Transformations  in
Business & Economics

CURRENT VERSUS DESIRED ATTRIBUTES OF THE CITY USED IN THE PROCESS OF ITS BRANDING: THE PERSPECTIVE OF CITY MARKETERS IN POLAND
Ewa Glinska, Urszula Ryciuk, Laima Jeseviciute-Ufartiene

ABSTRACT. The aim of the paper is to capture the differences between the set of city attributes used in the process of building the desired image of the city (or the city branding process) and the set of city attributes describing the current offer of the city addressed to its residents, tourists and investors. The identification of the differences between the two sets made it possible to emphasise those attributes, which, according to city marketers, deliver particular added value, i.e., in line with their role, contribute to developing stronger perception of the city in the minds of its current and potential users. The empirical base used to achieve the adopted goal is formed by the research material constituting the results of a questionnaire survey carried out on a sample of 219 small and medium-sized towns and cities in Poland. The respondents were municipal office managers involved in the promotion/marketing of the analysed towns/cities .

KEYWORDS: brand, brand management, towns/city branding, branding process.

JEL classification: M31, M37.