An investigation into the vision and mission statements of multipurpose cultural institutions for place brand communication of Dongdaemun Design Plaza

The Dongdaemun Design Plaza (DDP) project was initiated as a design-led cultural policy by the Seoul Metropolitan Government. However, because of a lack of cooperation, communication and consideration of place identity and local values, a place brand strategy gap has emerged. Consequently, the DDP project was plagued by negative public perceptions and apprehensions. In efforts to reduce the conflicts, equilibrate the local cultural and economic needs, as well as propose alterations to the usage of the facilities through participatory discussions, a new blueprint for the DDP operations was developed by the Seoul Design Foundation. In this context, the revised offerings of the DDP resulted in the reconsideration of its name and category positioning to remove the place brand strategy gap. This research was part of the reconsideration of place brand identity strategy of the DDP. To address and resolve the underlying communication issues regarding the name and the categorical positioning of the DDP, this article explores the brand vision and mission statements of existing multipurpose cultural institutions. Clarifying the categories for brand communication establishes accurate perceptions and expectations about the offerings of the DDP to its visitors and local stakeholders, and ultimately meets the place brand satisfaction as well. Forty-five cases of similar multipurpose cultural institutions were investigated through thematic and content analysis. Thus, by incorporating the traits of the new operational plan for the DDP, the most relevant category and the foundations of a brand platform were suggested.