Robert Govers's Blog

Driving cars through Europe and the Sahara Desert to sell them in Niger (1989 and 1990) and exploring China and Russia on the Trans-Siberia Express (1992) as a student, I quickly realised that what we think we know about the world is very superficial, cliché, and stereotype. This made me embark on a PhD supervised by Erasmus University Rotterdam professor Frank M. Go (may he rest in peace). To him I am forever grateful for suggesting the classic literature that I listed on my recommendation page...

People contact me when they think that they have a problem with the image of their city, region or country. This is increasingly linked to the idea of being perceived as “green”.

The first thing I always tell them is that their name recognition and reputation can’t be fixed, built or altered with logos, slogans or green advertising campaigns. The brand of a city, region or country can only me managed by formulating and implementing a thorough long-term positioning str...

Imaginative Communities, the 2018 book, was given a new post-covid 2022 cover, thanks to Arjen IJff (www.arjenijff.nl).

With the new cover came a new backflap blurb:

Americans are loud. Amsterdam equals sex, drugs, and rock & roll. Mexicans are lazy and Germans are boring, but punctual. Paris is romantic, Wuhan infectious, Ukrainians heroic, and New Zealand untouched.

This is the way people around the world think about cities, regions and countries and the communities that live there;...

This essay has been published as Chapter 19 in Marketing Countries, Places, and Place-associated Brands: Identity and Image (2021) under the original title “Place branding practice and scholarship: where we are and whither we may be going”. Thanks to publisher Edward Elgar and editors Nicolas Papadopoulos and Mark Cleveland for releasing my contribution as an open access work and for their unwavering commitment to producing this fantastic anthology (with additional thanks to all the splendid co-...

This article was first published in Dutch on  Network Citymarkting Nederland , April 19, 2021.

The future is bright for city marketing. Sooner or later, Corona will once again be associated exclusively with Mexican beer and our streets, squares, parks and pubs will be buzzing with life; everyone intimately close together, sweating, kissing, singing and – without feeling guilty – hugging each other. People already speak of reprisal shopping and revenge travel; tickets for dance events on a yet t...

Let me get straight to it. I am terribly depressed and sometimes feel like I’m on the brink of a mental breakdown.
Did I contract COVID? No, I did not.
Did I lose my job or financial security? Hardly.
Am I a burnt-out essential worker? Nope.
Did I lose loved ones? Not yet, thank goodness.
So, what is the problem? Just get on with it.
That’s what I’ve been telling myself for the past eight months.

But something keeps bringing me down. I think I know what it is; and I think I am not the only one feeling ...

The award winning book IMAGINATIVE COMMUNITIES will be released in Spanish and Portuguese on September 10. Pre-order now on Amazon Kindle at half the list price (US$ 4 until September 10). The two new language editions have been made possible by the hard work, commitment, dedication and friendship of co-authors Caio Esteves and Jordi de San Eugenio Vela.

Caio Esteves co-authored Imaginative Communities: Cidades, Regiões E Países Admiráveis. Caio is an architect by train...

This article was first published on City Nation Place , May 7, 2020.

The novel Coronavirus has clearly shown us how vulnerable globalisation has made us. Travel, tourism and migration have been spreading the pandemic like wildfire. Global value chains have disrupted delivery of much needed supplies to tackle the consequences locally. Businesses are being bailed out by government coffers, filled with tax-payers money, but not theirs as these businesses swirl money around the globe in efforts t...

This article was first published on City Nation Place , May 7, 2020.

The novel Coronavirus has clearly shown us how vulnerable globalisation has made us. Travel, tourism and migration have been spreading the pandemic like wildfire. Global value chains have disrupted delivery of much needed supplies to tackle the consequences locally. Businesses are being bailed out by government coffers, filled with tax-payers money, but not theirs as these businesses swirl money around the globe in efforts t...

This article was first published on City Nation Place , May 7, 2020.

The novel Coronavirus has clearly shown us how vulnerable globalisation has made us. Travel, tourism and migration have been spreading the pandemic like wildfire. Global value chains have disrupted delivery of much needed supplies to tackle the consequences locally. Businesses are being bailed out by government coffers, filled with tax-payers money, but not theirs as these businesses swirl money around the globe in efforts t...