Imaginative Communities: Admired cities, regions and countries
Brand: Reputo Press
Categories: Books, Business & Money, Industries



Dimensions: 5.5 x 0.55 x 8.5 inches
ISBN-13: 978-9082826500
Language: English
ISBN-10: 908282650X
Print length: 158 pages
Publication date: September 24, 2018
subtitle: Hardcover – Illustrated, September 24, 2018
author: Visit Amazon's Robert Govers Page search results Robert Govers
review: Editorial Reviews Review 'This book will thrill leaders, planners, globalists, policy makers and sociologists with practical steps for implementing creative ideas that will invigorate community spirit and build reputation'. Booklife Reviews ' IMAGINATIVE COMMUNITIES: Admired Cities, Regions and Countries by Robert Govers is a feat of informative facts and fancies to set the imagination soaring... making it quite the timely read as civilization heads into the year 2020 and beyond'. With a rating of 4.2 (of 5) the book is IndieReader Approved. ' IMAGINATIVE COMMUNITIES is chock full of facts, charts, and information that can help guide local communities to a better sense of how they can become visible across the globe, while creating a positive impact. Its strength is in the examples it provides, from Bhutan's focus on happiness to Barcelona's branding through modernist architecture'. IndieReader 'It has been said that countries should measure their gross national imagination, a critical resource for success in the twenty-first century. This important new book shows why this is crucial in an age of fractured identity - and how so many places have forged initiatives that put themselves on the map but also inspire the rest of the world.' Dr Parag Khanna , Author of Connectography: Mapping the Future of Global Civilization 'I am a big believer in the power of purpose: that companies and individuals should have a meaningful purpose that guides their thinking, decisions, and actions. But until I read Robert Govers' Imaginative Communities, the thought of applying purpose at the community level never occurred to me. Read this brilliant book and you, too, will see how to bring a sense of belonging and meaningful purpose to your communities, no matter their size.' B. Joseph Pine II , Co-author, The Experience Economy 'Robert Govers has written a terrific book. With miraculous clarity he guides the reader on a world tour of the subject of community reputation and its management. He presents a breathtaking range of places and kinds of actors - cities, regions and nation states - from the Americas to Central Asia and on to the Pacific. His examples are new, thought provoking and illuminated by his personal experience as a researcher and consultant. Best of all, his conclusion underlines the need for citizens to focus not on presenting a better image but on building for a better reality.' Nicholas J. Cull , Author of Public Diplomacy: Global Engagement in the Era of Social Media 'A really important addition to our understanding of people, places and their purpose. Govers' book is a refreshing and highly readable departure from "practitioner" texts that simply apply tired marketing principles to the management and promotion of places. Incisive and genuinely thought provoking, this book deserves a place on the desk of every senior policy-maker in national, regional and city governments worldwide.' Simon Anholt , Founder of Good Country From the Author The story of how this book came about is quite a funny anecdote, actually. Believe it or not, but it was Frank Underwood, POTUS in House of Cards , who triggered me to write this book; quite literally. In episode 8 of season 3, Underwood defends daring new policy that he invented. He explains to the bystander behind the camera - i.e. us, the audience, in the way that is so typical for this Netflix series - that in order to attract attention leaders need to come up with imaginative initiatives. They need to do things in an original, extraordinary, inventive and captivating manner. It is not so easy to do that, Underwood explains. He tells us that 'imagination is its own form of courage'. To venture into uncharted territory, which - by definition - is what imaginative initiatives are about, requires real courage. Underwood also explains that policy makers usually prefer to do things that are tried and tested and easy to defend with common sense, but he then intimates to the audience that "there is only one problem with common sense... it is so common". Underwood made me see that this is one of the key issues with reputation management for cities, regions and countries. I have argued many times before in my other books that reputation is built on action and not advertising and to stand out is to do something extraordinary. However, policy makers are often risk averse, because of pressures from the opposition or public opinion and the motivation to cling onto power and not stick their neck out too much. Hence it should not really surprise us that very few communities have been able to launch truly imaginative initiatives that have changed the way in which they are perceived internationally. Such examples are few and far between, but I describe some of them in the book. Yet, from a policy making perspective, to do imaginative things in line with long term strategy in order to build a consistent positioning is even harder. I have been very frustrated with the lack of recognition of the complexity of this field of "community reputation management". It is too easily and too often pushed into the marketing domain, which is counterproductive. Without senior government support and courage; recognition of the need to see this as a perspective to policy making more than anything else; as an overarching task; requiring collaboration between government departments, private sector and civil society; and a long term commitment; there is no hope in hell of ever moving the needle on "brand equity". I wrote IMAGINATIVE COMMUNITIES in the hope of moving place reputation management into the mainstream. To convince policy makers, civil leaders and decision makers generally that community reputation management is a serious challenge and requires everyone's attention. I therefore also hope that the book makes the lives of community reputation management specialists easier, as they can use the book to authoritatively explain to their superiors and stakeholders what it is that they do and why their jobs are so challenging. I wrote a completely jargon-free book in easy-to-read language using only 35,000 words (150 pages) in order to provide bed-time reading; digestible because of lots of examples, cases and little theory. From the Inside Flap This book is written for readers who want to understand why some communities, cities, regions and countries are admired and others are not; for anyone who feels that the way in which their community is perceived is too negative, clichéd or stereotypical; and for those people who want to find out what can be done about it. About the Author Robert Govers (1968) is chairman of the International Place Branding Association and an independent international adviser, scholar, speaker and author on the reputation of cities, regions and countries. He is co-editor of the quarterly journal, Place Branding and Public Diplomacy (Palgrave Journals) and a contributor to Apolitical, the World Economic Forum Agenda and the Economist Intelligence Unit Perspectives. He has advised governments and taught courses in over ten countries. Read more