Branding an African city through sport: the role of stakeholder engagement

Abstract

City branding is an emerging, contemporary tourism discourse that is growing faster in practice than in academic theory. For African cities that suffer from the ‘Brand Africa’ effect, branding provides a means of differentiation in a competitive global environment in order to attract tourism and investment, among a host of other objectives. While a recent paper by the authors examined the perceived importance of sport for a city brand, this paper examines the strategic significance of stakeholder engagement for effective brand differentiation through sport. Cape Town was chosen as the case study context as it has a strong association with sport and tourism. A qualitative design featured semi-structured, in-depth interviews conducted with definitive sport, tourism and city-brand stakeholders (n=12). A thematic analysis of these findings clearly revealed the importance of strategic partnerships and stakeholder relationships in the development of the city’s brand. Respondents identified key stakeholders involved in the development of the city brand and gave specific examples of national and international cities where strategic engagement has enhanced the competitive differentiation of a city brand through sport. The paper concludes that the strategic role of sport for the Cape Town city brand is greatly influenced by the degree of stakeholder commitment to investment in sport and effective, strategic brand stakeholder partnerships. While this paper adds to the limited theoretical knowledge of African city branding, it also has practical significance for other African city brand stakeholders, providing strategic guidance for brand stakeholders who aim to position a distinct and competitive city brand.