Place Marketing Course

Lesson 1 • Territorial Marketing vs. Commercial Marketing

Contrasts the logic of selling products with the logic of promoting places, highlighting non-commercial value and collective governance. Clarifies why standard marketing tools require adaptation.

Lesson 2 • Defining Territory as a Market

Establishes what constitutes a territory in marketing terms, covering geographic, administrative, and perceptual dimensions. Anchors all subsequent analysis in a shared vocabulary.

Lesson 3 • Core Concepts and Vocabulary

Introduces key terms: place brand, territorial identity, attractiveness, and stakeholder. Provides the shared language used throughout the course.

Lesson 4 • Actors and Governance Structures

Maps the ecosystem of public agencies, private firms, civil society, and residents involved in territorial marketing. Establishes the multi-stakeholder governance model central to the field.

Lesson 1 • Stakeholder and Perception Analysis

Combines stakeholder interviews, surveys, and perception mapping to reveal how different audiences view the territory. Bridges objective data with subjective image.

Lesson 2 • SWOT Analysis for Territories

Adapts the SWOT framework to the territorial context, distinguishing endogenous strengths from exogenous opportunities. Produces a prioritised matrix that feeds directly into strategy.

Lesson 3 • Competitive Benchmarking of Territories

Teaches how to select peer territories, collect comparable indicators, and interpret performance gaps. Positions the territory relative to rivals on key attractiveness dimensions.

Lesson 4 • Synthesising the Territorial Diagnosis

Integrates audit, SWOT, benchmarking, and perception data into a coherent diagnostic report. Prepares students to communicate findings to decision-makers.

Lesson 1 • Segmentation Criteria and Methods

Applies geographic, demographic, psychographic, and behavioural segmentation to territorial audiences. Enables precise targeting beyond broad audience categories.

Lesson 2 • Audience Journey Mapping

Maps the decision-making journey of each priority audience from awareness to commitment. Identifies touchpoints where territorial marketing can intervene most effectively.

Lesson 3 • Building Audience Personas

Guides students through constructing detailed fictional profiles that represent key segments. Personas translate abstract segments into actionable communication targets.

Lesson 4 • Audience Prioritisation and Trade-offs

Introduces criteria for ranking audiences by strategic value, resource requirements, and compatibility. Addresses conflicts when attracting one audience may deter another.

Lesson 1 • Territorial Brand Identity Platform

Builds the brand identity platform including vision, mission, values, personality, and tone of voice. Translates positioning into a consistent brand expression framework.

Lesson 2 • Positioning Theory Applied to Places

Adapts Ries and Trout's positioning logic to the territorial context, emphasising differentiation and mental space. Connects positioning theory to audience perception and competitive context.

Lesson 3 • Authenticity and Credibility in Positioning

Examines the risks of over-promising and the importance of aligning external claims with lived reality. Teaches validation methods to ensure positioning is defensible and sustainable.

Lesson 4 • Territorial Identity Assets

Inventories the cultural, historical, natural, and economic assets that form a territory's authentic identity. Distinguishes genuine assets from manufactured or superficial claims.

Lesson 1 • Brand Guidelines and Governance

Produces the brand guidelines document and establishes governance processes for consistent brand use. Addresses licensing, partner compliance, and brand evolution over time.

Lesson 2 • Brand Narrative and Storytelling

Constructs the narrative layer of the place brand through stories, characters, and emotional arcs. Connects rational positioning to emotional resonance for target audiences.

Lesson 3 • Visual Identity for Territories

Covers logo, colour palette, typography, and imagery systems specific to place branding contexts. Addresses the challenge of designing for diverse institutional and commercial uses.

Lesson 4 • Brand Architecture and Sub-brands

Manages the relationship between a master territorial brand and sector-specific or sub-territorial brands. Prevents brand fragmentation while allowing contextual flexibility.

Lesson 1 • Strategy Validation and Approval

Guides students through the stakeholder consultation and political approval process for territorial strategies. Addresses negotiation, compromise, and maintaining strategic coherence.

Lesson 2 • Setting Territorial Marketing Objectives

Teaches how to formulate SMART objectives aligned with territorial development goals and audience priorities. Distinguishes awareness, consideration, and conversion objectives.

Lesson 3 • Action Plan and Resource Allocation

Translates strategic objectives into prioritised actions, timelines, budgets, and responsible parties. Introduces resource allocation frameworks for constrained public budgets.

Lesson 4 • Strategic Framework and Logic

Introduces the strategic planning logic connecting diagnosis to objectives, actions, and evaluation. Establishes the theory of change underlying the marketing strategy.

Lesson 1 • Creative Brief and Concept Development

Teaches how to write a creative brief that translates strategic positioning into actionable creative direction. Covers concept evaluation criteria and agency briefing best practices.

Lesson 2 • Media Relations and Earned Coverage

Builds a media relations strategy to generate credible third-party coverage of the territory. Covers press trip organisation, journalist targeting, and story angle development.

Lesson 3 • Integrated Communication Planning

Establishes the integrated communication planning process from audience insight to channel selection. Ensures message consistency across paid, owned, and earned media.

Lesson 4 • Digital and Social Media Channels

Covers platform selection, content strategy, and community management for territorial digital presence. Addresses organic and paid digital tactics for each audience type.

Lesson 1 • Continuous Improvement and Strategy Iteration

Embeds a learning loop into the territorial marketing system to enable evidence-based strategy updates. Addresses how to manage strategy revision in a multi-stakeholder governance context.

Lesson 2 • Performance Measurement Framework

Builds a measurement framework linking inputs, activities, outputs, and outcomes for territorial marketing. Distinguishes short-term communication metrics from long-term territorial impact.

Lesson 3 • KPI Dashboard Design

Guides students through designing a visual dashboard that communicates performance to diverse stakeholders. Balances operational detail with executive-level summary views.

Lesson 4 • Data Collection and Tracking Systems

Covers the tools and processes for collecting quantitative and qualitative performance data. Addresses digital analytics, survey instruments, and administrative data sources.