Joao R. Freire is a founding partner of Grounded and a professor of Marketing at IPAM and Universidade Europeia in Lisbon. He has a degree in Economics and a Master’s and Ph.D in Marketing.
Joao’s greatest interest is in branding and, more specifically, place branding. After years of quantitative and qualitative research, Joao has developed new ideas and unique methodologies for place brand identity construction. He has worked with clients from various continents and his research has appeared in several international publications.
He is currently the Regional Editor for Europe, Middle East and Africa for the Place Branding and Public Diplomacy journal and is also a founding member of the International Place Branding Association.
Joao has developed innovative projects for the Portugal Tourism Board. One of the projects applied a new managerial tool that measured the attraction of the eleven tourism regions of Portugal.
Which topics linked to place branding are you most passionate about, as researcher?
- Place brand image
- Cultural effect on place brand image
- Place brand architecture
- Model of Governance
- Place brand attributes
5 hashtags which describe your research style/approach:
#qualitative #quantitative #contentanalysis #ethnography #groundedtheory
Key insights from your research so far?
Model of governance is an essential part of brand strategy.
Local people have to be at the heart of the place brand development.
Place brand image can differ from people from different countries, and regions.
Place brands are not static realities, they are dynamic and evolve.
A sound place brand architecture is a great solution to deal with different stockholders and different target segments.
Connect with Joao:
More about place branding in Portugal and the Middle East in our interview with Joao Freire.
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