Nikos Papazoglou and Thessaloniki

It’s very sad to learn that the great Greek singer Nikos Papazoglou has died at the relatively early age of 63. He was born in Thessaloniki , where he lived with his wife and children.

He was and will always be an iconic figure for that wonderful city. I lived in Thessaloniki for 4 years. I saw Papazoglou in concert twice, once in a small club and once at an outdoor concert that he gave on a boat moored to the seawall by the White Tower. It was a typically inspired location for Papazoglou to play at. He made a point of seeking out unusual venues in which he could bring his music to people and places that normally would not hear live performances.

He had a very distinctive voice, soulful and melancholic and warm. He was one of a kind. He deserves to be honoured and celebrated by Thessaloniki, and I’m sure he will be.

This clip shows Papazoglou singing the song ‘Pote Voudas pote Koudas’, backed by some superb musicians: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=82ZYhe-uTPw&feature=related

Rest in peace, Niko Papazoglou.

Theory of city branding

Part 1 of the book ‘City Branding – Theory and Cases’ focuses on various theoretical approaches to city branding, whilst maintaining a clear relevance to real world practice. From the branding literature, important themes such as brand architecture and brand attributes are covered, particularly in the context of addressing target audiences as diverse as a city’s residents (Chapters 2 and 9), potential investors (Chapter 3), tourists (Chapters 4 and 8 ) and internal stakeholders (Chapters 5 and 6).

In order to develop a strong city brand, policy makers need to identify a clear set of brand attributes that the city possesses and which can form the basis for engendering positive perceptions of the city across multiple audiences. Such attributes are those that the city brand would wish to see evoked when relevant target groups are asked the question, “What comes to your mind when you think of this city?” The process of identifying and agreeing upon a relevant set of city brand attributes requires stakeholder engagement rather than top-down coercion.

Frequently there is an important relationship between the city brand and the nation brand of the country in which the city is located. This raises questions of brand architecture, namely, the structure and nature of the relationship between the city brand and the nation brand. This relationship is discussed in the cases on Edinburgh (Chapter 18), Paris (Chapter 25) and Seoul (Chapter 26).

A recurring theme in the chapters of Part 1 of the book is the need for city brands to adopt a network approach rather than to reserve all decision making to a small elite group. Aspects of the network approach to city branding are illustrated in several case studies in Part 2 of the book, for example in the context of Ahmedabad where the city and the state in which it is located, Gujarat, benefit mutually from the city and state level brand strategies (Chapter 13); in The Hague, which is analyzed in terms of the concept of a relational network brand (Chapter 19); Lisbon, where a key challenge was to define the scope – and by implication the range of stakeholders – of the city brand (Chapter 22); and Wollongong, where a stakeholder approach was required in order to challenge negative perceptions of the city (Chapter 29).

Finally, the concept of sustainability applies as much to city brands as it does to other types of brands. There are numerous potential actions that can be taken in order to create a strong city brand through implementing environmentally-friendly measures that benefit residents and visitors to the city. Such measures are based on the concept of creating new green spaces within urban environments and include the role of streets, the beneficial effects of roof gardens and vertical gardens, and recovering rivers and urban bays (Chapter 9). The city of Seoul has been particularly conscious of the need to integrate sustainability into the fabric of its city branding strategy (Chapter 26).

City Branding book now available worldwide

After a brief delay, the book ‘City Branding – Theory and Cases’ which I have edited is now available on the various amazon country websites, Palgrave Macmillan’s website and elsewhere.

As Bill Baker writes in his Foreword to the book, “Cities and mega-cities, rather than countries, are increasingly becoming the principal protagonists between geographical regions. The competition between cities to establish their credentials as the best choice for prospective visitors, investors, business, students and talented people will intensify as places focus on how to convey their competitive edge and relevance.” This is a clear statement of the contemporary context of city branding.

However, as Baker goes on to point out, many decision makers at city level underestimate the importance of managing their city brand. According to Baker, “Too few city leaders think about the number of jobs, businesses, and other organizations that have a stake in their city’s image and reputation. Unfortunately, it is a value that often goes largely unrecognized, unappreciated and unmanaged. It rarely gets measured and never appears on a balance sheet or the job evaluation of a Mayor, city manager or elected official.”

One of the motivations to edit and publish the book ‘City Branding – Theory and Cases’ is to ensure that over the coming years, the reputation of cities rises up decision makers agendas and no longer languishes, in Baker’s words, as unrecognized, unappreciated and unmanaged.

Publication date of City Branding book now 3 December 2010

Following on from yesterday’s blog entry, the original publication date for the book ‘City Branding – Theory and Cases’ has been put back from 26 November 2010 to 3 December 2010.

New book on City Branding about to be published

Palgrave Macmillan are about to publish a new book on City Branding that I have edited. The book will be available on amazon.co.uk from 26 November 2010 and on amazon.com from 4 January 2011.

The book’s title is ‘City Branding – Theory and Cases’. It is designed to appeal to city policy makers, academics and students, and anyone else who is interested in the ways that cities are branded. When I was choosing contributors for the book, I deliberately invited a mix of practitioners and academics in order to give the subject a balanced treatment. Also, the cases that appear in the book range from huge metropolises such as Tokyo, Seoul, New York, Chongqing and Paris to smaller cities such as Edinburgh, The Hague, and Wollongong.

Contributing authors include Jean-Noel Kapferer, You Kyung Kim, Alan C. Middleton, Andrea Insch, Sicco van Gelder, John P. Houghton, Andrew Stevens, Jared Braiterman, Roland Kelts, Peggy R. Bendel, and many others. Each contributor brings their own perspective to the topic of city branding. It was a great pleasure to work with all the contributors during the preparatory phase of the book, and now that it is about to be published, I hope that readers find the book to be stimulating and enjoyable.

Keith Dinnie, Director, Centre for City Branding

Welcome

Welcome to the blog of the Centre for City Branding, part of the Centre for Place Branding Network.