Building urban destination brands in Europe: re-conceptualizing the relationship between brand image and brand personality in website communication practices
Destinations must project a strong and differentiated brand image to position themselves in a competitive market. To this end, official websites have become a key instrument in the portrayal of the desired image and as the place where tourists expect to find everything about the destination. In this...
| Author: | |
|---|---|
| Format: | doctoral thesis |
| Status: | Published version |
| Publication Date: | 2018 |
| Country: | España |
| Institution: | CBUC, CESCA |
| Repository: | TDR. Tesis Doctorales en Red |
| OAI Identifier: | oai:www.tdx.cat:10803/462852 |
| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/10803/462852 |
| Access Level: | Open access |
| Keyword: | Destination branding Brand image Brand personality Website communication Projected image Content analysis Online communication Official website Urban destinations Tourism Europe Place branding Branding de destinacions Imatge de marca Personalitat de marca Comunicació web Imatge projectada Anàlisi de contingut Comunicació online Web oficial Destinacions urbanes Turisme Europa Branding de territori Branding de destinos Imagen de marca Personalidad de marca Comunicación web Imagen proyectada Análisis de contenido Comunicación online Destinos urbanos Turismo Branding de territorios 62 |
| Summary: | Destinations must project a strong and differentiated brand image to position themselves in a competitive market. To this end, official websites have become a key instrument in the portrayal of the desired image and as the place where tourists expect to find everything about the destination. In this study, the official websites of the 12 most popular urban destinations in Europe are analyzed with a two-fold purpose: to describe their projected image, and to explore the relationship between brand image and brand personality in their discourse. The results highlight cultural activities, tourist packages, and food and drink associations as the three core components of the European cities’ offer. Similarly, while all destinations project highly exciting personalities, the traits related to the other personality dimensions are those that differentiate the destinations in the competitive context. Finally, the study shows that some product-related associations are more likely to transmit specific personality traits. |
|---|