This article was originally published in the Brand Finance Global City Index 2024.
Analytics Manager,
Brand Finance
Cities, much like commercial brands, must strategically manage their image and reputation to attract investors, talent, and tourists. With individuals enjoying greater mobility and more choices about where to invest capital, live, and go on holiday, the importance of effective branding has never been more critical.
To better understand the distinct positioning of different cities, we conducted a segmentation analysis of city brands, examining the comprehensive range of 50+ metrics in our research study. This resulted in four unique city archetypes: Global Metropolises, Thriving Centres, Heritage Capitals, and Growth Hubs.
Each of these groups carries its own identity, strengths, and challenges. Global Metropolises are the powerhouses-well-known and highly regarded. These cities benefit from a phenomenon known as the mere-exposure effect, where their familiarity leads to positive associations across a wide range of attributes, from economic stability to cultural influence.
Growth Hubs, by contrast, are emerging cities, with much lower familiarity. This results in more subdued associations, meaning that while they have significant potential, they face the challenge of shaping perceptions to realise that promise.
The unique characteristics of each archetype are more evident when looking at their relative brand profiles. Global Metropolises are renowned for strong economies, world-class universities, and global significance.
Thriving Centres stand out for their future growth potential, accessibility & affordability, and investment in science and technology. Heritage Capitals, with their rich history and architectural beauty, are celebrated cultural centres, but face challenges in maintaining modern relevance. Growth Hubs, positioned as the next big regional players, are perceived as affordable, innovative, and having favourable taxation, but they may lack lifestyle appeal compared to the other archetypes.
Competing with Your Peers and Planning Your Trajectory
According to Brand Finance data, reputation is correlated with the 7 dimensions of consideration in the study, and it is most strongly correlated with consideration to visit. This makes tourism a critical entry point for broader engagement with the city.
To effectively compete, cities must understand what drives their reputation. While these drivers vary by archetype–for instance, Dubai and Rome, two cities with very high reputations but likely shaped by very different factors–there are still some consistent themes across the board.
Trustworthiness and economic strength are universal drivers of reputation across all archetypes, but there are some distinctions. For Heritage Capitals, economic stability ranks lower than in the other groups, likely due to their ability to rely more heavily on tourism, sometimes to the detriment of investment in innovation and infrastructure.
In Growth Hubs, trust-typically one of the top drivers–is also ranked much lower, reflecting their lower familiarity globally and the time it takes to build credibility. As a result, these cities rely more heavily on attributes like employment and governance to bolster their reputations.
Good governance and appealing lifestyle are two key attributes found in most, but not all, archetypes. While good governance is highly valued across all groups except Heritage Capitals, an appealing lifestyle is important for all except Growth Hubs. This illustrates how each group is evaluated based on its unique offerings.
While attributes such as trust, economy, governance and lifestyle serve as reputational pillars, there are also attributes unique to each archetype that differentiate cities from their peers within that archetype. These are attributes usually not part of the general profile of the archetypes but are important in driving their reputation and make the stronger contenders stand out.
Global Metropolises, for instance, have green spaces and recreation as a top 10 driver of reputation, an area that might be challenging for large, populous cities to prioritise. For Thriving Centres, it is great universities and low crime. Where typically Global Metropolises are known for universities, Thriving Centres can use this as a differentiation point to pull ahead of their peers.
Heritage Capitals which pivot beyond just their historical identity and can foster a community feeling of being open and welcoming win. Meanwhile, Growth Hubs can leverage their national and international connectivity to offer a very practical appeal point to investors and tourists alike.
Balancing Identity and Audience: Tailoring the Brand for Strategic Impact
As cities work to strengthen their identity within the context of their archetype, the next critical step is tailoring their brand to engage different audiences without compromising their core offering. For instance, Heritage Capitals may want to emphasise their history and cultural allure to attract tourists, but to appeal to investors, they will need to highlight business opportunities and innovation. Conversely, cities typically positioned for business, like the Thriving Centres, may primarily attract investors, but they also need to cultivate a more dynamic cultural or lifestyle offering to draw in visitors and talent.
This balancing act allows cities to resonate with multiple audiences, shaping their reputation as destinations for work, investment, tourism, and quality of life. Cities like Lisbon and Dublin have successfully navigated this, offering both strong business environments and compelling tourism experiences. Lisbon has capitalised on its tech and startup scene, while Dublin has positioned itself as a hub for multinational corporations.
As we move beyond overall reputation, the next step in strategic positioning is understanding how to address the distinct needs of these varied audiences, based on the 7 dimensions of consideration to drive sustainable growth.
What's at Stake: Shaping the Future of City Brands
Ultimately, the global competition among cities is about understanding where you want your trajectory to lead and actively shaping perceptions to get there. Thriving Centres need to act fast to capitalise on current growth, while Global Metropolises must navigate challenges like affordability and bureaucracy to maintain their leading status. Meanwhile, Heritage Capitals must avoid relying solely on their legacy, instead integrating innovation and economic potential to remain competitive in investment and talent attraction.
And of course, Growth Hubs, with the farthest to go but also the most potential. A big part of their future rise depends on growing their familiarity, defining their strengths, and positioning themselves as the next big opportunity on the global stage.
Success is about continuously evolving and shaping perceptions to meet future goals. Whether aiming for the global stage or regional impact, cities that take control of their trajectory will set themselves apart.
