Public-Private Partnership of Place Marketing in Production of Local Government's Tourism Promotional Materials: A Case Study on "Escape to Miaoli" Magazine

• Main Authors: Chiang, Chien-Chung, 江建中
• Other Authors: Lu, Lan-Lan
• Format: Others
• Language: zh-TW
• Published: 2015
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/q2xm3e

碩士 === 國立聯合大學 === 客家語言與傳播研究所 === 103 === 　　The present study explores the interaction within, and operation of, the collaborative partnership between the public and private sectors seen in the production of “Escape to Miaoli” magazine, a magazine published by Miaoli County Government for place marketing purposes. The study makes use of Kotler’s theory of government marketing, integrating this with the 4P+4C marketing mix strategic approach, and referencing Schmitt’s experiential marketing theory, to explain the form taken by government tourism promotion magazines when the production of such magazines involves collaboration between the public and private sectors. The methodology used in the study is the qualitative method of textual analysis, focusing mainly on the text of 33 issues of “Escape to Miaoli” magazine, supplemented with in-depth interviews with 13 public and private sector employees involved in the production of “Escape to Miaoli”. The study’s findings are as follows: 1. As regards the way production of “Escape to Miaoli” has evolved, in the early, “adoption” stage, the production of the magazine was characterized by a bottom-up approach. Gradually, as the magazine entered its growth stage, this shifted to a top-down approach, which became more pronounced in the transformation stage with public sector participants taking on a dominant role in directing the magazine’s production. The results show that the collaborative relationship between the public and private sectors in the production of “Escape to Miaoli” has seen a change from overall direction by the private sector to direction by the public sector. 2. The ideological principles underpinning the public sector’s involvement in the collaborative partnership were found to be: legality, fairness, and appeal (i.e. making the magazine interesting to potential readers). By contrast, the main ideological considerations of the private-sector firms participating in the production of “Escape to Miaoli” were found to be: corporate profit, appeal, and operational flexibility. As regards the impact of the shift in overall direction of the magazine’s production from the private sector to the public sector, while the public sector participant’s insistence on strict adherence to legal requirements did not appear to create significant difficulties for the private-sector participants in terms of the maintenance of operational flexibility, nevertheless, when faced with the need to balance fairness against appeal, the public sector’s insistence on fairness was found to negatively impact the changes that the private-sector participants felt necessary in order to maintain operational flexibility. The resulting changes in ideological emphasis with regard to corporate profit created a situation where the original aim of using collaboration between the public and private sectors to enhance the professionalism of the magazine became distorted; the ethical decisions made by the private-sector participants in relation to ensuring the magazine’s appeal were influenced by cost considerations which challenged the public sector participants’ concern with fairness. Owing to the differences in the essential nature of the public and private sectors, the disagreements that emerged between them during the process of producing “Escape to Miaoli” created a situation where the two sectors endured friction while striving to reach consensus. 3. The collaborative relationship through which “Escape to Miaoli” magazine was produced also involved third parties of key importance: the businesses that were reported on in the magazine, and travel agencies and tour operators. Although these third parties were linked to the relationship between the public and private sectors, the role played by the business reported on in the magazine was limited to the passive role of being selected, or not selected, for inclusion in the magazine, while in the case of travel agencies and tour operators, while in theory the significance of these firms as a conduit for bringing tourists to Miaoli as third-party “implementers” lying between the public-sector and private-sector participants was recognized, in reality, they were almost invisible, becoming the “forgotten” third party within the interactive relationship behind the production of the magazine. The study suggests that the incorporation of a third-party, tourism marketing perspective would help to change the collaborative relationship between the public and private sectors so that the content of the magazine becomes more relevant to the real needs of both tourists and travel agencies and tour operators, while also adding a fresh, third-party point of view to the disagreements between the public and private sectors over magazine content. ] 4. Viewed in terms of the 4P+4C marketing mix strategy, analysis of the challenges faced by “Escape to Miaoli” magazine in developing the mainstream tourism market, and of the magazine’s strengths and weaknesses in this regard, indicates that the greatest opportunities for successful development of the mainstream tourism market relate to: (1) Customer value and product focus; (2) Cost to the Customer and price; (3) Convenience and place, and (4) Communication and promotion. 5. The dispute between the public and private sectors over the Taipei Dome project which came to the surface in January 2015 has led the general public in Taiwan to pay more attention to the interaction that takes place during the process of collaboration between the public and private sectors. Whereas in the past the public, by and large, felt optimistic and positive about the benefits of public-private partnerships, there is now greater awareness of the conflicts that can arise when differences of opinion emerge in collaborative relationships between the public and private sectors. It appears that public-private partnerships inevitably carry latent dangers, making it very important for both the public-sector and private-sector participants to demonstrate wisdom and adopt sensible strategies as they endeavor to reach and maintain consensus. The present study finds that, in the case of the public-private partnership behind the production of “Escape to Miaoli” magazine, the following dangers either existed, or were latent: (1) Financial risk relating to the budget for the magazine’s publication; (2) Problems relating to the transfer of authority to new persons on the expiry of particular officials’ term of office; (3) Dangers relating to the apportionment of risk between the participants.