Dentsu Inc. Develops New Regional Revitalization Method: "Place Branding"

The text of the Dentsu Inc. news release distributed on May 8 is as follows.

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May 8, 2018

Dentsu Inc. Develops New Regional Revitalization Method: "Place Branding"

― Donates Books on New Method to Young People Leading Future Community Development, Opening New Paths for Regional Revitalization ―

Dentsu Inc. (Headquarters: Minato-ku, Tokyo; President: Toshihiro Yamamoto) has developed a new methodology by integrating its proprietary knowledge and expertise in regional revitalization, amid the growing importance of regional revitalization and community development. The company has named this new methodology "Place Branding" and will offer it to local governments and businesses.

Within Japan, various regional revitalization initiatives have been undertaken under the theme of "regional branding." However, many of these efforts were confined to individual municipal departments or administrative districts, or were undertaken by companies acting alone. Consequently, activities ranging from product development to city promotion often remained isolated, failing to achieve sustainable and cohesive branding.

"Place Branding" overcomes these challenges. It is a new methodology that integrates "Place Theory" from geography and "Branding Theory." Here, "Place" refers to locations where challenges can be defined using flexible units such as wide-area regions, highways, railway corridors, streets, or alleys. Place Branding is a methodology developed through collaboration between private companies and government bodies. It builds a theoretical framework based on numerous successful cases approached from this place perspective and translates it into concrete practical techniques (for details on our past initiatives, see http://www.dentsu.co.jp/abic/をご覧ください ).

Building on joint research with external experts, we have published the book Place Branding: From Region to Place Branding, which synthesizes the philosophy, theory, and practical application of this approach. We will utilize the royalties from the first edition of this book to donate copies to the younger generation, primarily high school and university students who will become the next generation of town development leaders, thereby widely sharing its principles. Additionally, we plan to launch a dedicated website introducing its methodology and latest case studies, along with establishing consultation windows nationwide ( details at http://www.dentsu.co.jp/abic/publication/contents04.htmlをご覧ください ).

Moving forward, we will collaborate with our nationwide group companies to respond swiftly and sustainably to the regional revitalization needs of businesses and local governments, contributing to their revitalization.

<Publication Details>
・Title: "Place Branding: From Region to 'Place' Branding"
・Author: Edited by Dentsu Inc. abic project
　Written by: Hiroyasu Wakabayashi, Mitsue Tokuyama, and Masanobu Nagao
・Publisher: Yuhikaku
・Publication Date: April 28, 2018
・Price: ¥2,200 (excluding tax)

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*Place theory is a concept that began to be discussed in the 1970s within humanistic geography, which advocates for human-centered geography. In contemporary human geography, it is defined as "a partial space segmented from the surrounding space and environment through concrete human engagement, which carries special meaning for an individual or a specific human group."

　

(Source: "Dictionary of Human Geography" 2013, edited by the Japanese Association of Human Geography / "Place Branding" 2018, Yuhikaku)

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Dentsu Inc. News Release
http://www.dentsu.co.jp/news/release/2018/0508-009535.html