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Universidade Autónoma de Lisboa

e-ISSN: 1647-7251

Vol. 15, N.º 2, TD2

Thematic Dossier – Place Branding and Public Diplomacy

Special edition on Ibero-American States

February 2025

EDITORIAL

ANA MARGARIDA BARRETO

ambarreto@fcsh.unl.pt

Ana Margarida Barreto is an Assistant Professor with Habilitation at Universidade Nova de Lisboa,

where she teaches Marketing, Strategic Communication and Organizational Communication. She

completed a postdoc at Tel Aviv University, where she studied attention, perception, and

memory, and was a visiting researcher at the University of Texas at Austin, Westminster

University, King's College London, and Columbia University. She founded and coordinated the

research line in Strategic Communication and the Laboratory in Research in Applied

Communication - LICA (remaining in its coordination), of the ICNOVA Research Centre. Outside

academia, she worked for several years in communication, branding and advertising, in Portugal

and Spain. ORCID: 0000-0002-7465-327X.

FABIANA GONDIM MARIUTTI

fabiana.mariutti@unesp.br

She works as a researcher, university lecturer and consultant; she has a post-doctorate,

doctorate and master's degree in Business Administration and a bachelor's degree in Social

Communication. She has been studying image, reputation and the Brazil brand since 2010. She

is interested in the areas of Place Branding and Public Diplomacy. She was named a Place Brand

Expert by The Place Brand Observer in Switzerland. Author of the recent article: ‘When place

brand and place logo matches: VRIO applied to Place Branding’, two books and seven book

chapters. In March 2025, Fabiana publishes a chapter entitled “The Brazilian Way” no Public

Diplomacy Handbook by the Edward Elgar Publishing, in the U.S.A.

ORCID: 0000-0003-2404-7041.

JOÃO R. FREIRE

joao.freire@universidadeeuropeia.pt

With a degree in Economics and a PhD in Marketing, João Freire has worked for various

companies in various countries throughout his career. João Freire has participated as a speaker

at various international conferences, published articles in academic journals and chapters in

books, and edited several books. He is part of the board of referees of different academic

journals. He is currently the editor of the journal 'Place Branding and Public Diplomacy' for

Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. Professor João Freire edited the book Nation Banding in

Europe. O João Freire is a researcher at ICNOVA and a professor at IPAM Lisboa, where he

coordinates the Global Marketing degree. ORCID: 0000-0003-1199-412X.

NUNO CORREIA DE BRITO

nuno.brito@ipleiria.pt

He is Adjunct Professor at School of Education and Social Sciences at Polytechnic University of

Leiria. He completed his MSc in Communication, Culture and Information Technologies at ISCTE –

Lisbon University Institute, in 2011, and his PhD in Communication Science at the same

university, in 2017. He works in the area of Social Sciences with emphasis on Communication

Sciences and develops his research in Strategic Communication (Public Relations), Political

Communication, Journalism and New Media and Social Movements. He is an Integrated

Researcher at ICNOVA, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, and a collaborator at NIPCOM, Universidade

Autónoma de Lisboa. He is a member of SOPCOM (Portuguese Society of Communication

Sciences) and APCE (Portuguese Association of Corporate Communication).

ORCID: 0000-0003-2639-5832.

JANUS.NET, e-journal of International Relations

e-ISSN: 1647-7251

VOL 15, N.º 2, TD2

Thematic Dossier - Place Branding and Public Diplomacy

Special edition on Ibero-American States

February 2025, pp. 8-12

Editorial – Places, People and Partnerships: Literature's Indispensable

Theoretical-Practical Trivium

Ana Margarida Barreto, Fabiana Gondim Mariutti, João R. Freire, Nuno Correia de Brito

How to cite this editorial

Barreto, Ana Margarida, Mariutti, Fabiana, Freire, João R. & Brito, Nuno Correia de (2025). Editorial,

Places, People and Partnerships: Literature's Indispensable Theoretical-Practical Trivium.

Janus.net, e-journal of international relations. VOL 15 N.º 2, TD2 – Thematic Dossier – “Place

Branding and Public Diplomacy”. February 2025, pp. 8-12. https://doi.org/10.26619/1647-

7251.DT0125ED.

JANUS.NET, e-journal of International Relations

e-ISSN: 1647-7251

VOL 15, N.º 2, TD2

Thematic Dossier - Place Branding and Public Diplomacy

Special edition on Ibero-American States

February 2025, pp. 8-12

Editorial – Places, People and Partnerships: Literature's Indispensable

Theoretical-Practical Trivium

Ana Margarida Barreto, Fabiana Gondim Mariutti, João R. Freire, Nuno Correia de Brito

PLACES, PEOPLE AND PARTNERSHIPS: LITERATURE'S

INDISPENSABLE THEORETICAL-PRACTICAL TRIVIUM

ANA MARGARIDA BARRETO

FABIANA GONDIM MARIUTTI

JOÃO R. FREIRE

NUNO CORREIA DE BRITO

This special issue of the e-journal of International Relations, dedicated to scientific

research from Ibero-American countries, is the result of an editorial partnership between

researchers from Portugal and Brazil, with the support of the Universidade Autónoma de

Lisboa and ICNOVA.

Studies on place branding and public diplomacy have evolved significantly over time, with

a greater concentration of analyses focused on locations in Europe and Asia. Although

the term ‘public diplomacy’ dates back to 1965 (coined by Edmund Gullion, see Cull,

2008), Anholt's introduction of the concept of ‘place branding’ in 1998 helped formalise

the idea of managing a place's reputation using branding principles. Since then, these

two fields have become intertwined in practice and knowledge.

Despite decades of existence, these concepts are still far from fully mature. Therefore,

dossiers like this one help to promote conceptual alignment, where different perspectives

coexist and places differ by location, size, culture, economy, politics, among other

factors. Whatever the perspective, place branding and public diplomacy are related, as

both aim to influence international perceptions. Although there are still few articles that

integrate the two fields of knowledge, we believe that both areas can benefit and

reinforce each other. The literature points precisely to some gaps and needs for theory

building, such as developing new concepts and theories in the context of artificial

intelligence; adapting models for small cities, towns and rural areas; reviewing the real

positive impact that places have on people's lives; and analysing the role of places in

mitigating the negative effects of climate change or eradicating poverty. After all, places

have interesting histories, survive on resources and exist for people. The reality of each

JANUS.NET, e-journal of International Relations

e-ISSN: 1647-7251

VOL 15, N.º 2, TD2

Thematic Dossier - Place Branding and Public Diplomacy

Special edition on Ibero-American States

February 2025, pp. 8-12

Editorial – Places, People and Partnerships: Literature's Indispensable

Theoretical-Practical Trivium

Ana Margarida Barreto, Fabiana Gondim Mariutti, João R. Freire, Nuno Correia de Brito

place needs to be studied for its reputation to be properly perceived or for its space to

be worth living, visiting, working, studying, undertaking, investing there, etc.

By lucky coincidence, this dossier is being published in the year that Place Branding and

Public Diplomacy (PBPD) celebrates its 20th anniversary. The special two-decade edition

of PBPD magazine invites reflection on the state of the art of Place Branding and Public

Diplomacy (see Florek & Pamment, 2024). The guest authors analyse the evolution of

the theme in the theoretical-methodological field, highlighting the need for greater

theoretical consolidation of the concept of Place Branding and the building of bridges to

the concept of Public Diplomacy. It is, however, two decades of research and innovative

contributions to a field of knowledge that has reformulated the way countries, cities and

regions think about themselves and how they present themselves to the world, evolving

their actions towards an integrated model. Place brand management is currently

consolidated as a scientific topic in academia, widely recognised by researchers from

various fields and backed up by publications in different scientific journals.

The six articles chosen by authors from Brazil and Portugal for this special edition

highlight the diversity and richness of place branding research - four articles on regions

in Portugal and two articles on Brazil. With regard to the methodology used, qualitative

studies prevail (four), followed by theoretical essays (two).

The first article, a theoretical essay, A Theoretical Background for Place Branding in a

Tourism Context, explains how place branding works in a tourism context - destination

branding. It acknowledges that the tourist's purchasing decision has some unique aspects

that differ from more generic buyer behaviour. It is therefore argued that in order to

understand how destination branding works, it is necessary to comprehend the specific

characteristics of tourist behaviour.

In another theoretical essay, From Smart Cities to Smart Territories: Co-operation as a

Place Branding Strategy, a reflection is presented on the use of the smart cities concept

and its potential to be applied to wider territories, involving several municipalities. The

concept of smart cities is expanded to include rural or hinterland territories, suggesting

that this approach can bring considerable benefits to these regions, including greater

integration, co-operation and sustainable development. People and Planet First: Testing

a Nuanced Approach to Place Branding in The Dão Wine Region proposes an innovative

and disruptive approach to place branding, suggesting that the focus should be on people

and the planet, arguing that applying sustainable and socially responsible practices can

be an effective way of building a strong place brand. This qualitative approach is tested

in a Portuguese wine region, the Dão, demonstrating how social and environmental

responsibility can contribute to strengthening a place's identity.

The article Destinations, Experiences, and Places: The Role of Storytelling in Tourism

Advertising Communication analyses the role of storytelling in the communication of

tourist destinations, based on an analysis of the ‘Can't Skip Portugal’ campaign,

developed by the Turismo de Portugal. This qualitative research concludes that

storytelling is an extremely effective communication tool, both for involving internal

stakeholders and for increasing the efficiency of destinations' communication with their

JANUS.NET, e-journal of International Relations

e-ISSN: 1647-7251

VOL 15, N.º 2, TD2

Thematic Dossier - Place Branding and Public Diplomacy

Special edition on Ibero-American States

February 2025, pp. 8-12

Editorial – Places, People and Partnerships: Literature's Indispensable

Theoretical-Practical Trivium

Ana Margarida Barreto, Fabiana Gondim Mariutti, João R. Freire, Nuno Correia de Brito

target audiences. Storytelling, in this context, serves as an emotional link that connects

the destination to the visitor, creating a more engaging and memorable image.

The article Management and Positioning of the Brazil Brand in the Latin American Context

focuses on the development of a country brand for Brazil, with the aim of strengthening

the country's image on the international stage. The study, which is qualitative in nature,

uses secondary sources to construct a guiding document that can assist in the brand

development process. The study argues that developing a strong brand for Brazil has the

potential to attract more investment, tourists and boost exports, while at the same time

improving the country's image in the Latin American and global context.

The Human Side of Places: Machine Learning and Scientific Knowledge, uncovers that

when comparing the results of an artificial intelligence (AI) tool related to scientific

knowledge, the realities or nuances of the human side of the place are considerably

lacking, in terms of the creative thinking of sensory and imaginary perception when

experiencing a city, region or country, namely, living, visiting, working, studying,

undertaking, investing, immigrating there, etc. This qualitative study analyses the

deliveries of a Large Language Models (LLM) platform together with the results of nine

country-brand indices to explain Brazil's reputation abroad, as a proxy for interpretive

content analysis.

The articles selected, with their diverse theoretical approaches and interpretative

methodologies, make a significant contribution to understanding and advancing the field

of place branding, offering new perspectives, timely insights and contemporary scenarios

to solidify the literature. Places with their own cultures, people with peculiar creativities

and partnerships between varied groups synthesise the tripod needed for theory and

practice to come together in favour of academic advancement, scientific rigour and

human prosperity. May it be a contribution to applicable knowledge in research on cities,

regions and countries for future generations of researchers from Ibero-American

countries and other nations.

References

Anholt, S. (1998). Nation-brands of the twenty-frst century. Journal of Brand

Management, 5, 395-406.

Cull, N. J. (2008). Public diplomacy before Gullion: The evolution of a phrase.

In Routledge handbook of public diplomacy (pp. 39-43). Routledge.

Florek, M., & Pamment, J. (2024). Celebrating two decades of the Journal of Place

Branding and Public Diplomacy. Place Branding and Public Diplomacy, 20(Suppl 1), 1-3.