Original Article A review of place branding methodologies in the new millennium Received (in revised form): 12th July 2013 Chung-shing Chan is a doctoral candidate from the Department of Geography and Resource Management, The Chinese University of Hong Kong. His master study was about indicators for sustainable urban park management in Hong Kong, while his current doctoral research studies the potential of green resources for city branding in Hong Kong. Lawal M. Marafa is an associate professor at the Department of Geography and Resource Management, The Chinese University of Hong Kong. His teaching and research interests cover leisure and ecotourism, tourism and environment, recreation planning and management. ABSTRACT Over the past decade, place branding has become a vibrant area of research and has received increasingly widespread attention and recognition. Some scholars have discussed that many place branding studies have adopted qualitative and quantitative approaches in analysing collected data and information. This review article aligns the application of research methods and statistical analyses with place branding topic areas in articles published in three key periodicals since the year 2000. A dominance of qualitative research approaches is revealed in most of the specific topic areas in place branding including place identity, projected images, place offer- ings, marketing and communications, and stakeholder relationships. Several obser- vations are also made about issues that might deserve further attention: (1) the dominance of qualitative analysis, (2) the lack of integrated research approaches and (3) the relatively low explanatory power of statistical applications in some studies. On the basis of the changing research domain in the place branding topic areas, mixed- method or more diversified quantitative approaches may yield insightful future research opportunities in a field where most research is typically conducted using individual case studies and qualitative approaches. Place Branding and Public Diplomacy (2013) 9, 236–253. doi:10.1057/pb.2013.17; published online 28 August 2013 Keywords: place branding; methodological perspective; study review INTRODUCTION In an attempt to enhance their competitiveness in recent decades, places at different geographical scales, such as countries, regions and cities, have started to apply marketing techniques and create place brands (Kavaratzis, 2004). Different from product marketing (Kotler and Gertner, 2002) and corporate branding (Kavaratzis, 2009; Hankinson, 2010b), place branding is regarded as a process that enhances place image through the experience of an authentic place identity and the change of mindsets of place consumers (Anholt, 2010). Place authorities and marketers often believe that a place brand is controllable and Correspondence: Chung-shing Chan Department of Geography and Resource Management, Sha Tin, N.T, Hong Kong © 2013 Macmillan Publishers Ltd. 1751-8040 Place Branding and Public Diplomacy Vol. 9, 4, 236–253 www.palgrave-journals.com/pb/