The meaning and measurement of place identity and place image of towns and cities

It is within the context of the growing level of competitiveness between places, and even the decline of many, that a need has been identified for places to have a marketing focus. As a new and under-researched domain, and also due to some similarities, place marketing research has been guided by the more extensively researched corporate level marketing and destination marketing. Both of these applications emphasise the importance of internal marketing to employees and host populations respectively. If place marketers are to effectively market 'their' place, there is a requirement to be able to define and measure attributes of place identity and in particular, perceived or construed image. This study will make a contribution to this need by first identifying generic attributes of place identity and image. A rating scale is used which will allow for the measurement of each attribute as well as gaps that may exist between identity and construed image. An outcome of this work will be the opportunity for longitudinal studies to monitor changes in place identity and image, as well as for comparisons between places, particularly within a competitive set. This work is of value to place marketers and planners seeking to retain and attract, what are today, the more mobile markets of people and corporations.