Place branding is about creating a compelling case for why your location matters, and the secret to place branding lies in highlighting a city’s unique competitive identity. In this presentation given at the International Economic Development Council's fall conference in Atlanta, Resonance Consultancy President Chris Fair and New York University Schack Institute of Real Estate Professor and Urban Lab Director Steven Pedigo share their latest research on the factors that shape a city’s competitive identity as a place to do business, live, and visit. They also share examples of how economic development organizations can use this information to create authentic, data-driven positioning and marketing strategies to engage the audiences they are seeking to attract. What you will learn: • An understanding of why a competitive identity is critically important for attracting investment • A framework for uncovering factors that help shape a community’s identity • Best practices and case studies from communities that have effectively built city brands

1. BENCHMARKING YOUR
COMPETITIVE IDENTITY & BUILDING
YOUR COMMUNITY’S BRAND
RESONANCECO.COM

2. ● Chris is President at Resonance Consultancy
● Masters degree in Studies of the Future
● Vice-Chairman of Urban Land Institute’s Trends Council
● Adjunct Professor in placemaking at New York University
● In 2013, Chris was recognized as the “Place Branding Thought
Leader of the Year” at the World Sense of Place Summit
● Featured in Fast Company Magazine and frequent
commentator on consumer trends for publications such
as the Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, The Economist
and many others
CHRIS FAIR

3. ● Steven is Vice-President Strategy at Resonance Consultancy
● 15 years of experience, advising more than 50+ cities,
universities and Fortune 500 companies from Jerusalem
and Miami to Converse and EDENS
● Expert in economic and urban development strategy,
public-private partnerships, and placemaking
● Director of NYU Schack Institute of Real Estate Urban Lab
and clinical faculty at New York University
● VP of the Initiative for Competitive Inner City, working with
Harvard Business Professor Michael Porter
● Founding VP of Greater Portland Inc., regional economic
development organization.
STEVEN PEDIGO

4. ABOUT US
Resonance Consultancy is a leading
advisor on real estate, tourism and
economic development for
countries, cities and communities
around the world.

5. WE STUDY
PLACES
Resonance produces
rankings of the World’s Best Cities
and America’s Best Cities each year.
World’s Best Cities
America’s Best Cities

6. WE DEVELOP
STRATEGIES
Our economic development
strategies analyze current context
and articulate a clear vision for
sustainable economic and
community development.
Destination Assessments
Economic Development Strategies
Marketing Strategies

7. WE MARKET PLACES
Resonance writes and executes
marketing and communication
plans that bring the story of place
to life and engage audiences in
communities, cities and countries
all over the world.
Place Branding
Brand Strategy
Brand Storyline

8. @crfair @resonanceco
01 WHAT IS PLACE BRANDING?
02 ASSETS THAT SHAPE PERCEPTION OF PLACE
03 A MODEL FOR MEASURING COMPETITIVE IDENTITY
04 MAPPING THE COMPETITIVE IDENTITY OF PLACE
05 DEVELOPING A PLACE BRANDING STRATEGY
06 CASE STUDIES
AGENDA

9. 01 WHAT IS PLACE BRANDING?

10. @crfair @resonanceco
TWHAT IS
PLACE?
@resonanceco
WHAT IS PLACE?

11. @crfair @resonanceco
TWHAT IS
PLACE?
PLACES OF ALL SIZES
COMPETE FOR
TALENT, TOURISM,
AND INVESTMENT

12. PLACE AND
PROSPERITY
The prosperity of a place has
historically been defined by
hardware: geography, industries,
or institutions and attractions.

13. The more freely people and capital move around the
world, the more important a city’s perceived brand
becomes in determining where talent, tourism, and
investment flows.

14. @crfair @resonanceco
TWHAT IS BRAND?

15. @crfair @resonanceco
TWHAT IS
PLACE?
ESTIMATED VALUE
OF COCA-COLA’S
“BRAND” IS
$69.7 BILLION
– Interbrand 2017

16. @crfair @resonanceco
BRAND
EQUITY
Brand Equity is “the set of assets
and liabilities linked to a brand’s
name and symbol that adds or
subtracts from the value provided
by a product or service to a firm
and/or that firm’s customers.”
– David Aaker, Managing Brand Equity

17. The identity of a place is shaped by many more
dimensions than that of a consumer product or service.

18. @crfair @resonanceco
A PLACE
TO LIVE

19. @crfair @resonanceco
A PLACE TO
DO BUSINESS

20. @crfair @resonanceco
A PLACE
TO VISIT

21. @crfair @resonanceco
PLACE
EQUITY
Place Equity is the set of assets
and liabilities linked to a place’s
name and identity that adds or
subtracts from the perceived
attractiveness of a community as
a place to live, visit and invest.

22. 02 WHAT ASSETS SHAPE OUR
PERCEPTION OF PLACE?

23. QUALITY
OF PLACE
WHAT’S THERE
The combination of the built
environment and the natural
environment; a stimulating,
appealing setting for the pursuit
of creative lives.

24. QUALITY
OF PLACE
WHO’S THERE
Diverse people of all ethnicities,
nationalities, religions, and sexual
orientations, interacting and
providing clear cues that this is a
community where anyone can fit
in and make a life.

25. QUALITY
OF PLACE
WHAT’S GOING ON
The vibrancy of the street life,
café culture, arts, and music;
the visible presence of people
engaging in outdoor activities –
essentially active, exciting,
creative goings-on.

26. WHAT IT TAKES
TO BE THE BEST
PLACE...
BUSINESS
PLACE TO LIVEVACATION

27. @crfair @resonanceco Air Quality Museums Jobs
Safety Sports Teams Living Standards
Weather Home Prices Fortune 500
Parks / Outdoors Nightlife TripAdvisor Reviews
Neighborhoods Dining Google Searches
Higher Education Shopping Google Trends
Connectivity Culture Facebook Check-ins
Conventions Diversity Instagram Mentions
Attractions Languages Healthcare
Transportation
Education
Attainment
Schools
PERCEPTION
IS SHAPED BY
30 FACTORS

28. 03 A MODEL FOR MEASURING
PLACE EQUITY

29. HOW DO YOU MEASURE THE
COMPETITIVE IDENTITY OF
ONE PLACE TO ANOTHER?

30. User generated ratings
and reviews provide a new
source of intelligence to
help measure a city’s
competitive identity.

31. COMPETITIVE
IDENTITY IS
SHAPED BY 30
FACTORS GROUPED
INTO 6 CATEGORIES

32. @crfair @resonanceco
COMPETITIVE
IDENTITY

33. PLACE

34. PLACE
The perceived quality of a city’s
natural and built environment,
including the sub-categories of:
WEATHER – number of sunny days
SAFETY – crime rate
ENVIRONMENT – air quality index
URBAN FABRIC – neighborhoods and landmarks
OUTDOORS – parks and outdoor activities

35. NEW YORK
Times Square – 1970s

36. NEW YORK
Times Square – 2015

37. NEWYORKCITYCRIMERATE/ANNUALVISITORS
Source: NYC & Company / U.S. Census Bureau

38. @crfair @resonanceco
LARGE CITIES SMALL CITIES
01 NEW YORK 01 HONOLULU
02 SAN DIEGO 02 CHARLESTON
03 LAS VEGAS 03 NAPLES
04 VIRGINIA BEACH 04 TYLER
05 MIAMI 05 LAKE HAVASU CITY
06 TAMPA 06 SAVANNAH
07 LOS ANGELES 07 ANCHORAGE
08 AUSTIN 08 BOULDER
09 SAN FRANCISCO 09 YUMA
10 PORTLAND 10 CORPUS CHRISTI
TOP U.S. CITIES
FOR PLACE

39. PRODUCT

40. PRODUCT
Product is a city’s key institutions,
attractions and infrastructure,
including the sub-categories:
MUSEUMS – number of museums
HIGHER EDUCATION – university rankings
CONVENTIONS – Convention Center
AIRPORT CONNECTIVITY – number of
destinations
ATTRACTIONS – number of attractions

41. GUGGENHEIM
MUSEUM BILBAO
Monthly overnight stays of foreign
visitors in the province of biscay from
January 1980 to December 2010.

42. BISCAYPROVINCE:OVERNIGHTSTAYS

43. @crfair @resonanceco
T
America’s Best Cities
TOP CITIES
FOR PRODUCT
@resonanceco
LARGE CITIES SMALL CITIES
01 CHICAGO 01 ALBUQUERQUE
02 NEW YORK 02 HONOLULU
03 LOS ANGELES 03 RENO
04 LAS VEGAS 04 TULSA
05 HOUSTON 05 OMAHA
06 ORLANDO 06 KNOXVILLE
07 PHILADELPHIA 07 HARRISBURG
08 DALLAS 08 MYRTLE BEACH
09 DETROIT 09 ANCHORAGE
10 ATLANTA 10 GREEN BAY
TOP CITIES
FOR PRODUCT

44. PROGRAMMING

45. PROGRAMMING
Programming measures the arts,
culture, entertainment and
culinary scene in a city, including
the sub-categories:
SHOPPING – number of quality shopping exp.
CULTURE – number of quality culture
experiences
DINING – number of quality restaurants
NIGHTLIFE – number of quality nightlife exp.

46. PORTLAND,
OREGON

47. PORTLAND,
OREGON
Annual growth of population
aged 25 to 34, between 2007-2017.

48. @crfair @resonanceco
T
America’s Best Cities
TOP CITIES
FOR PROGRAMMING
@resonanceco
LARGE CITIES SMALL CITIES
01 NEW YORK 01 HONOLULU
02 CHICAGO 02 ALBUQUERQUE
03 LOS ANGELES 03 OMAHA
04 LAS VEGAS 04 CHARLESTON
05 SAN FRANCISCO 05 ASHEVILLE
06 HOUSTON 06 SAVANNAH
07 SEATTLE 07 COLORADO SPRINGS
08 PHILADELPHIA 08 RENO
09 SAN DIEGO 09 MYRTLE BEACH
10 PORTLAND 10 EL PASO
TOP U.S. CITIES FOR
PROGRAMMING

49. PEOPLE

50. PEOPLE
The People category ranks the
immigration rate and diversity of a
city, including the sub-categories:
EDUCATION – educational attainment
MULTICULTURALISM – languages spoken at
home
DIVERSITY – foreign born residents

51. TOP CITIES
FOR PEOPLE
IN THE WORLD
01 SAN JOSE 06 DUBAI 11 NEW YORK
02 TORONTO 07 BOSTON 13 LONDON
03 VANCOUVER 08 ZURICH 13 WASHINGTON
04 SAN FRANCISCO 09 ABU DHABI 14 CALGARY
05 MIAMI 10 DOHA 15 SINGAPORE

53. AMAZON HQ2 RFP
INCENTIVES – Tax credits, relocation grants.
LABOR FORCE – Educational attainment, university system.
CONNECTIVITY – Daily direct flights to Seattle, New York, San Francisco Bay area & Washington D.C.
INFRASTRUCTURE – Mass transit, inter-connected highway system.
CULTURE – Diversity, inclusion.
QUALITY OF LIFE – Programming, recreational opportunities.

54. @crfair @resonanceco
T
America’s Best Cities
TOP CITIES
FOR PEOPLE
@resonanceco
LARGE CITIES SMALL CITIES
01 MIAMI 01 BROWNSVILLE
02 SAN FRANCISCO 02 MCALLEN
03 SAN JOSE 03 OXNARD
04 LOS ANGELES 04 SALINAS
05 NEW YORK 05 LAREDO
06 BOSTON 06 SANTA MARIA
07. SAN DIEGO 07 EL PASO
08 PROVIDENCE 08 ANN ARBOR
09 HOUSTON 09 HONOLULU
10 SEATTLE 10 ATLANTIC CITY
TOP U.S. CITIES
FOR PEOPLE

55. PROSPERITY

56. PROSPERITY
Prosperity measures a city’s
employment and workforce,
including the sub-categories:
EMPLOYMENT – unemployment rate
STANDARD OF LIVING – median household
income
ECONOMY – Fortune 500 companies

57. GREENVILLE

58. BMW

59. @crfair @resonanceco
T
America’s Best Cities
TOP CITIES
FOR PROSPERITY
@resonanceco
LARGE CITIES SMALL CITIES
01 NEW YORK 01 OMAHA
02 SAN FRANCISCO 02 TULSA
03 SEATTLE 03 NAPLES
04 SAN JOSE 04 BOISE CITY
05 AUSTIN 05 CEDAR RAPIDS
06 DENVER 06 MADISON
07 VIRGINIA BEACH 07 SIOUX FALLS
08 WASHINGTON 08 LITTLE ROCK
09 DALLAS 09 WINSTON-SALEM
10 MINNEAPOLIS 10 DES MOINES
TOP U.S. CITIES
FOR PROSPERITY

60. PROMOTION

61. PROMOTION
Promotion refers to the quantity
of stories, references and
recommendations shared online
about a city, including the
sub-categories:
TRAVEL MEDIA – TripAdvisor reviews
ONLINE PRESENCE – Google search results
NEWS – Google Trends
SOCIAL MEDIA – Facebook Check-ins
SOCIAL MEDIA – Instagram mentions

62. MARFA

65. @crfair @resonanceco
T
America’s Best Cities
TOP CITIES
FOR PROMOTION
@resonanceco
LARGE CITIES SMALL CITIES
01 NEW YORK 01 HONOLULU
02 LOS ANGELES 02 MYRTLE BEACH
03 CHICAGO 03 CHARLESTON
04 LAS VEGAS 04 MADISON
05 SAN FRANCISCO 05 EL PASO
06 MIAMI 06 ALBUQUERQUE
07 ORLANDO 07 SAVANNAH
08 WASHINGTON 08 RENO
09 SAN DIEGO 09 OMAHA
10 HOUSTON 10 TULSA
TOP CITIES FOR
PROMOTION

66. OVERALL

67. @crfair @resonanceco
T
America’s Best Cities
TOP 10
AMERICA’S BEST CITIES
@resonanceco
LARGE CITIES SMALL CITIES
01 NEW YORK 01 HONOLULU
02 CHICAGO 02 OMAHA
03 LOS ANGELES 03 ALBUQUERQUE
04 SAN FRANCISCO 04 CHARLESTON
05 LAS VEGAS 05 EL PASO
06 SAN DIEGO 06 RENO
07 HOUSTON 07 TULSA
08 MIAMI 08 MADISON
09 SEATTLE 09 MYRTLE BEACH
10 BOSTON 10 ASHEVILLE
TOP CITIES
FOR OVERALL

68. 04 MAPPING YOUR
COMPETITIVE IDENTITY

69. 1
HONOLULU

70. 2
OMAHA

71. 3
ALBUQUERQUE

72. 4
CHARLESTON

73. 5
EL PASO

74. 6
RENO

75. 7
TULSA

76. 8
MADISON

77. 9
MYRTLE BEACH

78. 10
ASHVILLE

79. 05 DEVELOPING YOUR
PLACE BRANDING STRATEGY

80. @crfair @resonanceco
PERCEPTION
PRODUCT
TWHAT IS
PLACE?
@resonanceco
FACTORS THAT
SHAPE PERCEPTION
OF PLACE

81. @crfair @resonanceco
PERCEPTION STRATEGY PRODUCT
TTOP CITIES
FOR PROMOTION
@resonanceco
THE STRATEGY

82. @crfair @resonanceco 01 LONDON 11 MADRID 21 WASHINGTON
02 NEW YORK 12 LOS ANGELES 22 ST. PETERSBURG
03 PARIS 13 TORONTO 23 PRAGUE
04 MOSCOW 14 AMSTERDAM 24 BEIJING
05 TOKYO 15 BOSTON 25 SYDNEY
06 SINGAPORE 16 ROME 26 SAN JOSE
07 DUBAI 17 HONG KONG 27 MIAMI
08 BARCELONA 18 LAS VEGAS 28 BERLIN
09 SAN FRANCISCO 19 SEATTLE 29 VANCOUVER
10 CHICAGO 20 SAN DIEGO 30 ORLANDO
TTOP CITIES
FOR PROMOTION
@resonanceco
World’s Best Cities
RESONANCE
WORLD’S
BEST CITIES
Top 30 cities based on core
statistics and online data.

83. @crfair @resonanceco CITY % SCORE 2017 RANK 2013 RANK
NEW YORK 50 01 01
ABU DHABI 46 02 04
LONDON 41 03 02
PARIS 39 04 03
SYDNEY 36 05 05
ZURICH 36 05 06
TOKYO 36 05 07
ROME 34 08 09
LOS ANGELES 28 09 10
AMSTERDAM 27 10 14
IPSOS
CITY INDEX
Top 10 cities based on a survey
of 18,557 adults aged 16-64
across 26 countries.

84. @crfair @resonanceco
Product
Perception
RISK
OPPORTUNITY
RISK&OPPORTUNITY:IPSOSCITYINDEX

85. @crfair @resonanceco
RISK
OPPORTUNITY
OPPORTUNITYMAPPING

86. @crfair @resonanceco
PLACE BRANDING IS
ABOUT MUCH MORE THAN
A LOGO OR A TAGLINE.
IT’S A STRATEGY BASED
ON AN UNDERSTANDING
OF BOTH YOUR
PERCEPTION AND
PRODUCT.

87. 06 CASE STUDIES

91. THANK
YOU!
Chris Fair, President
cfair@resonanceco.com
Steven Pedigo, Vice President
spedigo@resonanceco.com
ResonanceCo.com
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