Alexander Kramer Author

Moscow has high hopes for a new city brand, which should appear in the near future. Are these expectations justified? To answer this question, Forbes recalled how other capitals changed their image

At the end of October, the Moscow City Hall announced an open competition to develop a brand for the Russian capital, aimed at increasing the economic, tourist and investment attractiveness of the city. A city brand is a strange entity that lies between the impression of residents (identity) and the view of visitors (image of the city). As a rule, it has a visual expression - a motto, a logo, a corporate identity akin to a corporate one - and makes sense primarily when it is connected with the city’s development strategy.

In fact, brand promotion is a kind of creation of a desirable reputation for the city, which entails an increase in direct and indirect investments. The Reputation Institute gives an example: an increase in Austria's reputation rating by 5 points will lead to an increase in tourism income by $2.4 billion. What are these “points”? Typically sociological or psychological indicators that can be measured through surveys, expert assessments, focus groups or interviews. For example, the very authoritative Anholt-GfK Roper City Brands Index by Simon Anholt is based on the “hexagon” (knowledge of the city, characteristics of the place, living conditions, eventfulness, potential). And the City RepTrak rating from the Reputation Institute, in which Moscow took 98th place in 2012, is based on psychological aspects: how the city feels, what are the expectations, what people admire, why they trust.

There are about a dozen methods for “measuring” the weight of a city’s brand or reputation, but there is no “correct” model among them. Just like there are no economic indicators directly related to branding. The cities discussed below have undergone or are undergoing a process of branding or rebranding, having serious strategic goals: to change the attitude of the residents themselves (New York, Berlin) or visitors to the city (Copenhagen, Madrid, Amsterdam), to emphasize economic attractiveness (Johannesburg , Hong Kong) or cultural (London, Lyon, Melbourne).

Copenhagen

*Campaign* *: Open Copenhagen - Open For You (as* *part of* *strategies* *WOCO & Copenhagen Citybreak* *; rebranding )*

*Period: since 2009*

*Organizers and participants:* *Copenhagen Brand Secretariat, VisitCopenhagen, concept by Wally Olins, brand director Jacob Saxild*

*Branding costs: €74 million (since 1989), planned costs for 2012-2014: €12 million*

*Place* in *the City RepTrak-2012 ranking (Reputation Institute): No. 4*

More details

**Target**

In fact, Open Copenhagen is a campaign as part of the “20 steps” strategy launched back in 1989 to get out of the bankruptcy that threatened the city. In 2009, as part of VisitCopenhagen's strategic tourism development plan, the rebranding of this destination began - cOPENhagen: Open For You. It was necessary to present Copenhagen as an open city in every sense, comfortable, environmentally friendly, tolerant and “friendly to tourists, business, investments, events, life experiences, alternatives.”

**results**

Best city in the world for cyclists (2010, Discovery Communications), second in the list of the best cities in the world for safety (2010, TripAtlas), best city in the world for business (2010, Forbes), second in the list of cities-models of sustainable development (2011, Ernst&Young ), the city with the most accurate and punctual airport in Europe (2011, FlightStats.com). In 2012, Copenhagen took 12th position in the brand success rating (Reputation Institute), beating Stockholm, Prague and New York.

*www.jldcreative.com*
Melbourne

*Campaign: City of Melbourn (rebranded* )

*Period: since 2009*

*Organizers and participants:* *City of Melbourne, Landor Associates*

*Branding costs: logo and concept - $240,000, first stage (2009-2011) - $14 million*

*Place* in *the City RepTrak-2012 ranking (Reputation Institute): No. 10*

More details

**Target**

To complement Melbourne's already established reputation as the “creative and innovative capital of Australia” with the image of the city as a center for international cultural tourism. The complex of 19 sub-brands of Melbourne is intended to represent the diversity of the creative, cultural, sustainable development of the city.

**results**

Over two years, the gross product of the metropolis grew by 10% and amounted to $56.8 billion. Over the same two years, income from external tourism increased by 5% (to $3.4 billion). A small detail: since 2010, the City of Melbourn project has been monitoring pedestrian traffic around the clock in the city center in order to optimize pedestrian and car routes.

*www.flickr.co · photos/dangoodwin*
London

*Campaign* *: Totally London*

*Period: since 2003*

*Organizers and participants:* *Promote London Council, London Development Agency, London & Partners, Wolff Ollins*

*Branding costs: initial stage: £3.8 million; for all time - about £74 million (excluding participation in the London Olympic brand)*

*Place* in *the City RepTrak-2012 ranking (Reputation Institute): No. 13*

*More details*

**Target**

Expand the tourist attractiveness of the city, making it universal. The main focus of the campaign is on the multiculturalism of London.

**results**

By 2006, London had already begun to be perceived as a cosmopolitan city: in the press, without prompting, the city was referred to as a world city. One of the direct financial results of the creation of an “umbrella” of brands (about 20 sub-brands under the main one) in London is considered to be €11.7 billion of attracted investments in the 2012 Olympics.

*Fotobank · Getty Images*
Madrid

*Campaign:* *Madrid_* *Global*

*Period: since 2005*

*Organizers and participants:* *Madrid International Strategy and Action Office of Madrid's City Council, Landor Associates.*

*Branding costs: €28.5 million (estimated)*

*Place* in *the City RepTrak-2012 ranking (Reputation Institute): No. 21*

*More details*

**Target**

The story of Madrid is a striking example of how an attempt to present a city in accordance with fashion trends almost deprived the capital of Spain of its historical and cultural identity. The purpose of the branding was to move away from the stereotype “Madrid/Spain is flamenco and bullfighting” and to emphasize the modernity and dynamism of life in the Spanish capital. The image of Madrid is something, as the developers wrote, “akin to a potpourri, a puzzle, each element of which resembles some other city.” Surprisingly, even such measures contributed to the growth of Madrid's reputation as a tourist destination.

**results**

From 2005 to 2007, 2.6 million more people visited Madrid than predicted by the strategic plan. In the first 9 months of 2012, 9.7 million guests visited Madrid, which corresponds to 7th place in the Global Top20 Destination Cities ranking (Madrid has been in this position since 2011).

*www.flickr.co · photos/mac*
Berlin

*Campaign* *: be.Berlin / A Great Place to Live*

*Period: since 2008*

*Organizers and participants:*

*Berlin Partner GmbH*

*Branding costs: €10.6 million (estimated)*

*Place* in *the City RepTrak-2012 ranking (Reputation Institute): No. 23*

*More details*

**Target**

In 1990, the Berlin Wall was finally almost completely destroyed, but the image of the city divided into two parts during the Cold War at some point became poorly compatible with the image of the old-new capital of united Germany, the center of cultural, political, and social life. The purpose of branding was to expand the tourism industry, create an attractive image of the city for external and internal investors, a city that means a lot in the life of every resident.

**results**

According to surveys, the choice “to live in Berlin” became more attractive for Europeans in the first three years by about 30%, the choice “to work in Berlin” - by 45%.

*Fotobank · Getty Images*
NY

*Campaign:* I *love* NY

*Period: since 1977*

*participants:* *N.Y.C.* *Organizers and* *Glaser* *Branding* *office,* *Wells* *Rich Greene, BBDO New York, logo by Milton*

*Branding costs: lifetime – $126 million (estimated); in 2007-2008 — $16 million*

*Place* in *the City RepTrak-2012 ranking (Reputation Institute): No. 39*

*More details*

**Target**

Change the image of New York - a “city of hard workers” (“sweatshop city”), focus on tourist attractiveness, as well as on the attractiveness of the city for internal labor migration (to live and work in New York). After the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, a variation of *The* *New* *York* *Miracle* brand proclaimed, “I love New York, no matter what.” Since 2011, it has coexisted with the new "multiculturalist" and universal NYC logo.

**results**

The I love NY logo has become widely used and has spawned many imitations around the world. The annual volume of tourist visits has grown more than 110 times over 20 years, and the financial return from tourism has increased more than 70 times (about $6 billion per year).

*Fotobank · Getty Images*
Amsterdam

*Campaign* *: I Amsterdam*

*Period: since 2004*

*Organizers and participants:* *Amsterdam* *Partners,* *KesselsKramer*

*Branding costs: ~ €160 million (estimate)*

*Place* in *the City RepTrak-2012 ranking (Reputation Institute): No. 41*

More details

**Target**

It was necessary to overcome the image of the city that had developed in the 1960s, “hanging between Vermeer, tulips and sex”, an image in the spirit of “sex, drugs & rock'n'roll” (or, as they wrote on T-shirts, “I was in Amsterdam and survived "), create an attractive atmosphere, an image of a city that exists for people. According to the brand concept, Amsterdam is “a city of culture, a city of canals, a city of meetings.”

**results**

In the first five years, the annual number of tourists increased approximately fourfold (in 2009, tourism brought the city €5.2 billion). There has been an expansion of the spectrum of tourism: scientific and scientific-educational, cultural (up to 170 major international cultural events per year). And by 2009, business tourism accounted for 26% of the total number of tourists.

*Fotobank · Getty Images*
Lyon

*Campaign* *: OnlyLyon*

*Organizers and participants:* *Lyon Area Development Agency (ADERLY), Grand Lyon2007---present* *day*

*Branding costs: at the initial stage - €1.5 million, in 2009-2011 - €27.4 million (estimated).*

*Place* in *the City RepTrak-2012 ranking (Reputation Institute): No. 43*

More details

**Target**

It was necessary to radically change the image and reputation of the city. From the “city of gastronomes” (the traditional myth of the French chefs is considered outdated and offensive to representatives of other professions) to the city of researchers and higher education (as it happens, the center of modern research and higher education has shifted from Paris to Lyon).

**results**

In 2009, 2.8 million business trips were made to Lyon. In 2010, Lyon's influence on the entire Rhône-Alpes region is such that annual investment in scientific research reaches €4 billion, and the city ranks 9th in terms of attractiveness for entrepreneurship (ECER Ranking).

*Fotobank · Getty Images*
Hong Kong

*Campaign:* *Asia* 's *world* *city*

*Period: since 2000*

*Organizers and participants:* *Hong Kong Government, Landor Associates, BrandHK*

*Branding costs: first phase (2000–2004) - $38 million; all-time: $114 million (estimate)*

*Place* in *the City RepTrak-2012 ranking (Reputation Institute): No. 66*

*More details*

**Target**

Preserve the international political, economic and human dimensions of Hong Kong after its reunification with China. In 2009-2010, the content of the brand was clarified with amendments to “multiculturalism”: a cosmopolitan metropolis is not only a tourist, financial and logistics center, but in the spirit of the times, a center of innovation, creative industries and world-class education.

**results**

Before reunification with China, Hong Kong was primarily oriented toward the United States. Over 8 years, a serious redistribution of flows has been noted: cultural and recreational tourism mainly from the countries of Asia, Oceania and Australia; business tourism - from America, Southern and South-Eastern Europe.

*Fotobank · Getty Images*
Johannesburg

*Campaign* *: City of Joburg*

*Period: since 2001*

*Organizers and participants:* *Johannesburg metropolitan area Council, Interbrand*

*Branding costs: $97 million (estimated)*

*Place* in *the City RepTrak-2012 ranking (Reputation Institute): No. 94*

*More details*

**Target**

Deteriorating living conditions in South Africa in the mid-1980s contributed to an increase in crime, prostitution and drug trafficking in Johannesburg, not to mention apartheid and human rights abuses. The city has a bad reputation, especially among those who haven't been there. At the end of 2001, a large-scale advertising campaign was developed to attract investors and businessmen to the city. The campaign slogan was “African World-Class City” (its unofficial name, Joburg, was known and perceived positively).

**results**

In 2011, Johannesburg contributes 16% of the country's GDP, compared with only about 2.5% before branding began.

Copenhagen

Melbourne

London

Madrid

Berlin

NY

Amsterdam

Lyon

Hong Kong

Johannesburg

10 examples of successful city rebranding