SavedAdd your journal

Journals / Ege Akademik Bakış Dergisi / 2026 / Cilt: 25 Sayı: 1

CONCEPTUAL EVOLUTION OF CITY BRANDING: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW AND THE PROGRESS OF THE TERMS “SOCIAL MEDIA” AND “SMART CITY” IN LITERATURE

Pelin Albayrak Fakıoğlu(YILDIZ TEKNİK ÜNİVERSİTESİ)0000-0002-0783-6199
Senay Oğuztimur(Yıldız Teknik Üniversitesi)0000-0002-8091-9214
Pages
99–116
Publication Date
2025-02-04
🏛️Bibliographic metadata and full text access for this article are provided via DergiPark.
DergiPark Record ↗
✨

AI Summary & Key Takeaways

AI Insight
⚡ TL;DR(Too Long; Didn't Read)

By providing a comprehensive review of the developments and changes in city branding, alongside the evolving roles of smart city and social media concepts, this article contributes valuable insights to the existing body of literature.

📌 3 Key Takeaways

🎯
Objective & Hypothesis:The aim of this study is to examine the evolution of the city branding concept and to explore the development of smart city and social media terms in city branding literature, from January 1st, 2003, to August 1st, 2023.
📊
Key Findings & Data:Conducting a systematic review of 325 peer-reviewed English articles from the Emerald, Proquest, and Web of Science (WoS) databases that feature "city branding" or "city marketing" in their abstracts, keywords, or titles, the study assesses the transition from simpler branding strategies to complex and integrated approaches over the two-decade period.
💡
Conclusion & Impact:By providing a comprehensive review of the developments and changes in city branding, alongside the evolving roles of smart city and social media concepts, this article contributes valuable insights to the existing body of literature.
🔬Design:Review & Systematic Survey
📍Scope:2003 Verileri
⚙️Variables:city branding · city marketing · smart city

Abstract

The aim of this study is to examine the evolution of the city branding concept and to explore the development of smart city and social media terms in city branding literature, from January 1st, 2003, to August 1st, 2023. Conducting a systematic review of 325 peer-reviewed English articles from the Emerald, Proquest, and Web of Science (WoS) databases that feature "city branding" or "city marketing" in their abstracts, keywords, or titles, the study assesses the transition from simpler branding strategies to complex and integrated approaches over the two-decade period. The research reveals an uptick in concept-related research since 2010, particularly highlighting the growing significance of smart city and social media concepts within the city branding literature. Furthermore, it identifies an increased focus on city branding efforts in Chinese cities over the last decade. By providing a comprehensive review of the developments and changes in city branding, alongside the evolving roles of smart city and social media concepts, this article contributes valuable insights to the existing body of literature.

🔖

Cite This Article

Fakıoğlu, P. A., Oğuztimur, S. (2025). CONCEPTUAL EVOLUTION OF CITY BRANDING: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW AND THE PROGRESS OF THE TERMS “SOCIAL MEDIA” AND “SMART CITY” IN LITERATURE. Ege Akademik Bakış Dergisi, Cilt: 25 Sayı: 1, 99–116. https://doi.org/10.21121/eab.20250107

📄 Full Text PDF Viewer

📄

PDF görüntüleyici hazırlanıyor...

References (33)

  1. Blume, L. (2006). Local economic policies as determinants of the local business climate: Empirical results from a cross-section analysis among East German municipalities. Regional Studies, 40(4), 321–333. https://doi.org/10.1080/00343400600725178
  2. Carrizo Moreira, A., Rêga Pereira, C., Fernandes Lopes, M., Arêde Rodrigues Calisto, R., Teixeira Vale, V. (2023). Sustainable and green city brand. An exploratory review. Cuadernos de Gestión, 23(1), 23–35. https://doi.org/10.5295/cdg.221715ac
  3. Chan, C. S., Peters, M., & Pikkemaat, B. (2019). Investigating visitors’ perception of smart city dimensions for city branding in Hong Kong. International Journal of Tourism Cities, 5(4), 620–638. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJTC-07-2019-0101
  4. Chen, Y., & Qu, L. (2020). Emerging participative approaches for urban regeneration in Chinese Megacities. Journal of Urban Planning and Development, 146(1), 04019029. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)UP.1943-5444.0000550
  5. De Almeida, G. G. F. (2023). Cities and territorial brand in the Metaverse: The Metaverse SEOUL Case. Sustainability, 15(13), 10116. https://doi.org/10.3390/su151310116
  6. De Carlo, M., Canali, S., Pritchard, A., & Morgan, N. (2009). Moving Milan towards Expo 2015: Designing culture into a city brand. Journal of Place Management and Development, 2(1), 8–22. https://doi.org/10.1108/17538330910942762
  7. De Jong, M. (2019). From eco-civilization to city branding: A neo-marxist perspective of sustainable urbanization in China. Sustainability, 11(20), 5608. https://doi.org/10.3390/su11205608
  8. Gretzel, U., & Collier De Mendonça, M. (2019). Smart destination brands: Semiotic analysis of visual and verbal signs. International Journal of Tourism Cities, 5(4), 560–580. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJTC-09-2019-0159
  9. Herezniak, M., & Anders-Morawska, J. (2015). City brand strategy evaluation: In search of effectiveness indicators. Journal of Place Management and Development, 8(3), 187–205. https://doi.org/10.1108/JPMD-06-2015-0023
  10. Kavaratzis, M. (2004). From city marketing to city branding: Towards a theoretical framework for developing city brands. Place Brand and Public Diplomacy, 1, 58-73. https://doi.org/ 10.36941/mjss
  11. Kavaratzis, M. (2009). What can we learn from city marketing practice? European Spatial Research and Policy, 16(1), 41–58. https://doi.org/10.2478/v10105-009-0003-7
  12. Kavaratzis, M. (2012), “From ‘necessary evil’ to necessity: stakeholders’ involvement in place branding”, edited by Kalandides, A. Journal of Place Management and Development, Vol. 5 No. 1, pp. 7–19, doi: 10.1108/17538331211209013.
  13. Kavaratzis, M. and Ashworth, G. (2015), “Hijacking culture: the disconnection between place culture and place brands”, Town Planning Review, Vol. 86 No. 2, pp. 155–176, doi: 10.3828/tpr.2015.10.
  14. Kavaratzis, M., & Kalandides, A. (2015). Rethinking the place brand: The interactive formation of place brands and the role of participatory place branding. Environment and Planning A: Economy and Space, 47(6), 1368–1382. https://doi.org/10.1177/0308518X15594918
  15. Kaya, F., & Marangoz, M. (2014). Brand attitudes of entrepreneurs as a stakeholder towards a city. Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 150, 485–493. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2014.09.060
  16. Lindstedt, J. (2015). A deliberately emergent strategy – a key to successful city branding. Journal of Place Management and Development, 8(2), 90–102. https://doi.org/10.1108/JPMD-12-2014-0029
  17. Lucarelli, A., & Olof Berg, P. (2011). City branding: A state‐of‐the‐art review of the research domain. Journal of Place Management and Development, 4(1), 9–27. https://doi.org/10.1108/17538331111117133
  18. Merrilees, B., Miller, D., & Herington, C. (2012). Multiple stakeholders and multiple city brand meanings. European Journal of Marketing, 46(7/8), 1032–1047. https://doi.org/10.1108/03090561211230188
  19. Middleton, A.C. (2011). City branding and inward investment. In Dinnie, K. (Ed.) City Branding. Palgrave Macmillan UK, London. pp. 15–26, doi: 10.1057/9780230294790_3.
  20. Molinillo, S., Anaya-Sánchez, R., Morrison, A. M., & Coca-Stefaniak, J. A. (2019). Smart city communication via social media: Analysing residents’ and visitors’ engagement. Cities, 94, 247–255. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cities.2019.06.003
  21. Ojo, S. (2020). Interrogating place brand – a case of two cities. Qualitative Market Research: An International Journal, 23(4), 907–932. https://doi.org/10.1108/QMR-11-2017-0151
  22. Parks, D., & Rohracher, H. (2019). From sustainable to smart: Re-branding or re-assembling urban energy infrastructure? Geoforum, 100, 51–59. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geoforum.2019.02.012
  23. Pasquinelli, C., Trunfio, M., Bellini, N., & Rossi, S. (2021). Sustainability in overtouristified cities? A social media insight into Italian branding responses to Covid-19 Crisis. Sustainability, 13(4), 1848. https://doi.org/10.3390/su13041848
  24. Pevcin, P. (2019). Smart city label: Past, present, and future. Zbornik Radova Ekonomskog Fakulteta u Rijeci: Časopis Za Ekonomsku Teoriju i Praksu/Proceedings of Rijeka Faculty of Economics: Journal of Economics and Business, 37(2), 801-822. https://doi.org/10.18045/zbefri.2019.2.801
  25. Pirnar, I., Igneci, M., & Tutuncuoglu, M. (2017). Trends and applications in city branding: A case study in Izmir. Marketing and Branding Research, 4(1), 25-32. https://doi.org/10.33844/mbr.2017.60417
  26. Sassen, S. (2004). Local actors in global politics. Current Sociology, 52(4), 649-670. https://doi.org/10.1177/0011392104043495
  27. Sevin, E. (2013). Places going viral: Twitter usage patterns in destination marketing and place branding. Journal of Place Management and Development, 6(3), 227–239. https://doi.org/10.1108/JPMD-10-2012-0037
  28. Sirkis, G., Regalado-Pezúa, O., Carvache-Franco, O., & Carvache-Franco, W. (2022). The determining factors of attractiveness in urban tourism: A study in Mexico City, Buenos Aires, Bogota, and Lima. Sustainability, 14(11), 6900. https://doi.org/10.3390/su14116900
  29. Smart cities. (n.d.). European Commission. https://commission.europa.eu/eu-regional-and-urban-development/topics/cities-and-urban-development/city-initiatives/smart-cities_en
  30. Stigel, J., & Frimann, S. (2006). City Branding – All smoke, no fire? Nordicom Review, 27(2), 243–266. https://doi.org/10.1515/nor-2017-0241
  31. Song, S., & Yoo, M. (2016). The role of social media during the pre-purchasing stage. Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Technology, 7(1), 84–99. https://doi.org/10.1108/jhtt-11-2014-0067
  32. Valdez, A.-M., Cook, M., & Potter, S. (2018). Roadmaps to utopia: Tales of the smart city. Urban Studies, 55(15), 3385–3403. https://doi.org/10.1177/0042098017747857
  33. Wiig, A. (2015). The empty rhetoric of the smart city: from digital inclusion to economic promotion in Philadelphia. Urban Geography, 37(4), 535–553. https://doi.org/10.1080/02723638.2015.1065686