Defense Date

11-9-2012

Graduation Date

Fall 2012

Availability

Immediate Access

Submission Type

dissertation

Degree Name

PhD

Department

Communication and Rhetorical Studies

School

McAnulty College and Graduate School of Liberal Arts

Committee Chair

Pat Arneson

Committee Member

Calvin L Troup

Committee Member

Richard H Thames

Keywords

Branding, City, Communication, Discourse, Marketing, Promotion

Abstract

A review of current city branding literature indicates that unsuccessful attempts at city branding appear to rely on creating static, flashy, and often idealized images of a city. Such marketing efforts may result in a "brandopolis," or images that may not reflect a city's true identity. This dissertation supplements current city branding literature by exploring how stakeholders' discourses form, enhance, and communicate a city's image. The consideration of a communicative approach to the promotion of city images, from a humanities perspective grounds stakeholders' experiences of the city in their communicative practices. This grounded communicative approach to city marketing offers marketers better insight into how the stories people tell about their experiences become part of the city's narrative identities. Understanding stakeholders' roles in crafting and communicating a city's narrative identities in their everyday discourses may help marketers promote the city's image beyond a mere brandopolis.

Format

PDF

Language

English

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