Analysis of management narrative to understand social marketing strategy: the case for 'Branding Logan City'

Abstract

This paper presents a unique city branding case applying narrative analysis to the marketing manager's account of his long running campaign to brand Logan City. The analysis finds that the campaign has many of the hallmarks of social marketing, but focusses strongly on citizen's positive self-image and social capital development. Elements of city branding are employed but the approach is 'self-directed', rather than the usual approach of 'other-directed'. The desired outcomes are a positive self and community image laying the foundation for a community confident to undertake various economic development tasks. Implications for social marketing theory and management and future research are discussed.