Place branding

Place branding (includes place marketing and place promotion) is a term based on the idea that "cities and regions can be branded," whereby branding techniques and other marketing strategies are applied to "the economic, political and cultural development of cities, regions and countries." As opposed to the branding of products and services, place branding is more multidimensional in nature, as a 'place' is inherently "anchored into a history, a culture, an ecosystem," which is then incorporated into a network of associations, "linking products, spaces, organizations and people." As such, the concepts of nation branding, region branding, and city branding (also known as urban branding), fall under the umbrella term of place branding. The practice is understood to have gained significance with the emergence of the post-industrial society among developing nations, in which places contend in an interdependent, increasingly-globalized economy. Thus, place branding invariably relates to the notion that places compete with other places for people, resources, and business, and, as a result, many public administrations pursue such strategies. As of 2011, the global competition of cities is estimated to host at least 2.7 million small cities/towns, 3,000 large cities, and 455 metropolises, In essence, place branding is "a strategy for projecting images and managing perceptions about places". As such, it purposes to induce affective responses from consumers, thereby forming a meaningful relationship between person and place. Most often associated with capitalistic function, branding has traditionally been understood as a strategy used when promoting goods and services to evoke an emotional response from consumers. Accordingly, place branding follows the notion that places (e.g. cities and urban spaces) can be "shaped and managed just like any other brand." The practice of place branding is understood to have emerged in the mid-19th century. The United States, in particular, began such strategies in order to attract rural populations to urban centers for labor.