European cities gathered in Liverpool earlier this month to examine new trends and developments in city branding.

Host city Liverpool welcomed a group of city brand professionals from Dublin, Stockholm, Cardiff, San Sebastian, Genoa, Faro and La Rochelle, as part of the AT Brand Project.

The developing field of city branding was under discussion at the three-day conference, hosted by Liverpool as part of the International Festival for Business 2014.

The conference explored city branding campaigns in European cities with case studies of:

– Liverpool. It’s Liverpool

– Genoa. More than this

– Stockholm. Capital of Scandinavia

Chris Brown, Director of Marketing Liverpool, said:

“There’s a rapid development in city branding around the world. Digital and social media has changed the landscape. Cities, regions, nations are becoming far more sophisticated in using new platforms to improve their image and attractiveness.

“Liverpool are delighted to take part in the project and host the first conference. The mix of cities is fascinating and the conference discovered some distinctive trends that are emerging, which will help inform and shape our thinking.”

The conference recommended four key areas for cities to focus on:

– Logos and slogans – the preoccupation with logos and slogans is outdated. City branding is an important strategic tool to improve city competiveness and urban economies. It is more far-reaching than merely ‘packaging’ and must be connected to a broader vision and policy framework.

– Digital and social media – Destination management organisations (DMO) must adapt or die. New strategic approaches to digital and social media are essential. The development of new skills in content, search and data analysis is crucial to DMOs being relevant and effective.

– Storytelling – a trend for authentic narratives and experiences is emerging. Perfect, polished narratives and images are increasingly taking a back seat to collaborative ways of working in city brand communications. Cities should find new ways of promoting opportunities for residents, visitors, businesses and students to co-create and share their own experiences.

– Cities are innovating in how they collaborate with their residents, cultural organisations and the business community to create partner models. There are no formulas to successful city branding.

Robert Hughes, from lead partner Dublin City Council, said:

“As lead partner of the project, we’re pleased to see the benefits of collaborating with our partners on the AT Brand Project. It was good to get under the skin of how cities are developing their brands in new and different ways. It’s a fast moving area and can have a massive effect on the success of urban economies.”

AT Place Brand project

In February 2014, Liverpool was selected to be part of AT Place Brand project. Founded by INTERREG IVC, this major initiative brings together cities with a strong reputation for place branding. It came after the success of Liverpool’s own ‘It’s Liverpool’ campaign.

The goal of AT Place Brand is to share knowledge and exchange of best practice between these leading destinations over the next 18 months.