Defining Place Branding in the Context of Uttarakhand

Uttarakhand Branding -2

                         Defining Place Branding in the Context of Uttarakhand

(Notes on Place branding for India, Place branding for Himalayan region, Place branding for Kumaun, Place branding for Garhwal, Place branding for Uttarakhand)

                                                       Bhishma Kukreti

                                Brand means a proper noun.  Every proper noun is brand and every brand is a proper noun.   

                        Branding is a natural phenomenon and nature has given this unique quality to every living organism. Every living organism does branding for itself. Charles R.Pettis states that a brand is the proprietary visual, emotional, rational and culture image that you associate with a company or a product.

                Therefore it may be stated that a place brand is the property visual, emotional, rational and culture image that a place associates with its geographical, political, cultural and social aspects.

               Sebastian Zenker (2011) states that in truth, place brands are very complex: they contain many different elements which could be classified in general categories.   

                      Zenker and Braun further define a place brand as “Network of associations in the consumers‘s mind based on the visual, verbal and behavioral express of a place which is embodied through the aims ,communication, values, and the general culture of place’s stakeholders and overall place design.”

                        Therefore, Uttarakhand brand is not what is communicated by government advertisement or communicated by Uttarakhandis but in reality Uttarakhand brand is the perception of communication about Uttarakhand in the mind of target group or groups.

                       Uttarakhand province is a brand whose brand value is gauged by the perception of its own people and perception of other people.

               According to Lucarelli, Guy and Marvin, the place branding is a procedure of image communication to a target market. It means that branding of Uttarakhand is a procedure of  image,  communication to a target market for retaining old investors, calling new investment, new fruitful inward and outward migration, retaining old vistors9as tourists) and attracting newer visitors.

                   Some Conventional Examples of Place Branding by Uttarakhandis

                     Though, after persuading write ups by Simon Anholt ‘Place branding’ is recent talk of the marketing world, however, place branding is not new concept. Place branding concept started with the human being from the day human started speaking. Vedas, Mahabharata, Ramayana and Bharat Muni’s Natyshashtra are witness that place branding is very old concept. In Mahabharata or Natyshashtra, the readers find the appreciation or criticism of particular places and admiration and disapproval of places.

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 1-Proverbs-   

                  When a Malla Dhangu person say,”Bichhla Dhangu walunk Arsha bda hondan’ (the arsha of Bichhla Dhangu are bigger in size”) the speaker is branding Bichhla Dhangu.

       When a proverb says that ‘Chaundkotya Band ar Barasyun bagan’, it is nothing but branding of Chaundkot and Barasyun pattis. The old proverb ‘jano Dhangu ano aango’ (be careful while visiting Dhangu’ is the negative branding of Dhangu Patti.

2-Folk Songs- There many folk songs in Uttarakhand which are best example of place branding as

A-‘..Almdmoda ki nanda Devi  ...’ folk song talks about Almoda and Nanda Devi Mountain or deity too.

B-There is a folk song in Gangaslan which narrate the characteristics of a couple of villages of Dhangu and Darbralsyun and Uadypur patti as

Gweel kaunki sikki badi (the people of Gweel village are arrogant)

Jalth kaunki Dhoti badi  (the people of Jalth put on long Dhoti)

Amaldu kaunka raudya badaa  (The men of  Amaldu rubs white chandan paste on their forehead)

Udaypur kaunkaa chhunyal bada (the people of Udaypurtalk much)

C- The following folk song is another example of place branding

Vasudhara ko thando pani

Kedar ko thaur

Trijugi narain takh

Badree sirmaur –hunchali dandyun kee chali hinwali kankor ..

3- Today’s Example- On people’s daily life, people talk about places as ‘The people of such places are very rough or people of those places are friendly’.  When Garhwali literature creative say ,” Delhi ‘s Garhwali literature creative think that they only serve Garhwali literature” or “ At present Pauri is second capital of Garhwali literature and Dehradun is capital of Garhwali literature” , that means they are practicing place branding.

                                   Examples of Place Branding in immediate modern time

    The advertisements related to ‘incredible India’ are examples of place branding. The tourist based advertisements of any place is nothing but is example of place branding. Uttarakhand government releases various advertisements or takes part in various exhibitions for attracting tourists and investors are examples of place branding.

              There are differences between a product branding and place branding. The place branding is more complex than product or service branding because all places have more stake holders and more complexities among stakeholders than normal commercial product or service.

            Place branding is now quickly getting importance and millions of towns or cities are in race for branding themselves. Place branding of Uttarakhand will fetch economic and social development not only to inhabitants of Uttarakhand but to all migrated ones too. Therefore, each Uttarakhandi should be aware of place branding.

                         

References:

1-Sebastian Zenker (2011)’ How to Catch a city’, Journal of Place Management and Development,

Vol-4 issue 1

2- Zenker S., Braun E.2010, Branding a City…, 39^th European Marketing Academy Conference, Denmark.

Notes on Place branding for India, Place branding for Himalayan region, Place branding for Kumaun, Place branding for Garhwal, Place branding for Uttarakhand to be continued…..

 Copyright@ Bhishma Kukreti