Logos, advertising not enough for long-term impact; brand custodians of world's leading cities in North America, Europe, Asia and Australia to participate in next week's city branding session at Global City
Leading experts and brand custodians of some of the world's leading cities will participate in a double session on City Branding at the Global City 2009 forum which takes place 7 - 8 April 2009 at the Emirates Palace in Abu Dhabi.
The 'city branding' session at Global City will emphasize the themeworld approach that combines a city's development plan with a branding strategy to create a city's identity and positioning in the global context. During this session, four different 'city branding' case studies will be presented: Greater Zurich Area, City of Melbourne, Italian towns and villages, and Abu Dhabi.
Session chair Thomas Sevcik, CEO of the Switzerland-based Arthesia, said: "There is a complex interplay of factors that determine how cities and urban regions evolve over time and the way they can be marketed. It is not enough to design a new logo or a tagline. The image of a city is very strongly influenced by its on-ground reality and therefore any plan for its positioning has to be closely integrated with its development."
"Global cities compete for talent, investments and tourists, and need to better differentiate themselves from their competitors. Conventional city branding using logos or advertising campaigns are not enough to have a long-term impact. A more comprehensive, sustainable approach is needed, and the Global City Abu Dhabi session will discuss issues including generating buy-in from all stakeholders in this process and implementing branding themes across a city's operations," he added.
Walter Anderau, Member of the Board of Directors, Greater Zurich, Switzerland; Carol Coletta, CEO and President, CEOs for Cities, USA, co-speakers at the session, will discuss the principles behind successful city branding. Dr Kathy Alexander, CEO, City of Melbourne, Australia;, and Reem Al Shemari, General Manager, Abu Dhabi Brand Office will also address the City Branding session.
Pierciro Galeone, Director, Res Tipica, Italy, will explain how cultural tradition can be used to create premium gourmet and artisanal products that reinforce a city's brand globally and boost economic activity at home.
Global City, organized by Reed Exhibitions Middle East is a unique knowledge-gathering, networking and business platform dedicated to mayors, urban planners, decision-makers and leaders.
In a recent development that provides a considerable boost to the event, the Department of Municipal Affairs and the Municipalities of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, have confirmed their support for Global City 2009. The Department of Municipal Affairs and the Emirate's Municipal entities join two other key government bodies - Abu Dhabi Council for Economic Development (ADCED) and the Abu Dhabi Urban Planning Council (UPC) - in backing the two-day Global City that is being held for the very first time in the Middle East. Abu Dhabi-based Aldar Properties and Sorouh Real Estate are platinum sponsors of Global City 2009.
Besides city branding, other discussions at this year's Global City will centre around climate strategy, globalization of the world's sustainable cities, culture and immigration, city branding, developing sustainable downtown areas, smart cities and public transport, among other issues.
Reed Exhibitions will also organize specialised workshops at Global City 2009 on the array of business opportunities made available as cities pursue their sustainability agenda. The workshops, conducted by Cisco, Siemens, EUROCITIES, Lord Cultural Services and EPAD (La Defense, Paris) among others will provide participants a platform for speed networking and information sharing.
- Ends -
About GLOBAL CITY
Global City is the only international forum where public and private leaders exchange best practices and share sustainable urban strategies. The next edition of this unique networking platform dedicated to mayors, urban planners, decision-makers and leaders, will be held in Abu Dhabi 7-8 April 2009 and marks the event's debut in the Middle East. Reed launched Global City in 2005 in Cannes, France, and the second and third editions of the event were held in Lyon in 2006 and 2007. The last Global City, held in May 2007 with the slogan of "Creating a sustainable future for our cities", attracted about 900 participants from 46 countries to hear urban planning solutions adopted by cities from around the world.
For more information, please contact:
Ludovica Sarram
Conference Manager
Reed Exhibitions Middle East
Tel: +971 2 4446113 Ext: 127
Fax: +971 2 4443768
Email: ludovica.sarram@reedexpo.ae
Brian Carvalho
Associate Account Director
Asda'a Public Relations
Tel: +971 2 6334133: 286
Fax: +971 2 6334137
Email: b.carvalho@asdaa.com
© Press Release 2009
