LAWR

STREET SCENE 18 Local Authority Waste & Recycling July 2015 onsiderable effort and money is spent by towns, cities, regions and even countries on place marketing or branding, writes marketing professor Stuart Roper. Within this is a particular focus on promotion or marketing communications providing 'customer' groups with reasons to visit, to invest or to think more positively about a place. Research conducted by academics at Bradford, Manchester and Manchester Metropolitan Universities suggests that this is a myopic approach. Place branding activity has been criticised for applying a standardised veneer to places so that uniqueness is lost and the 'lived' experience of a place ignored. Often, the actual experience of a place may be considerably different to the marketers view. For example, the designers of Piccadilly Gardens in the centre of Manchester claim it has been transformed "...from a problem area into an effective public space", whereas it has been voted Manchester's worst attraction on Tripadvisor with comments such as "the whole area is covered in rubbish" and "...a dirty, horrible place", commonplace. When one reads about place marketing, litter is never C Money well spent Stuart Roper is a professor of marketing at Bradford University School of Management WINTER AIRPORT SWEEPING Another clean sweep for the best in the business Producing fewer CO2 and NOx emissions than any other sweeper currently available, the Schmidt Euro 6 Swingo proudly boasts the cleanest engine on the market. The Euro 6 Swingo combines telematics and fleet monitoring technology with lower fuel consumption, lower exhaust emissions, lower noise and the best operator comfort available. Plus, all-round, dual-circuit disc brakes provide the safest, straight-line braking. Every detail has been engineered to make the operator's environment as beneficial as possible to achieving a safe and efficient sweeping operation. All Schmidt equipment is backed by our Total Lifetime Care guarantee. Call us now to arrange your free demonstration on 01733 363391. DESIGNED BY YOU | ENGINEERED BY SCHMIDT Aebi Schmidt UK Ltd Southgate Way, Orton Southgate, Peterborough PE2 6GP Service 01733 363400 • Parts 01733 363363 • Sales 01733 363391 email uk-sales@aebi-schmidt.com 01733 363391 www.aebi-schmidt.co.uk MOWING LAWR_Sweeping 180x130_AW_Layout 1 04/06/2015 11:51 Page 1 mentioned. Litter is, however, a significant problem and our research shows that it negatively affects attitude in relation to place. We conducted experiments ('Back to basics in the marketing of place: The impact of litter upon place attitudes,' published in the Journal of Marketing Management) showing respondents a short film of a park scene, the only difference being the presence (or not) of litter. Those respondents seeing litter had a statistically significant lower attitude to the place than those who saw the place litter free. The experimental design of our research allows, for the first time, the clear demonstration of a causal relationship between seeing litter and having more negative 'place attitudes'. This provides the opportunity of a quick win for councils. Reducing litter improves attitudes towards the areas you are responsible for, whereas other place marketing-related activity cannot demonstrate such clear success. In times of austerity, our research would encourage authorities to invest in keeping their locations litter free. Attitudes towards your streets, parks and throughout the area will improve.

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