Branding of a European capital of Culture : Valletta how audiences engage with the Valletta 2018 brand

Abstract

City branding has an increasingly significant role in government agendas as countries employ culture as a tool to attract tourism and investment. However, little is known about how audiences engage with city brands as destinations for culture. Understanding audience engagement is important for policy makers as they strive to optimize the effectiveness of marketing expenditures for the branding of cities. This study involves a systematic literature review of branding and customer engagement within the product and services sector, and how these are distinct from city brands and audience engagement. In doing so, this review provides an assessment of the body of knowledge from which this study draws. The study employs a triangulation approach in collecting data involving Real Time experience tracking (after Baxendale, Macdonald, & Wilson, 2015; Macdonald, Wilson, & Konus, 2011) as well as a series of qualitative focus groups and interviews. Taking a longitudinal view of the brand as a process, the study explores audience engagement within the context of the Valletta 2018 European Capital of Culture programme, consistent with the view that city brands involve continuous social processes where all stakeholders (from cultural performers to event producers, from retailers to consumers) co-create brand value (Vargo & Lusch 2008; Vargo & Lusch 2016). The study finds that audiences value direct experiences as both important and significant, as opposed to indirect encounters with the Valletta 2018 brand. Furthermore, the Valletta 2018 brand is seen as a catalyst for positive change, and is seen to elevate the city’s profile.