Creating a brand personality for Valletta

Abstract

Purpose- This dissertation aims to determine the brand personality of the city of Valletta. The objectives of the study are the applicability of Kaplan, et al. (2010) brand personality dimensions for cities for Valletta and whether the intended brand personality of Valletta by the internal stakeholders, is in line with the perceived brand personality by the external stakeholders. Design/methodology/approach- The research was conducted by means of a mixed qualitative research design, one-to-one interviews and three focus groups with the internal stakeholders and external stakeholders respectively. Thematic analysis was conducted after which personalities which emerged from the analysis were categorised into the brand personality dimensions. Findings- The brand personality dimensions for cities of Kaplan, et al. (2010) were found to be applicable to Valletta and it constituted a brand personality dimensions model for Valletta. It was found that there is a gap between the intended brand personality and the perceived brand personality. Research limitations/implications- The number of participants which represented the internal stakeholders does not reflect the whole spectrum of stakeholders which are responsible in the marketing efforts towards Valletta. Since the sampling method for focus groups was that of snowball sampling, the focus groups were not representatives of the whole population. Practical implications- This study suggests the use of the brand personality dimensions for Valletta which emerged from the findings obtained through the external stakeholders, to close down the gap between the perceived brand personality and the intended brand personality. Originality/value- To date, no research has been made in a local context with respect to the brand personality of Valletta. It is of value to stakeholders who are responsible in the marketing efforts towards Valletta, to adopt a new branding strategy and because of the emergence of a brand personality dimensions framework specifically for Valletta.