

IIIa. Stakeholder management

IIIb. Top-down, bottom-up issues

with stakeholders

• Brand versus personal perceptions

• Selection: What’s hot and what’s not?

• City changes, brand freezes

• City is heterogeneous, brand has only one

message

• Top-down leadership, bottom-up energies

Leadership: Top-

down (created)

Grassroots: Bottom-

up (authentic)

Local pride:

Uniqueness

Little Mermaid

Sustainable city

Business city

Little Mermaid

Daily cycling

Weekend parties

Internationally

recognition:

Accreditation

Most liveable city

Happiest people

Green city

Best Restaurant

News stories of cycling

highways, Noma

Lady Gaga visited

genbrug shops

Example: Thinking about

stakeholders' interests

A Mechanism of Hope

Creating

authenticities Popularity as

consensus

Economic

gains

Consumers/businesses

as partners

City branding

• Cultural industries and tourism matter

• A good brand needs to be selected and maintained

• Everyone should be involved in the branding project

but be aware of the issues

• A city brand is not a panacea but is a useful tool

– To focus minds

– To manage global perceptions

• Regardless, not having a brand is an option but not

having an image is not

In sum …

Thank you for your attention!

www.ooi.dk

ooi@cbs.dk