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1: Introduction Working Papers WP 2012-04 Centre for German and European Studies (CGES) Elena Rudneva City Branding as an Instrument of Urban Strategic Development in Russia and Finland (cases: Vyborg, Russia and Lappeenranta, Finland) WP 2012-04 2012 № 4 Bielefeld / St. Petersburg Working Papers WP 2012-04 Centre for German and European Studies Bielefeld University St. Petersburg State University Centre for German and European Studies (CGES) CGES Working Papers series includes publication of materials prepared within different activities of the Center for German and European Studies both in St. Petersburg and in Germany: The CGES supports educational programmes, research and scientific dialogues. In accordance with the CGES mission, the Working Papers are dedicated to the interdisciplinary studies of different aspects of German and European societies. The paper is written on the basis of the MA Thesis defended in the MA SES in June 2012 supervised by Dr. Elena Belokurova. The publication of this MA thesis in the CGES Working Paper series was recommended by the Examination Committee as one of the five best papers out of fourteen MA theses defended by the students of the MA programme "Studies in European Societies" at St. Petersburg State University in June 2012. Elena Rudneva graduated from the faculty of Sociology of the St.Petersburg State University in 2010 and went on to pursue the MA programme, “Studies in European Societies” at St. Petersburg State University. Her academic fields of interest include symbolic economy, territorial marketing and EU- Russian relations. Contact: [email protected] ISSN 1860-5680 © Centre for German and European Studies, 2012 1 Working Papers WP 2012-04 Centre for German and European Studies Rapid urban development, changes in global architecture, transformation of political and economic institutions required new methods and forms of planning and management of urban settlement. One of these innovative methods is city branding as a set of measures for the creation, positioning and promotion of the “brand” of a city in order to improve its socio-economic development indicators and quality of life. Strategic urban development today is no longer just an administrative function, but a social project built on the interaction of different interest groups. In the present study the author examines different models of city branding and factors affecting the choice and implementation of a particular model. The branding models of the cities of Vyborg and Lappeenranta are considered as the main objects of analysis. The methodological part of the study is based on urban studies, theories of place marketing and branding, and urban management. The study seeks to discover how urban management practices can be improved by the use of such innovative tools as city branding. The data for the analysis was obtained though semi-structured in-depth interviews with representatives of city administrations in Vyborg and Lappeenranta; content analysis of official policies and plans of socio-economic development; study of official and unofficial city web sites. The structure of local government, trends in globalization, and the economic shift from an industrial economy to one based on knowledge, are considered among the main factors affecting the city branding model. Key words: city branding, city brand, socio-economic development strategy 2 Working Papers WP 2012-04 Centre for German and European Studies Table of contents Introduction.........................................................................................................4 1. Examining the City: Theoretical Grounds and Scientific Toolkit................7 1.1. City as an Object of Research.............................................................................................7 1.2. Conceptual Framework: Normative Model of City Branding .............................. 18 1.2.1 From Territorial Marketing towards City Branding ............................................................19 1.2.2 Definitions of City Brand and City Branding ...........................................................................22 1.2.3 City Branding: Factors of Influence ............................................................................................30 1.3. Social Constructivism as a Methodological Approach ......................................... 37 2. City Branding Model in Russia and Finland ...............................................39 2.1. City Branding Models of Vyborg and Lappeenranta .............................................. 40 2.2. Factors of Influence.............................................................................................................. 76 Conclusion ........................................................................................................83 References ........................................................................................................85 3 Working Papers WP 2012-04 Centre for German and European Studies Introduction Today, the development of the world more and more depends on intangible factors. Human capital and symbolic capital play a crucial role in modern era. In this regard the marketing and branding of places and territories has become an attractive area for theoretical research and for the practical implementation of new technologies and methods of strategic development. Each city is unique, and the tools for its development should also be specific to it. City branding is one of the most promising instruments of territorial marketing which is now popular all over the world. Although Russia is only starting trying to implement new practices such as city branding as part of urban strategic planning, it is interesting to investigate the progress in this field. Many questions should be answered: how to construct a positive city “brand”, who should be in charge of creation of the city brand and how to evaluate the overall success of city branding strategy - are only some of the challenging issues. City branding is case specific - that is why each city must be investigated individually, although it does not mean that there are no similar approaches and technological decisions in the implementation of city branding strategy in different territories. The main difficulty of city branding lies in the fact that this scientific area is rather new and fluid on the one hand, and has a cross-disciplinary nature on the other. All these limitations result in a lot of misinterpretations. One of them is that branding is an artificial process aimed at the physical reconstruction of urban territory in order to improve the socio-economic indicators of a city's strategic development, when, in reality, the driving force of all changes and transformations is the city in itself, namely its inhabitants and their interests. Another problem is the wide range of explanations of what city brand and city branding mean, how these notions correspond with the terms territorial and city marketing. Sometimes the notion “brand” is borrowed from the market and corporate fields, but a city is a complex object and “city brand” comprises much more than name, image and an associative array connected with the name and logo. City branding in this sense cannot be merely commercial but is also a social project involving different stakeholders and participants. It is important to state from the beginning of our research that city brand can be a cumulative image which reflects a city's identity (perceptions of a local community about different meanings and unique features of the urban space) and it cannot be imported from the outside, but must be raised on the basis of various spatial assets. City branding is a new instrument for territorial development which, in addition to place marketing, aims to help in achieving the interests of different stakeholder groups within and outside the city. In this view, best practices of successful implementation of city branding strategies prove that the effort of creating a city brand can be targeted and manageable, although there is no universal technology. The specific nature of the city in question (as an object and a subject of the branding process) should be taken into account. The current 4 Working Papers WP 2012-04 Centre for German and European Studies study was originated to research the modern practices of city branding in two cities situated near to each other and compare different technologies of urban branding. City branding as an instrument and working model for urban strategic development and its specific tools is the Object of my research. The Subject of the study is the city branding strategy, its development and implementation in two selected cases: Lappeenranta and Vyborg. The wide range of existing city branding models is the main reason why we narrow down the Aim of the research to the examination of city branding strategies, influenced by many internal and external factors, for two cases: Vyborg and Lappeenranta. I was principally interested in main determinant factors which played a major role in framing each strategy. According to the goal and the logic of research structure, the research has the following Objectives: 1) to review the main theories on urban development; 2) to provide a comprehensive description of city branding as a normative model including such aspects as: • elements of the city brand; • stakeholders and actors: main motives and interests of different groups (local community, city managers and members of business community) in city branding and their
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