Putting a number on place: a systematic review of place branding influence

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to systematically review and evaluate critically what is known about the attempts made to quantify the influence of place branding from a geographic perspective. In particular, this study reviews how scholars have conceptualized and measured place branding influence and provides directions for future research. Design/methodology/approach Through a systematic review of seven databases using an a priori defined search string, 39 articles attempting to quantify place branding influence were identified. These studies were reviewed and the paper information was used to explore how place branding research has thus far quantified branding’s influence. Findings There is a clear compatibility between place branding and human geography research domains, with a potential for place branding influence to be conceptualized through the sense-of-place, which has implications for place equity and consumer decision-making. Much of the existing studies have conceptualized influence through place equity, revealing potential performance indicators for its quantification. Research limitations/implications This study is based on research papers that attempt to quantify the effectiveness of place branding of urban areas. Limitations include the exclusion of qualitative studies which may provide alternative approaches to determine place branding outcomes. Originality value As a systematic review, the main contribution of this paper is a contemporary overview of how place branding influence has been quantified. It also provides valuable insights into the policy formulation and its implementation.