The ambiguity of place branding consultancy: working with stakeholders in Rio de Janeiro

ABSTRACT

This study explores the tensions inherent in place branding consulting, by problematising the prescriptive and functionalistic view of consultants that characterises the place branding literature. If consultants’ pervasive impact on the contemporary place branding practice cannot be ignored, their fixed representation as powerful agents of top-down policies might limit more holistic accounts of consultancy practice. Indeed, consultants can find themselves mediating between bottom-up and top-down approaches to place branding. Thus, they can decide to promote more inclusive activities that give voice to local communities, while simultaneously addressing the needs of urban elites that are likely to pay the consultancy bill. Liminality is suggested as an appropriate idea to challenge role fixity and appreciate the ambiguity of place branding consultancy. The study reports self-reflective accounts from a case study on Rio de Janeiro, where the first author was involved in a three-year activity of working with stakeholders to stimulate a more inclusive public debate on city-brand management. Charting, snowballing, coopting consultants, informal advising, feeding and scientific arming are the six types of consulting practices of stakeholder engagement that the study identifies in order to offering a more nuanced representation of place brand consulting.

KEYWORDS:

• Place branding
• stakeholder engagement
• Rio de Janeiro
• practitioners
• scholars
• consultants

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Raquel Goulart Sztejnberg

Raquel Goulart Sztejnberg is a brand strategist and international consultant currently based in The Netherlands, and part of the expert team of The European Place Marketing Institute. She holds a MSc in Anthropology of Mobility from Radboud University Nijmegen and a Master in Consumer Behavior from Senai Cetiqt, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Massimo Giovanardi

Massimo Giovanardi is a Lectuer in Marketing at University of Leicester - School of Business. His research approach takes sociological perspectives to understand the processes whereby places are marketed, communicated and consumed. The consumption of tourism places has received a particular attention in his recent research experiences. Present focus on critical place marketing and inclusivity in place branding.