Regional ‘Branding’: the case of three Italian regions. Towards an ecological brand

Purpose – The aim of this paper is to explore the processes that lead to the emergence of a place brand, by connecting brand and branding to the wider framework of place marketing. Design/methodology/approach – The paper develops a theoretical-methodological framework which, inspired by semiotics, has its core in the distinction between syntax and semantics. The study applies the said framework to three Italian cases of regional development: Romagna (Emilia- Romagna), Montefeltro (Le Marche) and Val di Cornia (Tuscany). A comparison is undertaken in order to highlight similarities and differences in the emergence of a place brand. Findings – The findings reveal that the three cases are characterised by different degrees of integration between the syntactical elements (relating to marketing) and semantic elements (relating to branding). The idea of an ecological brand is developed and discussed through the analysis of the dimension of pragmatics. Originality/value – The paper proposes a theoretical advance in order to go beyond the dichotomy place-marketing / place-branding which characterises much of the literature. Moreover, the paper clarifies further the disputed concept of “place brand” by showing that a brand is not necessarily the result of deliberated branding strategies and actions.