How to build successful city brands? : Case Cities: San Francisco and Los Angeles

Abstract

The idea of place branding has received a wide attention in the recent years and has now grown beyond slogans and ad campaigns. This thesis aims at finding the key competences for successful place branding and the factors affecting the success of place branding. This thesis is a part of an international research conducted by Dr. Teemu Moilanen which includes 25 different cities from 5 different continents. The thesis contains two sections theoretical section and the case studies of cities. The theoretical section of the thesis contains three subsections namely, concept of branding, brand management and place branding. The case studies of cities include the different aspects of place branding with respect to two cities. The study is based upon qualitative research method. Firstly, the four key decision makers in the branding process of the two cities were interviewed. These interviews were recorded, transcribed and analyzed. The analysis was then used to create cases for each city. This thesis highlights the case studies of cities San Francisco and Los Angeles. The steps in branding process which are planning, implementation and monitoring are analyzed for each city. The responses from the interviewees are analyzed further to deduce the key competences needed for place branding.