The 3-Gap Place Branding Model

In this book, we have deconstructed the place branding model from a theory development angle, presenting this from a 3-gap perspective: three ways in which the strength of a place brand, as experienced in the host–guest encounter, between, most often, culturally diverse groups, might be affected. Gap 1, where the unique place identity can be a sustainable competit­ive advantage, but the challenge is to build a product offering and place brand using this uniqueness and projecting it through consistent narratives. Gap 2, where, while hosts have a similar reading of the place brand as guests, the implementation and performance in delivering the place experience might be ‘off-brand’, resulting in disappointing performance. Gap 3, where the perceived place image is skewed because of different cultural interpretations of the projected images, situational influences or biased word-of-mouth. In such a case, the place experience might be ‘on-brand’, but fails because the guest has a different reading of the place brand. By undertaking a thorough review and integration of the existing literature, we have examined both the antecedents of the model in the philosophy and immediate discipline of marketing at the interface of ICT, as well as the components that constitute the model itself. Several recurring themes can be identified.