Eshuis, J., & Klijn, E. H. (2012). Branding in
Public Governance and Management.
London: Routledge.
Chapter 1 The Rise of Branding in Governance
Processes
While important, branding “is not a silver bullet that can completely prevent the development of
negative perceptions.” (p. 2)
Definition of governance:
- “The worldwide governance landscape in which branding takes place is characterized by
governments applying new forms of horizontal governance, such as public–private
partnerships (PPPs), interactive decision making, stakeholder involvement, and other
forms of citizen involvement. […] Governments in recent years have become more
dependent on societal actors to achieve their goals because of the increasing
complexity of the challenges they face.” (p. 2) Branding has become more important
because of the upsurge of governance
- Rhodes (1996) identified six di erent interpretations of the word governance, on which
others have built. “Looking more closely at all the interpretations, we see four major
definitions that dominate the literature: (1) Governance as good governance or corporate
governance […] (2) Governance as new public management or market governance […] (3)
Governance as multi-level governance or inter-governmental relations […] (4)
Governance as network governance.” (p. 7-8)
- Approach to governance in this book: governance is a multicentered (rather than uni-
centered) process of governing (rather than a structure of government) between
interdependent actors in governance networks through which outcomes are achieved.
(p. 9) Governance is a political process that is characterized by power di erences. (p. 9-
10).
Definition of a brand:
- “Brands, being symbolic constructs that add value or meaning to something in order to
distinguish it from its competitors, are increasingly used in strategies for managing
perceptions in the public sector.” (p. 3)
- “A brand is a symbolic construct that consists of a name, term, sign, symbol, or design,
or a combination of these, intended to identify a phenomenon and di erentiate it from
similar phenomena by adding particular meaning to it. A brand is not the product itself; it
is what gives meaning and value to the product and defines its identity (Kapferer 1992).”
(p. 6)
- “Brands also help to di erentiate products from their competitors by coupling specific
symbolic or experiential features to a product.” (p. 7)
- Brands “are a specific kind of symbol with four particular characteristics”, being that they
(1) “give meaning to something”; (2) “add value to the branded product or object”; (3)
distinguish the branded object or product from similar things especially from
, ‘competitors”; and (4) “have a concrete, visible manifestation in the form of a sign, a
design, or a name.”(p. 16)
Definition of a brand in governance:
- “A brand is a symbolic construct that consists of a name, term, sign, symbol, or design,
or a combination of these, created deliberately to identify a phenomenon and
di erentiate it from similar phenomena by adding particular meaning to it.” (p. 19)
Definition of branding:
- “Branding has been used to influence public perceptions of persons, places,
organizations, projects, and physical objects such as transport infrastructure and
buildings” (p. 3)
- “Branding di ers from the rational and deliberative [i.e., traditional] forms of
communication that have dominated governance processes so far, because it is largely
based on visual images and communicating emotions.” (p. 6)
- “Branding is an approach within marketing that aims at increasing the value to a user of a
branded object, such as a place, by giving the object symbolic meaning that is valuable
in the psychological and social life of consumers (Arvidsson 2006; Danesi 2006).” (p. 6-7)
- Branding is a deliberative process at it “involves deliberate attempts to influence how
citizens interpret a brand and evaluate a branded product” (p. 18)
- “At a fundamental level, branding involves the evocation of positive associations with a
particular phenomenon.” (p. 25)
Definition of political branding: “Political branding is applied to political leaders, political
parties, policies, and coalitions […] to enhance their popularity, create an image, and evoke
emotions with the voters. […] Branding techniques are now common practice among European
politicians as well.” (p. 3) “They have used branding, including brand elements such as slogans,
wordmarks, and logos, to construct an identity that is attractive to voters.” (p. 4)
Place/city branding: “Branding has also become common in place branding or city branding.
Branding places focuses on geographical locations, such as nations, cities, regions, and
communities. Brands communicate selected physical and emotional attributes of a place, thus
giving it specific meaning. Place branding is aimed at attracting residents, tourists, or investors.”
(p. 4)
Di erent e ects of branding in governance processes:
- “Dependency and attracting stakeholders to governance processes” (p. 10): Branding
may help attracting actors to participate in/contribute to the forming and realization of
public policy.
- “Decreasing loyalty among stakeholders and voters” (p. 11): Branding is used to appeal
and bind stakeholders to governance processes by constructing an identity with which
they can identify.
- “Governance involves a wide variety of perceptions” (p. 11): Branding can be used for
converging di erent perceptions of and solutions to problems.
- “Governance and the penetration of popular culture into political culture” (p. 11-12):
Citizens increasingly approach political culture as popular culture and therefore
branding may help political actors with managing their images, communication styles
and emotions.
