The St. Pauli Code: Stakeholder engagement and roles in maintaining cultural uniqueness in city branding

Aims - This paper aims to understand diverse stakeholder engagement in regards to their specific activities and roles in maintaining cultural uniqueness of a place brand.

Theoretical Framework – Cities trying to compete on a global scale as tourist destinations and places attractive for economic activity and international investments face a dilemma: one the one hand, bound to and influenced by the global economy cities are in need to draw attention through modernization, the offering of opportunities for investors, and appeal to popular taste. On the other hand, homogenisation is a danger to a city brand’s value proposition and makes its uniqueness, its irreplaceable cultural character more crucial for city branding (Riza 2015; Hudson et al. 2017).
The maintaining of a unique cultural character and hence, a city brand’s value, is part of a continuous negotiation process between interdependent stakeholder groups (Klijn et al. 2012; Insch 2021). Scholars argue that successful place branding cannot be achieved without stakeholder involvement (Eshuis et al. 2014; Kavaratzis 2012; Kavaratzis and Kalandides 2015). However, stakeholders differ in regards to their vision of the city brand’s development and the meaning they associate with it (Zenker and Beckmann 2013; Zenker and Braun 2017). The challenge resides within fostering stakeholder engagement to support cultural authenticity and therewith competitive advantage and beneficial outcomes for city brands (Lin et al. 2017; Hudson et al. 2017). Yet, due to stakeholders’ diverging interests, their engagement and specific contributions (activities and roles) are likely to differ as well.

Research Approach – We conducted a qualitative case study of the city district of St. Pauli in Hamburg, Germany. We carried out 10 semi-structured interviews with politicians (national and local), members of civil society (artists, NGOs etc.), small business owners and large investing companies, with more interviews to be conducted during 2023. Furthermore, we gather comprehensive secondary material such as newspaper articles, webpages and social media posts by different stakeholders, and TV documentaries.

Findings & Conclusions – Political stakeholders take on a moderating role between investors and residents through soothing, fostering dialogue, and giving slack to locals by stretching the boarders of the law to allow autonomy, ease the acceptance of city development, and maintaining the cultural character of St. Pauli. Residents demand involvement in city development, therewith supporting the uniqueness of St. Pauli, while offering alternative experiences through ‘backstage’ tours through the district. Investors show a willingness to forego immediate revenue benefits (e.g., through the conscious limiting of event scales) to maintain cultural uniqueness of St. Pauli.

Practical implications – A first analysis supports those benefits of stakeholder involvement and the importance of local politicians taking on a moderating role in the co-creation process through fostering stakeholder dialogue and activities.