Tag: branding

  • Busan Set to Develop Branding for Opera House and International Art Center

    Busan Set to Develop Branding for Opera House and International Art Center

    The Busan Metropolitan City has unveiled its ambitious plans to develop branding services for the Busan Opera House and Busan International Art Center, in preparation for the full-scale opening of the venues. The services, which include the development of institutional names, business strategies, images, slogans, and characters, mark a significant step forward in promoting the cultural landscape of Busan.

    Dubbed the “Busan Opera House and Busan International Arts Center Brand Development” service, it aims to create a cohesive and well-defined brand image and slogan, admission tickets, pamphlets, and brand utilization packages. The ultimate goal is to establish a unified and professional operating organization for the two renowned venues.

    The branding development is expected to present a vision of the institutions’ core values and an effective business promotion strategy to realize that vision, while raising awareness of the venues as world-class destinations for the arts. By proposing photo zones, tourism products in conjunction with surrounding facilities, and outdoor events, Busan hopes to raise funds for sustainable venue operations.

    The project will be divided into several stages, including a commencement report in March, the formation of an advisory committee comprising of experts and collection of citizen opinions, an interim report in July, the production of promotional strategies and utilization methods, and a final report in October.

    Speaking on the development, Kim Ki-hwan, Director of the Busan City Culture and Sports Bureau, said: “The brand development of the Busan Opera House and Busan International Art Center represents a transformative opportunity to reshape the cultural landscape of Busan, and we will prioritize citizen participation to showcase the brand image. Additionally, we will spare no effort in preparing to assume the mantle of a professional performance venue and fostering a local art ecosystem, such as K-opera production.”

    Busan’s move to establish a coherent branding strategy for its cultural institutions underscores the city’s dedication to promoting its rich cultural heritage, attracting audiences and artists from around the world. With the impending full-scale opening of the Busan Opera House and Busan International Art Center, the city is poised to become an iconic hub for the arts and a leader in cultural tourism.

  • The Significance of Narrative in the Branding of Cities: An Editorial Perspective

    The Significance of Narrative in the Branding of Cities: An Editorial Perspective

    The Significance of Narrative in the Branding of Cities City branding has become an indispensable aspect of advertising a city’s history, quality of life, cultural and natural resources, social amenities, attractions, lifestyle, and environment, with the aim of creating a favorable reputation, fortifying its position, or capitalizing on opportunities in an ever-evolving market. However, the escalating competition among cities, along with the changing tastes, resources, finances, and demographics at a global level, presents a formidable challenge to city branding endeavors. This is where storytelling comes into play, injecting vitality into brands and propelling market transformations.

    While the use of storytelling as a technique is well-documented in marketing literature, it has been largely overlooked in the realm of travel and tourism marketing. Despite recognition of the role of storytelling in shaping the image of a destination in the literature on destination marketing, it has primarily been viewed as a valuable tool for constructing effective brands at the corporate and product level.

    Just as a corporation should actively promote its products and services, attract people, visitors, entrepreneurs, and activities, and participate in international events, a city should also adopt a similar approach in establishing its brand and marketing it effectively. In this regard, storytelling should occupy a central role.

    With cities such as New York, Rio de Janeiro, Istanbul, and London investing in branding efforts, travel and tourism marketers and destination planners are beginning to accord more consideration to the concept. However, Busan still lacks a comprehensive understanding of branding among its stakeholders, with public sector representatives often having a limited comprehension of branding or failing to grasp its purpose and methodology.

    In 2004, Busan chose the phrase “Dynamic Busan” to position itself as a dynamic international metropolis. Despite having a distinct city brand, there is still a lack of insight into how city branding can make a difference. Destination marketers and city planners should initiate the process by crafting a positive and captivating core narrative for their city brand. Recently, Busan has replaced “Dynamic Busan” with the new city slogan, “Busan is Good.”

    According to the city of Busan, the new city slogan, “Busan is Good,” was selected as the final choice after a citizen preference survey was conducted among the three finalists. The survey, conducted both online and offline, received the participation of 25,222 citizens, with “Busan is Good” emerging as the most popular choice with 11,373 votes. The other two finalists, “Bridge for All, Busan” and “True Place, Busan,” received 19,881 and 2,866 votes, respectively. However, the new slogan lacks a narrative component.

    As a result of the absence of storytelling, Busan has been featured merely as South Korea’s second-largest city in various media outlets. The city’s population does not reflect its unique characteristics or tales.

    Fostering a Clear and Distinctive City Brand The key to successful city branding lies in establishing a positive and resilient city identity that is rooted in a unique array of features and values, encompassing historical, physical, socio-cultural, demographic, economic, and political aspects. City authorities must comprehend the city’s circumstances and its perception both internally and externally. People serve as “brand ambassadors” by sharing their experiences with the city, thus it is vital that the city’s identity and values align with their experiences.

    To define the city’s attributes and values, city planners must first delve into the drivers of the city, in order to lay the foundation for its core story. This involves comprehending the city’s mission, vision, and essential values and how they are manifested in everyday urban life. Only after this process can they scan external information to determine the city’s position and reputation on a global scale, including current global tourism and travel trends, the stories shared by visitors, and the opinions of travel decision-makers and opinion leaders.

    In conclusion, storytelling is a powerful tool that can bring new life to city branding efforts and drive market changes. Busan needs to focus on defining its attributes and values and creating a positive and compelling core story to establish a clear and original city brand.

  • Busan must rebuild its brand and tell its own story

    Busan must rebuild its brand and tell its own story

    City branding has grown into a comprehensive practice of marketing a city’s history, quality of place, natural and cultural resources, social chances and attractions, lifestyle, and nature for opportunity, reputation, or strength in capital formation in a dynamic market. However, heightened competition among cities, which includes global changes in tastes, resources, money, and people, poses obstacles to cities’ branding initiatives. In this regard, the storytelling approach is a successful and influential tool that breathes fresh life into brands and drives market shifts.

    Busan Needs Fill its Empty Shell

    However, while the storytelling approach is frequently used in marketing literature, it has gotten little attention in the travel and tourism marketing sector. Even though the destination marketing literature has emphasized the function of storytelling in destination image building, the storytelling approach has typically surfaced as a valuable tool to construct successful brands solely on a corporate and product level.

    A city, like a corporate, should more effectively and profitably promote its products or services, attract people, visitors, entrepreneurs, and activities, and participate actively in world events. In a nutshell, storytelling should play an active role as a valuable and beneficial approach in the process of establishing the city’s brand.

    With fascinating cities such as New York, Rio de Janeiro, Istanbul, and London devoting significant resources to branding, travel and tourism marketers and destination planners are also paying more attention to the concept.

    However, Busan still has a limited understanding of branding within the network of stakeholders, and public sector representatives have a narrow view of branding or do not understand the purpose and process of branding at all.

    According to the metropolitan city of Busan, the city selected a new phrase, “Dynamic Busan,” in 2004 to present itself as a dynamic international metropolis. The sun, wave pattern, typeface, and colors signify the booming city’s bright social and economic future.

    Nonetheless, while a distinctive city brand helps people grasp a city’s identity, there is still a notable lack of critical insight into how city branding may make a difference. A destination marketer or city planner should begin to create a positive and compelling core story for their city brand.

    Since Busan lacks storytelling, magazines and newspapers usually feature the city of Busan only as South Korea’s second biggest city. The city’s population does not represent any of its distinctive characteristics or stories.

    Busan Needs to Recreate its Branding Through Storytelling

    The primary strategy for city branding is to build a positive and robust city identity based on a unique collection of features and values such as historical, physical, socio-cultural, demographic, economic, and political aspects. In this case, city authorities must comprehend the city’s situation and how people see it both inside and outside. While they have their own goals and are in charge of the city branding process, people share their experiences with the city in various forms and shapes, acting as “brand ambassadors” to represent the city.

    When the city’s identity and fundamental values are at odds with what people may experience, there is a significant risk that city branding will consist of superior values not recognized by the community. Thus, city planners can create a coherent vision of the city brand that represents internal and external perceptions, experiences, and impressions.

    To define the city’s attributes and values, city planners must examine what makes it move internally, which ensures the basis for its core story.

    How to Establish a Clear and Original City Brand.

    To map the city’s worldwide position and reputation, as well as to define the city’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and dangers, Busan must first scan internal information before determining external ones. However, city planners and others in the destination marketing profession do the opposite.

    The following are the fundamental questions for scanning internal information to define the city’s values.


    Busan’s mission and vision

    What is the city’s mission, and what is the vision behind it?
    What are the city’s most essential values, and why?
    How do these principles manifest themselves in everyday urban life?
    How are they shared both internally and externally?

    Busan’s history

    How can citizens identify the city’s historical process factually?
    What have been the most significant events in the city’s history?
    What narratives and facts about renowned and prominent persons and events are still being told in the city?

    What Busan residents think of the city

    What do locals think of the city?
    What stories do they tell about the city?
    What are the events and experiences that citizens use to symbolize the city?
    What distinguishes the city as a desirable destination to live and visit? Where do citizens believe the city goes above and beyond?


    Only after this process can we scan external information to determine the city’s position and reputation on a global scale, as well as define the city’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and dangers.

    Scan external information

    What are the current global tourism and travel trends?
    What do they signify in terms of the city’s current position?

    What stories do regular visitors share about the city?
    What do people in other cities think about the city?
    How does the city rank in comparison to other cities on a global scale?
    Who are the target visitors, and what factors influence their choice to visit the city?

    Who are the opinion leaders in the travel decision-making and trip-planning processes?
    What are the opinions of travel agencies and social media (travel blogs and websites) on the city?
    What do they think of the city’s attractions, atmosphere, infrastructure, and value?

    What are the city’s marketing partners who actively assist and advise on strategy and practical issues?
    What projects has the city completed in collaboration with those partners?
    What do these projects indicate about the values of the city?

    Busan Now Needs its Unique Storytelling

    City and destination marketers have a mound of data to handle after evaluating internal and external information sources. Here, they must get straight to the point and focus on what makes the city special.

    The primary objective of the story is to reconcile the city’s identity with its external sense, which is the cornerstone of a powerful and attractive brand. In short, it is crucial to describe the differences and similarities between internal and external data.

    Moreover, the message should not be confused with a slogan. A slogan is a brief and attractive statement that conveys a message and is widely used in municipal advertising.

    The essential concepts of a core story are scanning basic internal and external information, distilling basic information, and forming a core story, and these aspects affect the heart and mind of the city’s target group to establish a clear and original city brand. In practice, the insights generated by this procedure may assist city marketers and planners, as well as tourist organizations and institutions, in managing their initiatives to attract more visitors and investors.