Place marketing: state of the art and future perspectives

The purpose of this work is to contribute for rethinking the nature and meaning of place marketing in the literature, describing the three main influential perspectives in its development – promotion, planning and branding – and present a critical analysis of its evolutional process. To guide the understanding, avoid individual interpretations and propose a common language, this analysis includes the convergence of perspectives on a concept characterized as an important management tool for exchanges occurring in territorial scope aimed at socioeconomic development of the place. As a contribution, the paper presents a structure for future research by identifying gaps between the theory of place marketing and the way it is understood, as well as significant difficulties in its implementation.