自西元1970年代以來,西方國家中的都市開始面臨逐漸興起的全球競爭浪潮,因此開始廣泛討論與應用「地方行銷」的概念,並於1980年代在歐洲的都市文獻中開始出現此一專有名詞(楊尚融,2005:17)。各地區必須主動爭取資源以獲得競爭優勢,藉由「地方行銷」突破地方的發展困境。地方如何加強行銷,作好目標、分析、規劃、執行、評估等專業化「行銷管理」過程,政府單位所扮演的角色、功能是十分重要。 位於台北縣南端的鶯歌鎮,已有超過兩百年的製陶歷史了,在其發展過程中,隨著全球整體經濟市場的改變,鶯歌陶瓷產業無可避免的遇上產業外移、競爭力下降的挑戰,因而面臨發展的瓶頸、轉型的關卡,鶯歌城鎮如何重新再包裝、再出發,便成了鶯歌當地居民及關心陶瓷產業者的最大課題。經過諸多人士的努力經營、地方人士的關照與陶藝前輩的提攜,鶯歌藉由民間旺盛的活力創造出許多陶瓷產業發展的優越條件,加上政府部門的發展輔導計畫,溢注了公部門的資源,形塑出當地「鶯歌國際陶瓷城」的整體意象,將鶯歌陶瓷產業文化推向國際。
Since the 1970's, the cities in the west faced the trend of global competition and then began to arise the comprehension of placemarketing. Improving the placemarketing to increase the development and the competitiveness of the place becomes the urgent goals for the big cities in the world. The local government takes an important role in the procedure of professional marketing management including targeting, analyzing, planning, checking and evaluating. Yingge town, in the southern part of Taipei County, has been making pottery for more than 200 years. The changes of global economical market forced the ceramics industries moving out from Yingge. How to challenge the decreasing of competition and restart is the biggest thesis for the Yingge community. It's the many people's efforts that make Yingge become a so-called ”Yingge international ceramics town” and that push the Yingge ceramics industrial culture to the world.