What place-branding research teaches us about airport advocacy

ImpactAir: The Aviation Advantage for Communities gives economic developers, airport executives/managers, elected officials, and industry stakeholders a resource to explore. 

In their 2013 paper, My City – My Brand: The Role of Residents in Place Branding, researchers Erik Braun, Mihalis Kavaratzis, and Sebastian Zenker challenged the conventional approach to marketing cities and communities.
Their central argument was that residents should not be treated merely as an audience for a marketing campaign. They should be recognized for their power to actively shape  the identity, reputation, and future of the places where they live.

The researchers identified three distinct roles residents play:

1. Residents are an integral part of the place brand through their characteristics and behavior.
2. Residents serve as ambassadors who give credibility to the community's reputation.
3. Residents are citizens and voters whose participation provides political legitimacy for public initiatives.

These roles are especially relevant to airports, and any effort to revitalize airports should engage residents to create ambassadors and reduce animosity. 

Although Braun and his colleagues were studying place branding rather than airport development, their framework offers a useful way to rethink aviation promotion.

It suggests that airport revitalization is not simply a technical planning challenge or an external marketing exercise. It is also a community relationship strategy.

1. Residents are part of the airport's economic identity

Consider two airports with similar runways and comparable hangar capacity and available land. One sits in a community where residents value aviation as part of local life. Schools introduce students to aviation careers. Local businesses recognize the airport's contribution to the local economy. Pilots and airport tenants participate in civic organizations. Elected officials regularly explain how aviation supports the broader community.

The other airport is largely disconnected from its surroundings. Residents see aircraft overhead but rarely interact with airport businesses. The airport appears in public discussions primarily when there is a capital request, noise complaint, or proposed development.

Which airport is better positioned for long-term revitalization?

Braun and his colleagues argued that residents help shape a place's character and reputation. Their interactions, behavior, and experiences shape what outsiders understand about that community. The paper highlights Berlin's Be Berlin campaign, which incorporated residents' personal stories into the city's external representation.

An airport's reputation depends on more than its infrastructure. Local flight instructors introduce young people to aviation, business owners depend on corporate air access, maintenance technicians build careers, and residents see aviation as part of their community's future. Each of those relationships helps create an environment in which aviation investment can take root.

The strategic lesson: Airport promotion should begin by identifying and strengthening the aviation connections that already exist within the community.

2. Residents are the airport's most credible ambassadors

Airport marketing campaigns often emphasize advertising, websites, social media, trade shows, and direct business recruitment. Those tools matter, but a community's reputation is also shaped by what people say about it when the marketing department is not in the room.

Braun, Kavaratzis, and Zenker distinguish three forms of place-brand communication: a place's actual actions and physical characteristics, formal advertising and public relations, and the informal word-of-mouth generated by residents.

Their research emphasizes residents' credibility as insiders who communicate their experiences to outside audiences.

Now consider how an aviation business evaluates a potential location.

The company may begin with runway length, instrument approaches, hangar availability, land, utilities, and operating costs. As the evaluation progresses, it also engages with the community.

Company representatives meet local employers; talk with airport tenants; evaluate workforce resources and ask about public support, local government responsiveness, and the community's attitude toward aviation. Those conversations influence the perceived risk of locating there.

A polished airport brochure cannot compensate for an airport community that appears divided, indifferent, or uncertain about its future.

Conversely, credible local advocates can reinforce a community's investment proposition.

Community engagement is not a substitute for technical capability, but an aviation maintenance company considering a new location may be more persuaded by a local technical college's commitment to workforce development than by a generic advertisement about available airport acreage.

For airport revitalization campaigns, this suggests that rather than relying exclusively on the airport manager or economic-development organization to communicate the airport's value, communities should create opportunities for authentic local voices to participate. Anyone who can provide a genuine perspective will contribute to an airport’s success.

3. Residents provide the political legitimacy airport revitalization requires

The third role Braun and his colleagues identified may be most important for airport leaders.

Residents are citizens and voters who shape public priorities, elect local officials, participate in planning, and help determine whether public investment is politically sustainable.

The researchers argued that place-branding initiatives cannot simply be imposed from the top. Public participation and democratic legitimacy matter because residents help determine whether they accept or reject the promoted identity.

This has direct implications for airports, because airport revitalization often requires decisions involving public funding, land use, utilities, access roads, hangar development, compatible zoning, and long-term capital commitments. Those decisions can produce legitimate disagreements. Residents may question the return on investment. They may worry about noise, safety, traffic, environmental effects, or changes in neighborhood character.
Some may believe the airport serves only a relatively small group of aircraft owners. Others may see opportunities for jobs, workforce development, business access, emergency services, and regional competitiveness.
An effective airport strategy cannot dismiss those concerns as a public-relations problem. It must treat them as part of the planning process.

The place-branding research offers an important warning: when residents believe an official brand doesn't represent their community, they can actively challenge it.

For airport leaders, the parallel is clear. A campaign announcing that an airport will become a major aviation growth center may excite investors and economic developers. But if residents haven't helped define what that growth means, the message may create suspicion rather than support. Public engagement should not begin after the airport's future has already been decided. It should help shape the vision from the beginning.

That does not mean every resident must agree with every proposed investment. Nor does it mean public participation replaces the airport sponsor's legal, safety, or regulatory responsibilities. It means the community should understand the options, tradeoffs, costs, benefits, and uncertainties before being asked to support the direction. A credible airport revitalization campaign is built on informed particpiation, transparent decision-making, and a defnisble public purpose, not unanimous enthusiasm.

Find out whether your airport is ready for its next economic opportunity

Golden Shovel Agency has published research to help you build the case for your airport.  Now we are releasing the impactAIR Airport Opportunity Scorecard. This diagnostic tool provides a baseline report on your airport's economic readiness and highlights areas for improvement. 

Just complete the 15-question survey, and impactAIR will send you an Opportunity Scorecard report detailing your airport's readiness for economic promotion.   

We believe in the power of airports and want you to have the best information available. If you’re ready to capitalize on your airport’s value, we invite you to complete the Aviation Opportunity Scorecard and start making that value visible to you and your community. 

Ron Kresha is a founding member of Golden Shovel Agency, an avid pilot and an aviation strategist. He is a leading voice for airport strategy development and economic development. He frequently presents his research at aviation and economic development conferences.