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Swansea’s place brands: An “ugly lovely” story / ALFRED ENTWISTLE

Swansea University Author: ALFRED ENTWISTLE

  • E-Thesis under embargo until: 5th January 2029

Abstract

This research investigates the complex landscape of place branding in Swansea. Drawing on critical place branding literature, it explores how Swansea uses both ‘ugly’ and ‘lovely’ brands to market itself to different groups. Guided by stakeholder theory, the study uses a qualitative case study design...

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Published: Swansea University 2026
Institution: Swansea University
Degree level: Master of Research
Degree name: MSc by Research
Supervisor: Garrod, B., and Lowe, T.
URI: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa71312
first_indexed 2026-01-27T14:39:43Z
last_indexed 2026-01-28T05:36:35Z
id cronfa71312
recordtype RisThesis
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spelling 2026-01-27T15:19:31.9187623 v2 71312 2026-01-27 Swansea’s place brands: An “ugly lovely” story eafa15e930f005a60ea6f7c57b25193b ALFRED ENTWISTLE ALFRED ENTWISTLE true false 2026-01-27 This research investigates the complex landscape of place branding in Swansea. Drawing on critical place branding literature, it explores how Swansea uses both ‘ugly’ and ‘lovely’ brands to market itself to different groups. Guided by stakeholder theory, the study uses a qualitative case study design and reflexive thematic analysis. Twelve semi-structured interviews and one focus group discussion were conducted with key stakeholders across Swansea’s branding Landscape. Three dominant place brands were identified in Swansea: tourism-oriented “Swansea Bay,” investment-focused “Invest in Swansea,” and funding bids such as “Swansea City of Culture.” The findings align these three brands with established critiques in the literature: branding for tourists is linked with causing overtourism, branding for investment is suggested to be exclusive and secretive, and place branding for public funding struggles to produce long-term change. The interviews and branding documents suggest that Swansea continues to struggle with an equivocal ‘ugly lovely’ identity, as Dylan Thomas once described. The discussion section explores possible interpretations of Swansea’s ‘ugly lovely’ place branding story. The study concludes with several recommendations for practice and theory. There is no single solution to Swansea’s branding struggles; each perspective offers distinct advantages and disadvantages. Instead, the study recommends that Swansea’s city managers should reflect on each of the different solutions and draw selectively on the prescriptions associated with them. The study also points to three gaps in the current place branding literature: branding for inward investment, for public funding and ‘ugly’ place brands. It recommends these gaps are important avenues for future research in the place branding field. E-Thesis Swansea University City branding, Destination Marketing, Inward investment, Brand Fragmentation, Qualitative 6 1 2026 2026-01-06 COLLEGE NANME COLLEGE CODE Swansea University Garrod, B., and Lowe, T. Master of Research MSc by Research 2026-01-27T15:19:31.9187623 2026-01-27T14:16:29.1686247 Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences School of Management - Business Management ALFRED ENTWISTLE 1 Under embargo Under embargo 2026-01-27T15:13:23.1946444 Output 2953903 application/pdf E-Thesis true 2029-01-05T00:00:00.0000000 Copyright: the author, Alf Entwistle, 2025 true eng
title Swansea’s place brands: An “ugly lovely” story
spellingShingle Swansea’s place brands: An “ugly lovely” story
ALFRED ENTWISTLE
title_short Swansea’s place brands: An “ugly lovely” story
title_full Swansea’s place brands: An “ugly lovely” story
title_fullStr Swansea’s place brands: An “ugly lovely” story
title_full_unstemmed Swansea’s place brands: An “ugly lovely” story
title_sort Swansea’s place brands: An “ugly lovely” story
author_id_str_mv eafa15e930f005a60ea6f7c57b25193b
author_id_fullname_str_mv eafa15e930f005a60ea6f7c57b25193b_***_ALFRED ENTWISTLE
author ALFRED ENTWISTLE
author2 ALFRED ENTWISTLE
format E-Thesis
publishDate 2026
institution Swansea University
college_str Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences
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hierarchy_top_id facultyofhumanitiesandsocialsciences
hierarchy_top_title Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences
hierarchy_parent_id facultyofhumanitiesandsocialsciences
hierarchy_parent_title Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences
department_str School of Management - Business Management{{{_:::_}}}Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences{{{_:::_}}}School of Management - Business Management
document_store_str 0
active_str 0
description This research investigates the complex landscape of place branding in Swansea. Drawing on critical place branding literature, it explores how Swansea uses both ‘ugly’ and ‘lovely’ brands to market itself to different groups. Guided by stakeholder theory, the study uses a qualitative case study design and reflexive thematic analysis. Twelve semi-structured interviews and one focus group discussion were conducted with key stakeholders across Swansea’s branding Landscape. Three dominant place brands were identified in Swansea: tourism-oriented “Swansea Bay,” investment-focused “Invest in Swansea,” and funding bids such as “Swansea City of Culture.” The findings align these three brands with established critiques in the literature: branding for tourists is linked with causing overtourism, branding for investment is suggested to be exclusive and secretive, and place branding for public funding struggles to produce long-term change. The interviews and branding documents suggest that Swansea continues to struggle with an equivocal ‘ugly lovely’ identity, as Dylan Thomas once described. The discussion section explores possible interpretations of Swansea’s ‘ugly lovely’ place branding story. The study concludes with several recommendations for practice and theory. There is no single solution to Swansea’s branding struggles; each perspective offers distinct advantages and disadvantages. Instead, the study recommends that Swansea’s city managers should reflect on each of the different solutions and draw selectively on the prescriptions associated with them. The study also points to three gaps in the current place branding literature: branding for inward investment, for public funding and ‘ugly’ place brands. It recommends these gaps are important avenues for future research in the place branding field.
published_date 2026-01-06T05:35:00Z
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score 11.096191

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