City branding, marketing and PR

Travel and tourism generates a total of 10.2% of the world’s GDP (US $ 7.6 trillion). According to the WTTC’s (World Travel and tourism Council) latest annual research, travel and tourism is responsible for 292 million jobs around the globe, to be certain 1 in 10 of all jobs around the globe. As you can see, it is important to attract visitors but how do cities manage it?

Traditionally a city was mainly defined by its geographic location or its resources. Nowadays in order to stand the fierce competition for resources, foreign investors, attractive and talented visitors, students or inhabitants a city has to become a brand. Yet, one has to bear in mind that cities are not companies, products or services. Also, it is hard to differ between advertising and branding a city, which makes it easy to fail the idea of brand identity.

To be certain, 86 percent fail the attempt to brand a city. Take South Australia: The state has spent lots of money and time on the ‘Adelaide’ logo, which was hated by the public. For the creation of a city brand it is not inevitably necessary to draft a logo, a slogan or an advertising campaign because city branding is not just marketing it is rather a vision and an ongoing transformation process. The right way to do it is through identifying problematic areas and initiating real development.

Moreover, differentiation is the key to success. Every city has its qualities. Therefore, it is not necessary to invent a new city, but it is rather important to figure out, what to focus on. Cities should create authentic brands with the distinctives a city has to offer. Not every city can be New York, nor should they try to be. Montreal, for example, found its own small niche.
The city is known by creative circles around the world because of its cheap living costs and its well-organized transportation. It appears as if it is rather a small proportion of the world but there are more than enough creatives for Montreal to flourish. If a city has chosen its niche, it is important to align its greater idea with underlying policies. If Las Vegas – a city that never sleeps – close its stores at 6pm, that idea would be shattered.

In the Eurocities Questionnaire in 2005, 12 different countries responded that the average per capita city marketing budget is 400.000 € per city, which is quite low for a marketing campaign for a whole city. Therefore, cities have to spend their funds wisely. The good news is, city positioning does not have to be expensive, if it is done smart.

Glasgow for example, developed a brand strategy for less than 114.000 €, by creating a competition among citizens. The slogan ‘People Make Glasgow’ won, which resulted in a whole storytelling strategy that required little money and much citizen involvement. With further slogans such as ‘Food Makes Glasgow’ or ‘Music makes Glasgow’, the campaign got famous overnight.

As you can see on such example, even though the major body is considered to be the governmental authority, the city still relies on stakeholders, such as residents, NGOs, publics and privates. City branding simultaneously needs and serves citizens. They can identify with their city, increase their pride and experience memorable brand experience in order to ensure positive word of mouth. Furthermore, a city requires influencers to become prominent in the map.

As the old saying goes, ‘Out of sight out of mind’, the city needs to be present in Social Media. However, it is not sufficient to create just an Instagram profile, the city has to integrate popular influencers, photographers, bloggers and celebrities. Istanbul created an Instagram account where the city is shown at its best. Daily pictures, videos and blog articles show the traditional sides of the city. The Instagram account resulted in a huge success and attracted over 200.000 followers within a short time with the help of NGOs, citizens, relevant photographers and bloggers.

When you think of Copenhagen, what comes to your mind? I think you might have an idea, even if only a faint one. Copenhagen achieved the perfect green city brand identity within a very short time period, even though the Danish capital was close to a bankrupt in 1989. Furthermore, the city is even aiming to become the world’s first CO2 neutral capital in the world with its sustainable solutions. The Climate Plan has been created in cooperation with Copenhageners and NGOs. Citizens are supporting the aim by cycling, reducing household waste and energy, and by building houses with solar panels. In addition, the airport has been improved as well as a bridge to Sweden, a royal theatre and many more highlights have been built which made the city the lifeworthy place it now is. To reflect the hope of green living and creating a sustainable global environment, national authorities created the brand Hopenhagen.

As a consequence, the city earned a lot attention all over the world. Even the New York Times mentioned Copenhagen, as they were impressed about the city’s use of renewable energies.  In addition, many surveys named Copenhagen as one of the most attractive cities in the world. Since then many projects have been accomplished with the help of NGOs and state-run initiative groups.

Conclusion

Cities should invest time in thinking about what their good attributes are and then emphasize the unique culture, history and values a city has, to become an authentic brand. Their purpose should rather be single-minded and form people’s image of the city, instead of trying to attract all people. Even though, a good brand takes five to ten years to develop, if the strategy is well implemented, it pays off. One perfect example is New York: It took long time and a pile of money until they established their brand identity. Today it is the dream destination for millions of people.

This does not mean that every city should try to be New York. Every city has to work in its own ecosystem and establish their own special idea. It becomes clear that successful branding is an accumulation of identity, a city’s reputation and the characteristics that make a city become known and turns cities in a destination where individuals want to live, work or visit. The result is more capital for municipalities for future development, good economic growth, global awareness, consumer loyalty, an increased per capita income and much more.