Article in Place Branding and Public Diplomacy

Jesper Strandgaard and Can-Seng Ooi: City branding and film festivals: Re-evaluating stakeholder's relations

Abstract

The stakeholder approach is advocated by many researchers in the place branding literature. In order for a place brand to be successful, it must be supported by the various stakeholders. Although studies have shown how place brands fail because of the lack of consultation with stakeholders, building up consensus among stakeholders is easier said than done. We look at the Copenhagen International Film Festival (CIFF) and the branding of Copenhagen. At the broader level, the film festival increases the vibrancy of the city. Different stakeholders should – ideally – collaborate and cooperate to bring about common good for the community and enhance their own interests. But the organizers of CIFF and brand authorities of the city have different agendas. Eventually, their relationships are loose. This article shows that their relationships are only vaguely complementary, rather than symbiotic. It questions the normative use of the stakeholder approach to place branding. Stakeholders may have different agendas, have different audiences and may not even want to cooperate; a concerted joint effort to promote a place brand would merely increase coordination and governance costs.

Place Branding and Public Diplomacy 6, 316-332 (10 December 2010)

doi:10.1057/pb.2010.30

Original Article