Branding of a City in the 21st Century - Coursework Example

Globalization has had far-reaching effects on the way cities are perceived. In this age of increased information and access, it has become imperative to present cities as brands, not just organizations or celebrities. This has prompted cities the world over to study and implement strategies that will accentuate brand equity as this is the greatest indicator of, and the base for, the calculation of returns on investment in terms of having a definite character of each city that makes it a distinct brand.  While the consumer’s awareness of a brand and the reasons for choosing an associated product may depend on various factors including peer reference, peer approval, or other social factors beyond the direct control of the brand’s investor, the brand’s marketing mix is definitely within the investor’s control and something that demands big-budget investment.  Therefore, investors and researchers are always concerned about the actual effects and results of marketing components including the advertisement, sales promotions, and company emblems - upon the consumer’s perception and their consequence upon brand equity. 

In terms of the study of branding of cities, the following elements form the crux of the paper:

• Perception Management is derived from brand management;
• Implications of the Public Sphere for branding of cities;
• Colonial and Historical Experience of Malawi as a case study of the character of branding;
• The use of architecture in the case of Bilboa to build an image of the city based on structural implication;
• Sustainable and Ethical Tourism as seen in the case of Mexico and Spain.

There has been a use of case studies for analyzing the various elements of branding a city so as to demonstrate the learning outcomes that have come about with each element.

Perception Management for Brand Equity of Cities: Evaluation of Importance

In the last decade, a lot of research has been dedicated to conceptualizing and measuring customer-based brand equity. However, apart from putting forth various influencing factors, no integrative framework has so far been developed to account for the complex psychological processes underlying the formation of customer-based brand equity. This has strong implications as far as message processing and persuasion in tourism and city image is concerned.