Place Branding as a Sustainable Development Driver

The relationship between place branding and sustainable development is an area that has not been thoroughly studied in Russia. Scholars have attempted to apply the concept of sustainable development to place branding, however, it is mostly focused on enhancing the economic and tourist appeal of the region. On the one hand, branding helps create a visual identity for a place and connect it with its unique characteristics. On the other hand, place branding can also contribute to the development of sustainable territories. This contribution proposes a methodological approach to developing a brand for a place and considers a case of creating a brand for a municipal district in the Samara region, Russia. The main objective of this work is to demonstrate the practical application of the methodological approach to place branding and link the created brand to sustainable values. The research reveals that place branding is primarily a marketing decision, but the conveyed values also influence decision-making in the realms of economic, social, and environmental policies.