Two Cities, One Brand: A Branding Insight into Local Economic Development (Feb 2013)

Martin Prosperity Institute Working Paper Series by Cecilia Pasquinelli 
 
 Abstract

Increasing attention has been drawn to relational spatial entities as potentially embedding renewed and alternative paths of local development. This research paper discusses the intertwining of an emerging relational configuration of space and the pursuit of post-industrial development, by analyzing the formation of an organizational identity. The case of NewcastleGateshead (UK) is interpreted as a brand emerging from urban collective strategy-making which has involved two partner cities, thus crossing administrative borders. By suggesting the importance of recognizing the emergence of “branded relational spaces”, research results stress the active role of a collective construction of meanings and their communication in the creation of relational spatial entities. This provides an opportunity to reflect on the extent to which branding, here interpreted as collective strategy-making, is a process going beyond mere communication and fostering an institutionalization of the branded space, thus influencing the way in which local development is spatially and strategically conceived.

ICE Committee