The Observation: Cities are Brands

Before brand creators can set out to make a (any) city a special citybrand, they obviously need to familiarize themselves with the subject of their work. Not only with the city for which a brand is to be specifically developed, but also generally with what a city ‘is’. The latter, the social phenomenon of the city, has long been one of the more complex and often controversially discussed objects of (social) scientific and societal debates. Therefore, overly simple answers are not permissible—even for the reflective brand creator. The search for what makes a specific city unique leads to two contradictory insights. On the one hand, both residents and strangers often seem to know very precisely what characterizes the respective city. There are often very precise and detailed ideas. This makes the city a prototype of what can be understood as a brand. Nevertheless, both locals and outsiders, (knowledgeable) residents and (insightful) observers as well as visitors know very well that the respective city cannot—and should not—be forced into a fixed and clear image. This strange ambivalence significantly determines the attractiveness of each specific city. At the same time, as a characteristic feature of urbanity, it often collides with familiar views and ways of thinking in the world of brands, which, for example, always strive to reduce ambiguities or avoid ambivalence.