The role of Territorial Branding in the successful development of places

Juan Carlos Belloso Future Places

2 Many great assets and big opportunities

3 Major challenges

4 What is the brand of Ufa?

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5 What is the brand of Ufa?

•  Is it the Bashkirian honey or the Bashkirian milk?

•  Is it being the Capital of the Bashkortostan Republic or its image as an important industrial centre within the Russian Federation, mainly linked to the oil industry?

•  Is it its astonishing landscape?

•  Is it the idea of being one among the 15 million plus Russian cities with he best quality of life?

•  Is it Salavat Yuláyev?

•  Or it is all this at the same time?

What it really is?

And why does Ufa needs to have a brand after all?

6 About Ufa and the Republic of Bashkortostan

“I met a diplomat on Friday that comes from a European republic I had never heard of before. This is a sovereign state with its own constitution, parliament and a president. The flag is with three lines, blue, white and green, and a yellow circle in the middle with like a yellow flower inside. This is not a tiny city-state somewhere; this is a full size sovereign republic. It is more than 3 times the size of the country I live in, Denmark, and has a population of over 4 million people. The capital is Ufa, or Өфө in the native language Bashkir, and has over 1 million inhabitants. The religion is very mixed, with Muslims and Christians in majority, but also large following of religions like Mari and Tengrism. This is a very rich republic and trades with Latvia for over 2 billion USD every year. It is rich of resources like oil, gas as well as all sorts of minerals, iron, manganese, chromite, asbestos and even Iceland spar. If you have not guessed it already ... this is …”.

7 What is the brand of a place?

“The existing image, mental representations or associations that people, we, have of a certain place”

Can be:

•  Positive

•  Negative

•  Non-existing or meaningless to us

8 What is the brand of Ufa and of the Republic?

“The existing image, mental representations or associations that people have about Ufa or about the Republic (citizens, other stakeholders, visitors, investors, clients for the city’s / region’s products and services, etc.)”.

9 Why does Ufa need a strong and powerful brand?

As companies or people, territories depend on their good name (image / reputation).

Having a strong and positive image (brand) is the best competitive advantage a place can have.

It is a key factor in the success of the place in attracting visitors, companies, investors, professionals, events, etc. and in selling its products and services abroad, and thus, for its competitiveness and sustainable economic and social development.

The image people have of a place will have a ‘direct impact’ on their attitude, predisposition and behaviour towards the place, its people, its products and services, and in general, towards everything the place does, says or offers.

10 Territorial Branding

Branding a Territory is about:

“Creating a shared future vision and desired image for a place and jointly designing and effectively implementing the right set of strategies, ideas, projects, actions, investments, and communications in a coherent and consistent way over time in order to build that vision and image, that will make people wanting to live, study, work, invest or visit the place”.

11 How do we build our brand?

12 Place Branding and Place Making: Barcelona and Bilbao

Success based on a profound and continuous transformation of the city over the last 15 to 20 years.

Physical, economical, cultural and social transformation.

A clear and shared vision for the future and a strong leadership from public and private sectors working together to improve the quality of life of the citizens and to position and make the place attractive and competitive.

Barcelona

Catalana  

Advanced, inspiring, cosmopolitan, open, modern, creative, innovative, vibrant, diverse, human

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Bilbao An example of Urban Transformation: From an industrial city to a city of services and culture

The Guggehnhem Museum: The transformative effect

The Urban Revolution

20 The Urban Revolution International recognition - a benchmark for urban development.

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23 Thoughts and recommendations for Ufa (Republic)

1. ‘Every place is a brand’ Ufa is a brand. Know who and where you are. Build and tell new compelling stories!

2. ‘If you can dream it you can do it’ Create your vision. Share it. Be ambitious. Commit, Go for it!

3. Actions speak louder than logos’ Add value, be authentic, and true to yourself. Create new opportunities. Improve the quality of life of your citizens. Change the place!

4. ‘The world is a stage, and you have a role to play’ Claim it!. Live the role. Raise your voice. Shine. Differentiate. Be meaningful. Be a magnet!.

24 Thoughts and recommendations for Ufa (Republic)

5. ‘It takes a village to brand a place’ Be inclusive. Be tolerant. Places are organic, evolving beings. They are people. Engage the communities. Activate the people!.

6. ‘It takes a team to get places’ Cooperate. Create partnerships. Build platforms. Share resources and have an impact. Communicate. Row in the same direction!

7. ‘It takes strong leaders to rock the boat’ Infect, Use your enthusiasm. Lead. Be dedicated. Generate positive energy. Engage ambassadors. Find champions. Great places have great leaders!.

25 Thoughts and recommendations for Ufa (Republic)

Ufa and the Republic of Bashkortostan have great assets and a great potential to become one of the leading cities and regions within the Russian Federation.

If done well, the future is here, and the desires and aspirations of its citizens and the people of the Republic can be achieved.

Changing the place and building the brand takes time and effort.

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‘Every journey starts with a first step’

Major de Sarrià 185 – 187, Esc. 1, 2º 1ª 08017 Barcelona Tel. 34 93 180 38 79 www.futureplaces.com

Thank You very much