Objectives

Introduction to a new approach

"Marketing places" starts with the perspective that a city or province has important similarities with a company. It must have a strategy to compete successfully in order to satisfy its stakeholders. The strategy is developed with a marketing approach in which the place would have to compete against other similar places to attract investment, skilled workers, tourists and markets for its production.

The theoretical framework, applications and experience

The course will begin by discussing with local government officials the kind of theoretical framework useful for marketing policies and strategies. A very brief introduction of general marketing concepts and techniques will be provided as background. The applications of techniques and concepts to marketing places will also be introduced. The course will then discuss successes and failures of marketing by various places in Vietnam and elsewhere. These attempts have been marked by various levels of awareness and sophistication. Some successful places started with disadvantages that forced them to seek new approaches to outshine the competition. The well-known example of Binh Duong transformed itself within a decade by developing partnerships between the public and private sectors. This created a good reputation that led to even greater investment inflows over time.

Other places failed to adopt a new approach. This decision was caused by particular factors, not just a lack of knowledge. The willingness to adopt a new approach may be lessened if the local government chooses to follow more traditional strategies, such as limiting competition and relying on central government projects as a substitute rather than as a complement to private investment. The ability to innovate at the provincial level may also be hurt if there is not internal political solidarity. In many places, it is not only the government but also the public itself and even private firms that have to change their attitudes. Change requires leadership, consensus building, and a clear model.

Identification and discussion of current issues

Each province has certain existing industries and attractions, but it is its development of "soft" (administrative) and "hard" (roads, ports, power, etc.) infrastructure in appropriate ways that will determine its attractiveness to new investments. Emphasis will be placed on the experience of a new business: is it abused, ignored, or provided services, such as help finding land or labor? If a new firm comes in, is it viewed as a threat to be contained or a chance to adopt new technologies, expand markets and develop economies of scale? The point is to identify how each province can gain in competitiveness in a sustainable way, using its own local resources.

In particular, the class will discuss the various incentives that local governments have offered businesses. High land price is a constraint in attracting and retaining business, so the class will examine how various provinces have addressed this problem. The small and medium enterprises are facing disadvantages in competition, and the class will explore the possible impact of effective business associations to lessen these disadvantages.