City marketing

Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao is an example of a structure used for city marketing^[1]

City marketing (related to city branding) is the promotion of a city, or a district within it, with the aim of encouraging certain activities to take place there.^[2] It is used to alter the external perceptions of a city in order to encourage tourism, attract inward migration of residents, or enable business relocation. A significant feature of city marketing is the development of new landmark, or 'flagship', buildings and structures.^[3] The development of cities as a marketable product has led to competition between them for inward investment and government funding.^[4] It is often manifested in the attempts by cities to attract international sporting events, such as the Olympic Games. Competition between cities exists at the regional, national and international level; and is an effect of globalisation.^[5]

City marketing can occur strategically or organically. An example of strategic city marketing is Las Vegas^[6]. The city is promoted through a variety of efforts with the strategic intent of acquiring cultural and economic bonuses. A case of organic city marketing is Jerusalem^[7]. The city is marketed without a grand strategy, as disorganized stakeholders over the course of centuries have glorified the city and encouraged pilgrimage, yielding cultural and economic bonuses. Both cases demonstrate city marketing, each with varying strategic and organic involvement. Generally, organic marketing occurs alongside strategic marketing, as the perception of the city is rather impossible to solely construct with strategic efforts.

Notes and references

Notes

1. ^ Monclus & Guardia 2006, p. 203
2. ^ Smyth 1994, p. 2
3. ^ Smyth 1994, p. 3
4. ^ Gordon 1999, p. 1001
5. ^ Gordon 1999, p. 1001
6. ^ Spillman, Benjamin (2009-04-15). "LVCVA: What works here, stays here". Las Vegas Review-Journal. http://www.lvrj.com/business/43023617.html. Retrieved 15 April 2009. 
7. ^ Metti, Michael Sebastian (2011-06-01). "Jerusalem - the most powerful brand in history". Stockholm University School of Business. http://www.fek.su.se/en/Research/Subdisciplines/Marketing/Stockholm-Program-of-Place-Branding. Retrieved 01July 2011. 

References

• Gordon, Ian (1999), 5, "Internationalisation and Urban Competition", Urban Studies 36 
• Smyth, Hedley (1994), Marketing the city: the role of flagship developments in urban regeneration, Taylor & Francis, ISBN 9780419186106 
• Monclus, Francisco; Guardia, Manuel (2006), Culture, Urbanism and Planning, Ashgate, ISBN 9780754646235