|
Giving a city a brand identity cannot be done just by putting a logo on a brochure, was the message given to delegates at Global City yesterday, as the urban planning event’s second day began at the Emirates Palace hotel.
Held under the patronage of H.H. Sheikh Hamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Crown Prince’s Court and Deputy Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Council for Economic Development (ADCED), Global city welcomes more than 100 leading international experts as speakers and forum participants, with leaders from 40 world cities in attendance.
And with the cream of urban marketing minds assembled here for a seminar on city branding, a number of key insights was revealed to a packed auditorium.
“Our approach to branding meant we would enhance our identity,” Reem Al Shemari, General Manager of the Abu Dhabi Office of Brand, told the conference.
“We decided not to build the brand on tangible assets, such as Abu Dhabi’s buildings, or the sun or sand, because other cities also might have these,” she continued. “From international research and focus groups, one word kept coming up: ‘respect’, which we used as the core of our brand identity. This reinforced for us that a brand is not just a visual image, it’s more a mental one.”
Ms Al Shemari took delegates through the capital’s strategy to create a working brand that would attract business and tourism from abroad while reinforcing its image among its population. “Our work has just begun,” she said. “Abu Dhabi has a positive, visionary future and there are many more ways we can show this through our branding.”
As CEO and President of CEOs for Cities in America, Carol Coletta has a wealth of experience in analysing how urban leaders have approached branding their cities.
She has, she said, identified five steps for developing a municipality’s external image. “First, you have to define clear objectives; after all, there are many people involved in the process, each with their own agenda.
“Then you have to understand your target audience while identifying your current brand image. With this in place, you must clarify your aspirational brand identity before you create your value proposition.”
Ms Coletta continued by warning that a city’s brand image “has to be grounded in reality.” She said: “Cities talk back; they have a voice. A city is full of opinionated people who have the right to comment.”
Two case studies followed the initial discourses on branding theory. Walter Anderau illustrated how Zurich had rebranded itself from having an image of “Banks, boring and bourgeois,” to a city that is vibrant and engaging.
“We didn’t use logos or images as we branded Zurich,” he said. “We looked at emotions for an overall strategy.”
Creating a brand book was straightforward but living the new brand was far more difficult, he said. “The city had measured great success as a result of its strategy.”
And in her case study on Melbourne, the city’s CEO, Dr Kathy Alexander stressed how the municipality had achieved excellent results through rebranding.
“The story of Melbourne is the story of a city that was in decline but has now beaten Sydeny in terms of tourist numbers,” she said.
“Melbourne had an empty city centre at night, but the media attention of its plight spurred the council into action to create a vibrant city through planning and design.
“We figured out that if we could get locals to come to town, visitors would follow, and they have.”
The session was co-organised with Arthesia of Switzerland, a “creative think lab” that was instrumental in the rebranding of Zurich. Thomas Sevcik, CEO of Arthesia, also delivered a speech on a comprehensive approach for city identities.
Global City is organised by Reed Exhibitions Middle East as a knowledge gathering, networking and business platform dedicated to mayors, urban planners, decision-makers and leaders. Reed launched the event in 2005 in Cannes, France, and the second and third editions were held in Lyon in 2006 and 2007. The organisers decided to move Global City to Abu Dhabi this year in recognition of the capital’s inspiring record in the event’s key themes of sustainability, progress and strategy.
Global City ended yesterday evening after a successful two days of debate over a comprehensive range of issues affecting cities around the world.
|
New
Review
Abu Dhabi International Airport - 41°F
