ABSTRACT
The place-branding and -marketing literature has focused extensively on place-brand formation and management. It has acknowledged that emerging and especially diverging meanings (i.e., diverging from the official place-brand identity) are often regarded as a failure of branding processes, which should be addressed by city, region, and country brand managers (economic-development and destination-management organisations, public authorities). The different models of place-brand formation (top-down branding, brand politicking—pursuing progressive alignment to the official brand—and brand co-creation) have yet to deal with diverging brand meanings. This chapter argues that such diverging meanings are a central part of the brand—especially for keeping the place alive—and make it adaptive in transitioning communities. In this regard, place-brand management should support changes of the perceptions of the place and move away from outdated stereotypes and crystallised place images.
