Place Brand Communication as Governmentality: Governing through Branding in the Post-industrial city.
Abstract: This study argues a problem in the place brand communication field’s focus on its practicality as a management strategy, regarding it as a neutral activity overlooking the political decisions behind and its consequences. The purpose of this study is suggesting a solution by approaching with a governmentality perspective. The method of discourse analysis has been used studying the city brand communication in Stockholm and Malmö through observations, interviews and documents. This study contributes to the previous research by showing that: 1) City brand communication seeks to govern by producing perceptions of an economic focus as a natural development, that the city has one true essence which should be communicated with one voice, and that the city is open. 2) It seeks to govern through the creative entrepreneurial – and growth discourses, promoting ideals of creativity, innovation, entrepreneurship, based on a rationality of freedom. 3) We become creative entrepreneurs. 4) We are governed because individuals become winners in society while government maintains a social system designed to exploit the creative entrepreneurs for successful economic outcome.
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