Scale transformation of place brands: a visual study of Xinhepu, Guangzhou
Abstract Place branding has become a popular strategy to promote place visibility and place image communication and gains attention in the field of city planning, geography, and place management. The contribution of geographical knowledge has been emphasized and discussed in recent place branding st...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Springer Nature
2023-11-01
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| Series: | Humanities & Social Sciences Communications |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-023-02328-z |
| _version_ | 1797630398734270464 |
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| author | Jiayin Zhang Mingliang Lin Min Wang Yinbin Lin |
| author_facet | Jiayin Zhang Mingliang Lin Min Wang Yinbin Lin |
| author_sort | Jiayin Zhang |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Place branding has become a popular strategy to promote place visibility and place image communication and gains attention in the field of city planning, geography, and place management. The contribution of geographical knowledge has been emphasized and discussed in recent place branding studies, including the role of geographical scale in branding strategies and management. However, current research mainly places the issues of scale from the top-down perspective of branding governance, and the bottom-up processes based on local culture and embodied experiences are overlooked. Drawing on participatory-based visual methodology, in the article, a combination of self‐directed photography, photo evaluation, eye-tracking experiment, and interview are employed to the scale transformation performance of place brands from the perspective of embodied experience. Taking Xinhepu in Guangzhou, China as a case study, the results show that both residents and nonresidents do not limit their perception of the Xinhepu brand to a microscale space but point to the city of Guangzhou. Specifically, the process of scale transformation of place brands is characterized by the interaction of temporal and spatial factors that provide possibilities for scale transformation. The physical landscape in space plays a role in place branding, while in time scale, Xinhepu connects Guangzhou’s past and present and is a microcosm of the city’s image and historical development; thus, in people’s embodied perception, Xinhepu can be transformed into a city brand through place culture creation. The article can provide a new explanation for the construction of place branding at multiple geographical scales and explore how the body’s unconscious, nonrepresentational rhythms play a role in place brand scale transformation. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T11:06:47Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-a2543010592549cfb11e6139093de797 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2662-9992 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T11:06:47Z |
| publishDate | 2023-11-01 |
| publisher | Springer Nature |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Humanities & Social Sciences Communications |
| spelling | doaj.art-a2543010592549cfb11e6139093de7972023-11-12T12:10:27ZengSpringer NatureHumanities & Social Sciences Communications2662-99922023-11-0110111210.1057/s41599-023-02328-zScale transformation of place brands: a visual study of Xinhepu, GuangzhouJiayin Zhang0Mingliang Lin1Min Wang2Yinbin Lin3College of Architecture and Landscape, Peking UniversityDepartment of Geosciences and Geography, University of HelsinkiSchool of Geography, South China Normal UniversityShantou Jinzhong Haiwan SchoolAbstract Place branding has become a popular strategy to promote place visibility and place image communication and gains attention in the field of city planning, geography, and place management. The contribution of geographical knowledge has been emphasized and discussed in recent place branding studies, including the role of geographical scale in branding strategies and management. However, current research mainly places the issues of scale from the top-down perspective of branding governance, and the bottom-up processes based on local culture and embodied experiences are overlooked. Drawing on participatory-based visual methodology, in the article, a combination of self‐directed photography, photo evaluation, eye-tracking experiment, and interview are employed to the scale transformation performance of place brands from the perspective of embodied experience. Taking Xinhepu in Guangzhou, China as a case study, the results show that both residents and nonresidents do not limit their perception of the Xinhepu brand to a microscale space but point to the city of Guangzhou. Specifically, the process of scale transformation of place brands is characterized by the interaction of temporal and spatial factors that provide possibilities for scale transformation. The physical landscape in space plays a role in place branding, while in time scale, Xinhepu connects Guangzhou’s past and present and is a microcosm of the city’s image and historical development; thus, in people’s embodied perception, Xinhepu can be transformed into a city brand through place culture creation. The article can provide a new explanation for the construction of place branding at multiple geographical scales and explore how the body’s unconscious, nonrepresentational rhythms play a role in place brand scale transformation.https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-023-02328-z |
| spellingShingle | Jiayin Zhang Mingliang Lin Min Wang Yinbin Lin Scale transformation of place brands: a visual study of Xinhepu, Guangzhou Humanities & Social Sciences Communications |
| title | Scale transformation of place brands: a visual study of Xinhepu, Guangzhou |
| title_full | Scale transformation of place brands: a visual study of Xinhepu, Guangzhou |
| title_fullStr | Scale transformation of place brands: a visual study of Xinhepu, Guangzhou |
| title_full_unstemmed | Scale transformation of place brands: a visual study of Xinhepu, Guangzhou |
| title_short | Scale transformation of place brands: a visual study of Xinhepu, Guangzhou |
| title_sort | scale transformation of place brands a visual study of xinhepu guangzhou |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-023-02328-z |
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