Revitalizing city branding through concerts? Fandom, passionate publics, and public relations of the TFBoys’ concert in Xi’an

IF 4.1 3区管理学 Q2 BUSINESS

Public Relations Review Pub Date : 2025-04-01 DOI:10.1016/j.pubrev.2025.102567

Hongyu Zhu , Zizhong Zhang

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Guided by the cultural–economic model (CEM), this study employs structural topic modeling (STM) and critical discourse analysis (CDA) to explore the relationship between city branding and passionate publics, including fans, residents, and tourists. Revitalizing city images by hosting concerts has become a strategic choice for major cities in post-pandemic China. The TFBoys Ten-Year Anniversary Concert, held in Xi’an in August 2023, exemplifies this strategy. However, it also tested the city’s public relations capabilities. An analysis of 13,619 concert-related Weibo posts reveals that fandom-driven city branding created a triangular relationship among the government, fans, and nonfans at the regulatory level, with city and tourism branding authorities seeking to reduce tensions among these groups to facilitate interest-serving communication. In terms of the representation and identity elements core to public relations practices, there were conflicts and integration among city branding, fandom culture, and the rights of residents and tourists. The direct economic benefits of the fan economy are well recognized in the production and consumption chain. The indirect growth of cultural tourism has led the government to intervene in urgent incidents and public relations crises arising from concerts, playing a mediating role in conflict resolution. This study contributes to the understanding of city public relations based on social media by examining the dynamics of urban branding driven by fans and other passionate publics.

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通过音乐会重振城市品牌？TFBoys西安演唱会的粉丝圈、热情的公众、公关

本研究以文化经济模型（CEM）为指导，运用结构话题模型（STM）和批评话语分析（CDA），探讨城市品牌化与热情公众（包括粉丝、居民和游客）之间的关系。举办音乐会重塑城市形象已成为疫情后中国各大城市的战略选择。2023年8月在西安举行的TFBoys十周年演唱会就是这一战略的例证。然而，它也考验了这座城市的公关能力。一项对13619条与演唱会相关的微博的分析显示，在监管层面，粉丝驱动的城市品牌在政府、粉丝和非粉丝之间创造了一种三角关系，城市和旅游品牌主管部门试图减少这些群体之间的紧张关系，以促进利益沟通。在公共关系实践的代表性和身份要素方面，城市品牌、粉丝文化、居民和游客的权利之间既有冲突又有融合。风扇经济的直接经济效益在生产和消费链条上得到了广泛认可。文化旅游的间接增长导致政府介入音乐会引发的紧急事件和公共关系危机，在解决冲突中发挥调解作用。本研究通过考察粉丝和其他热情公众推动的城市品牌动态，有助于理解基于社交媒体的城市公共关系。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Public Relations Review Multiple-

CiteScore

8.00

自引率

19.00%

发文量

期刊介绍： The Public Relations Review is the oldest journal devoted to articles that examine public relations in depth, and commentaries by specialists in the field. Most of the articles are based on empirical research undertaken by professionals and academics in the field. In addition to research articles and commentaries, The Review publishes invited research in brief, and book reviews in the fields of public relations, mass communications, organizational communications, public opinion formations, social science research and evaluation, marketing, management and public policy formation.