Conclusions inclusive place branding-towards an integrative research agenda

By now, the readers of this book have been exposed to a range of ways in which places are complex, and hence, should be considered as ‘special’ forms of products, to be handled with great care. The premise of the book was to explore and problematize inclusive forms of place branding in its current practices, as well as its future possibilities; to examine its aims and methods as well as its theoretical underpinnings and challenges. Throughout its chapters, this book has offered diverse insights into the potential of place branding’s potential to go beyond economic interests and goals, to focus on residents, to engage diverse stakeholders, and to embrace contradictions and marginalized groups. We have not yet fully reached an exact definition of inclusive place branding; however, the book directs us towards a conception of inclusive place branding that is firmly situated in local contexts; cognizant of its political role; respectful of different communities’ right to represent themselves; aware of representational ethics; appreciative of contradictions and alternative stories in the negotiation of place identity. Inclusive place branding is thus not a panacea that resolves the tensions involved in the branding of place. It is a branding process that seeks to actively include stakeholders and to resist naïve claims to identity, representation and participation.