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The branding concept has been applied to cities, destinations, regions and even nations to attract tourism, investments and residents. The Republic of Turkey with its rich historical heritage has been home to many applications of such diverse branding campaigns. While some of these campaigns have been criticised for their lack of efficacy, especially at the national level, several city-based or regional campaigns have proven more successful.

In this chapter, we review and examine place branding campaigns in Turkey. We provide examples of the increasing role of social media, cultural and historical heritage, role of movies and TV series, health- and faith-based tourism, mega-sports events, sustainable communications, the Slow City concept and public–private partnerships in contemporary place branding campaigns.

This study aims to investigate the brand-oriented leadership of a city’s mayor and city online brand communication as brand management-related antecedents of residents’ city brand commitment. It thus examines if city brand managers can apply internal branding concepts from the corporate branding domain in a city branding context.

The relationships between the brand management-related antecedents and the internal city branding (ICB) objective are tested through structural equation modeling using cross-sectional survey data of 414 residents of a German city.

Both the brand-oriented leadership of the mayor in terms of acting as a role model by living the city brand and its identity and by showing commitment to the brand and the city’s online brand communication in terms of its quality have positive effects on residents’ city brand commitment. Moderation analyses reveal no significant differences between the path estimates for age, place of birth, duration of residency and education. However, the results differ significantly for gender.

As this study’s sample is limited to only one city in Germany, further research needs to investigate the relationships in different cities and other countries to ensure the generalizability of the results. Future studies might also include other aspects of city brand communication, as well as cognitive and behavioural ICB objectives.

To increase residents’ city brand commitment, city brand managers should ensure that a city’s online brand communication is adequate, complete, credible, useful and clear. Furthermore, through creating awareness for the importance of a mayor’s brand-oriented leadership and through educating and training the mayor to engage in this specific form of brand-oriented transformational leadership, city brand managers can increase residents’ emotional attachment with the city brand.

This study integrates internal branding research from the corporate branding domain with place and city branding research. It confirms that certain aspects of internal branding (i.e. brand-oriented leadership, brand communication and brand commitment) are applicable not only in the corporate branding domain but also in other branding contexts such as city branding if adapted properly.

The purpose of this paper is to examine how skateboarding as a community, sport and cultural phenomenon can become integrated into and drive the development, branding and marketing of a city (Malmö).

This paper is produced through a communicative co-constructed process of one scholar and one practitioner within the skateboarding field. Through the narrative told by the practitioner, and with basis in the established understanding and conceptualization of place marketing through sport, success factors of the skateboarding initiatives in Malmö are identified.

The skateboarding story of Malmö fits well into the established conceptualization of place branding and marketing, neoliberalism and urban entrepreneurialism. Also, it demonstrates the power of a unique user-driven partnerships between skaters, a non-profit organization and public institutions to create a skateboard-friendly city and as a consequence a strong internationally renowned skate-image. The multi-level, multi-content approach is founded in shared values and mutual benefits. Instead of fitting a phenomenon into an outward-oriented image-strategy, skateboarding as a sport and culture has been allowed to develop organically, creating a credible and unique image for Malmö.

This study adds to the literature on sport and city marketing/branding by developing a deeper, empirically founded, understanding of how to combine top-down and bottom-up approaches in urban development, marketing and branding. The results have scientific as well as practical value.

The aim of the paper is to carry out a contemporary and concise “state‐of‐the‐art” review of the city branding research domain, in particular how scholars have approached this field of study, what aspects of city branding have been studied, what cities have been chosen, and how the studies are designed.

Through an iterative search in multiple literature databases, 217 qualified research studies on city branding were identified and retrieved. Those studies were examined, analyzed and categorized according to six categories: bibliographical data, methodologies used, empirical foundation, conceptual frameworks, branding elements, and reported outcomes of branding efforts.

City branding is emerging as an internationally recognized research domain characterized by a high degree of multi‐disciplinary, rapid proliferation in and between disciplines, and a somewhat fragmented theoretical foundation. On the basis of research interests, three perspectives were identified (producing, consuming, and criticizing city branding) emerging across academic disciplines

The study is based on research articles in English, published in academic journals, which limits the international and professional scope of the study. Another limitation is the selected time period, which does not include studies prior to 1988 or later than 2009.

As a state‐of‐the‐art review, the main contribution of this paper is a contemporary and comprehensive overview of the field as such. A methodological contribution is the attempt to run a multi‐variate analysis of the branding elements in relation to the output and performance data reported in the studies. Another contribution is the identification of three cross‐disciplinary research perspectives in the field today.

There has been much research on city marketing, but some practical aspects remain unaddressed. One challenge is the development of a distinctive city identity. Traditional marketing tactics often ignore, deny, and marginalize the city identity. A more integrated and holistic approach is needed. As a complementary tool, city branding can overcome the shortcomings associated with traditional marketing. The purpose of this chapter is to show through case studies how two cities with different conditions went about developing their respective brand identities and illustrate how the identities were established through brand elements and promoted through coordinated marketing programs. Based on the two case studies, this chapter presents a process model for developing an identity in city branding. The model accommodates two different approaches to developing city identities. The first is applicable in the situation where a city is already strongly identified with its prominent existing heritage and cultural assets. The second is applicable in the situations where a city does not have prominent existing assets.

Urban managers increasingly focus on establishing the city as a brand to ensure a competitive force that enables the city to position itself at home and abroad. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the development of city branding from the market orientation of the capital cities of Spain's regional Autonomous Communities.

The analysis uses a set of variables representing the different aspects that shape market orientation, and variables related to the development and implementation of city branding strategies. The methodology for collecting information on the cities under study is based on content analysis, and its specific application to the analysis of websites.

The research carried out reveals the existence of four distinct groups of Spain's cities that can be differentiated in terms of the importance that they give to the different areas of market orientation and the development of city branding strategies.

The cities considered give an insight into the strategies of brand creation and development at major Spanish cities but tell nothing about secondary cities. The scope of the study is purely domestic. The authors intend to expand it to include cities elsewhere in Europe, to enable comparisons to be drawn of the processes of creation and development of city branding in different countries. The municipal web sites used as a source of information show some volatility, and as a result need to be reviewed from time to time.

Although web sites as marketing tools offer significant advantages, such as accessibility of information, provision of relevant information, handling of complaints, low cost, and customer service, there has been very little research into their role in urban management. Using the content provided by each municipality's official web site as a source, this paper offers a different perspective which complements research performed through other methods.

With society’s growing environmental concern, developing a green brand identity provides cities with opportunities to enhance their competitiveness. Nevertheless, few studies have explored green city branding and specifically considered the diverse perceptions of multiple stakeholders. Accordingly, this study aims to explore green city branding from the perceptions of multiple stakeholders.

Based on associative network theory, the study uses brand concept maps and network analysis approaches to construct and analyze the content and structure of mental models among local residents and foreign tourists for a green city brand. This study further seeks empirical support for the findings via a survey, using the sample case of Yilan County in Taiwan.

The results of this study reveal that foreign tourists possess a more diverse and heterogeneous brand perception than local residents. Additionally, the study uncovers significant green city brand associations regarding their influences on the behavioral decisions of local residents and foreign tourists.

This research is the first attempt to advance the knowledge of green city branding by empirically exploring the green city brand perceptions of multiple stakeholders based on associative network theory. The results provide brand researchers with different analytical perspectives on the existing knowledge about city brand perceptions and offer strategic information for city managers.

This study aims to propose a conceptual framework for the acceptability of city branding on social media. The conceptual framework of the acceptability of city branding is necessary to achieve a successful city brand in the social media era. It tries to develop the use of social media in city branding practices and its acceptability, especially in the areas of urban planning and development. The study also explores important issues in the use of social media and its acceptability in city branding practices.

This study was initially conducted using a literature review of relevant, recent, and trustworthy scholarly publications (books, journals, reports, and proceedings) about city branding and acceptability from the electronic database by using relevant terms and keywords to find the relevant literature. The next step was to identify the essential variable described in the literature and assess how these are connected to one another. The last step was to create a conceptual framework using the variables that were found and their interrelationships.

Social media is crucial for determining a successful model of city branding strategy. Incorporating social media in the city branding process may lead to emerging bottom-up forms of influencing the city branding process, creating better-accepted city branding from wider audiences and guaranteeing a long-term successful city brand. The results of this paper indicate that one can utilize social media user-generated content (from residents and visitors), local government-created content, peer interaction, electronic word of mouth (e-WOM), and the engagement and participation medium to understand whether city branding is accepted by stakeholders through nine dimensions of acceptability: knowledge, information diffusion, experience, attachment, congruence, behavioral intention, perceived quality, engagement, and participation.

This research outcome can be used to evaluate and extend the classical theory of the acceptability of city branding, or even the overall umbrella term of branding, in the digital age. Despite its contribution, this study is not without limitations. The conceptual framework herein is best suited to a branded city with a high social media penetration rate to better represent real-life phenomena in the offline environment; in other contexts, it presents certain reliability concerns regarding its implementation.

The conceptual framework herein is best suited to a branded city with a high social media penetration rate to better represent the real-life phenomena in the offline environment; in other contexts, it presents certain reliability concerns regarding its implementation.

This research highlight some acceptability dimensions of city branding practice and also emphasize social media platform as useful tool to understand people's opinion, attitude and behavior. Combining these two concepts of the acceptability of city branding and the use of social media provides an opportunity to achieve the goals of meaningful, authentic and resilient city branding.