Understanding City Branding

Author: Mamata Volvoikar /

The next step is to try and understand what happens when a brand and the underlying corporate brand reasoning is extended to a field such as cities, in a so-called city branding.

Cities and locations are increasingly being marketed as ‘trademarks’. This is done by using concepts such as,

  • Nation Branding
  • Region Branding
  • Destination Branding
  • City Branding
  • City-area Branding (area of my concern)
Here is a chart plotted on the basis of my understanding of all that needs to be considered while branding a city.



A town is furthermore seen as a ‘person’, to whom an ‘identity’ is ascribed, a ‘core’, or ‘soul’, or a ‘mentality’ with a set of stable values. In this perspective, the city is given ontological status as a ‘personality’ with identity and values. Those values are assumed to be open to internal exploration and ultimate condensation into an ‘identity’, which can be applied in the internal or external marketing of the city as a brand. As most cities have quite similar services and infrastructures to offer their visitors, the contest is about creating a ‘unique position’ distinguishing one city from the next, so that customers are attracted.

As is generally observed in relation to branding, city branding creates a snowball effect, putting cities without a brand under pressure to develop one.

City branding thus comes down to uncovering and defining an ‘identity’ that can form the basis of communication to both internal and external target groups – be they citizens, customers, businesses, tourists, commuters, or potential newcomers, etc. The fact that these target groups are so diverse poses a presentation problem, as it is impossible to communicate effectively to several target groups at the same time. On the other hand, separate marketing for each target group is very costly.

The described values may be condensed into two themes:
1) The mentality of citizens, emphasizing emotional and social merits.
2) The town’s facilities, emphasizing functional, physical and practical assets.

Things to be considered while Branding a City;
1. Focusing on strengths and weaknesses.
2. Obtaining Concentrated facts.
3. Obtaining Qualitative research on the city.
5. Devising a focused strategy in order to figure the best course of action for the city.
6. Identifying the public face of communication for the city.

The Public face of communication
  • The public face of communications for a city can be promoted in many ways. This includes attractions, landmarks, people, symbols, animals, climate, topography, recreation, business, industry, and world events.
  • While in some cases it can include advertising, the public face is much more than just a brand campaign, and developing a cohesive brand is paramount to success.
The most significant aspect to the public face of communications in regards to any city is that the brand delivers and is consistent and cohesive. The city has to offer the things it claims to; otherwise, like any brand – it is doomed to failure.

You need both a physical place of interest and a cultural landscape of interest that involves a unique history (a memory) and a present spirit (current lifestyle) in order to be a successful city or to build a successful brand.

4 comments:

Ed Burghard said...

You may be interested in a new place branding community of practice at www.strengtheningbrandamerica.com that shares thoughts and best practices about branding locations.

Mamata Volvoikar said...

Thank you a lot for sharing this link with me. It will really add a lot to my project.

Ed said...

We keep updating the content, so visit the site frequently. Love it of you could help build awareness with colleagues that have an interest in the topic.

Charles said...

i'm sorry want to ask something..

why people need city branding??
when people need city branding?
how we make our brand exist?
please send me a massage if read this..
my mail
charlesantos@rocketmail.com

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