Demand- and supply-side perspectives of city branding: A qualitative investigation

Abstract

City branding has become an invaluable source of differentiation for cities around the world as competition between places continues to grow. The current study addresses gaps in extant city branding literature by investigating the brand vision model on a second-tier UK city, Leeds, from the perspective of both brand steerers and brand consumers. The qualitative research approach and case study results from brand steerers and consumers reveal that a high degree of buy-in exists among leading brand steerers. Furthermore, findings indicate some significant differences between the steerers and citizens' vision for the city's brand that prevents the two sets of viewpoints from being strongly aligned; although communalities exist between stakeholder groups, the supply side is taking a more strategic direction whereas the demand side is more pragmatic. Managerial and theoretical implications provide practical recommendations for managers as well as broader suggestions for the research area in general.