Who owns the name of a place? On place branding and logics in two villages in Galicia, Spain

Abstract

This article deals with the marketing strategies employed to promote the name of a place in a global context of heritage propertisation. Drawing on ethnographic fieldwork in two sites on the ‘Costa da Morte’ in Galicia, northwest of Spain, this article analyses the discourses and practices employed to commoditise place names and the strategies regarding place branding. In particular, two strategies are contemplated: first, the creation of a name to refer to a whole area, which is the case of the ‘Costa da Morte’, and, second, the name branding processes of two of the better-known villages on this coastline. Camariñas is developing a registered trademark for bobbin lace protection and the village of Finisterre is promoting the ‘End of the World’ as a tourist destination. This article focuses on the mechanisms by which place branding discourses and practices permeate various social agents and the naturalisation process of place branding structuring logics.