To me, the most fascinating part of place marketing and branding is the fact that it relates to a living system: places. This open and constantly changing system poses a great challenge as a branding subject and it is hard to provide it with a framework. What is more, in this case it is difficult to adapt already recognised solutions.

Equally fascinating is the interdisciplinary nature of place marketing, which touches upon numerous disciplines like geography, urbanism, architecture, economics, tourism, planning and development, sociology, etc.

And finally, place branding and marketing as research areas are simply very needed by places and the people who want to live better lives in these places.

On the one hand, I saw a great need to professionalize our field, I observed how many agencies easily tried to treat places like beverage brands. I was plainly concerned that cities and regions would fall into some sort of trap. On the other hand, knowing so many excellent scholars, it was a shame to waste such potential. So, I initiated, together with colleagues from Best Place - European Place Marketing Institute (which had already been active in Poland for some time and with which I worked with for 13 years) a meeting with the best in the field in my home city of Poznan, where we all decided this was the right moment to found IPBA. To date, IPBA has already organized eight international conferences together with our partners and we have launched the IPBA Academy, where we train people from all over the world.

Of course, services in this area are already more professional, many agencies have even specialized in place branding and work with great professionals. Some, however, treat places schematically without seeing their specifics (which can involve very different aspects of the process). Still others are able to create a super impression, but place marketing is not about creating a magnificent show but about effects, which means that it requires a long-term perspective. Specialists who have a “catchy” idea for a place and are on the lookout for the place where it could be applied, play with the hopes of people who want to make their place a better one.

That's why it's also so important to educate place managers, officials, etc., so that they can assess how agencies or consultants operate and can react accordingly. And it is these managers who sometimes undertake place brand strategies themselves or with the support of external experts, often with excellent results.

I think we are at the stage of rethinking place branding - to really understand what we need it for and how to use it wisely. And I believe that place branding should go beyond its original roles - identification and distinction. These are still important, but place branding should move to a higher level and be more involved.

It's so uplifting to see actions initiated by places that relate to the common good - by common I also mean beyond the boundaries of place - because we have common problems to solve (such as climate change). So like never before place branding should be treated as public policy and not as a policy supplement.

This is anything but an easy research area, requiring an inter-disciplinary approach and flexible thinking and acting. Cooperation with place managers and stakeholders tends to be difficult if not altogether frustrating. Having said that, I must admit that this job can be very rewarding, broadening your horizons and offering various outlooks on people and their environment.

Thank you, Magdalena.