Public Branding for Entrepreneurial Growth: A 21st Century Imperative for Municipal Governments

The views expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of ASPA as an organization.

By Aroon P. Manoharan
April 12, 2024

Cities and towns recognize the need to brand themselves to highlight their unique identity and better connect with their citizens and stakeholders. The recent decades of technological changes and interconnectivity have created a global platform for cities to brand themselves, and attract new residents, tourists and economic development opportunities. They are also branding themselves as sustainable and resilient communities that offer better quality of living and contribution to the environment.

Branding is often associated with marketing of products and is being increasingly adopted to the promotion of places and regions. The concept of an “entrepreneurial city” was introduced in the 1970’s with the integration of an entrepreneurial approach to urban governance that involved more innovation and risk-taking with public programs. Cities and towns can proactively consider branding from a governance and communicative perspective to promote their policies, programs and initiatives. Such approaches can also be associated with the emergence of a communicative governance paradigm, as a result of digitalization and mediatization.

Place branding is a dynamic process that responds to the expectations and aspirations of its communities. The process of establishing a city or town brand can be a participatory process that involves various sections of the region. This can improve the general perception of the place and establish a holistic public relations framework for government to regularly engage the public. Manoharan and Wu (2021, p. 155) define branding as the “process connecting said image(s) with identified audiences (including stakeholders) and prompting them to think positively about the targeted place”. The authors introduce a 12-step toolkit to create a brand image for a town, city, state or region that begins with forming a brand leadership committee. The team should consist of representatives from departments that will be primarily involved in the branding process, as well as external stakeholders who can provide valuable input in identifying the unique characteristics and attributes of the region. The committee needs to list out the various tasks and roles for the members and begin identifying the various audiences in the region. The committee can also pursue a stakeholder analysis and a SWOT analysis to better understand the current issues and aspirations of the community members. These could include citizen surveys, focus group discussions, workshops, community retreat, townhall meetings and extensive use of social media platforms to engage various sections of the community.

The next step is to form a brand management and media team that works on the specific tasks in the branding process, and ensures effective communication among the members involved in the process. An important responsibility of the team is to develop the narrative and story around the branding approach for the place. Storytelling is being increasingly recognized as an important platform for various stakeholders to provide their perspectives that can be weaved into a persuasive narrative for public managers.

According to Manoharan and Wu (2021, p. 156), “visual representation is key for brand communication as it helps transform a brand’s personas from abstract ideas to relatable imagery.” These can include logos, slogans, taglines, mottos or any message that instantly and uniquely conjures an image of the place. There are powerful tools to foster a positive image of the place that emotionally connects with the residents and stakeholders. Cities and towns can also conduct public competitions to suggest ideas and increase public engagement in the process.

The official website of the city or town has great potential to digitally brand the place to global audiences. Many government websites are primarily information-oriented and focus less on the user experience. Websites also need to be mobile-compatible as citizens are increasingly accessing their city websites via mobile devices. The website capacity is further enhanced when the features of the website are integrated with the cities’ social media, email, mobile apps and media channels. A study of the use of official websites by U.S. cities for public branding purposes found that a majority of the websites displayed their city logo but very few included a slogan, tagline or motto (Manoharan et al. 2024). The study recognized four primary functions for the official website for public branding—brand identity, brand communication, brand engagement and brand operations. Some cities adopt a strategic approach to the branding process, that involves mission, vision and a value statement. These need to align with existing strategic plans for the city or town.

Cities and urban regions are playing a prominent role in the global sphere and becoming engines of growth for nations worldwide. As they grow in population and size, such places are realizing the need to establish their unique brand identity and highlight the positive attributes of the region. These can be achieved through a public branding process that is participatory, inclusive and restores a sense of pride and belonging to the place.

---

Author: Dr. Aroon P. Manharan is an Associate Professor in the Department of Public Service and Healthcare Administration, Sawyer Business School at Suffolk University, Boston. He is also the Director of the National Center for Public Performance at Suffolk University. His research interests include digital government, performance measurement, strategic planning, public communication, administrative capacity, and comparative public administration. His recent books include E-Government and Information Technology Management: Concepts and Best Practices; and E-Government and Websites: A Public Solutions Handbook. He is the chair of the ASPA Section on International and Comparative Administration (SICA).

(1 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)
Loading...