ABSTRACT
Brand development and brand management have become core foci of modern marketing [1] . A strong brand is thought to add saliency to products and services, to impart perceptions of quality and value, and thereby to cultivate market share and customer loyalty [2] . Consequently, branding provides a focus for marketing - one that can be evaluated in terms of the degree to which marketing activities conserve or increase brand equity [3] . It is not surprising, therefore, that cities and regions are increasingly turning to brand agencies to help them formulate and communicate a coherent brand [4] . Maureen Atkinson, a senior partner with one such agency, commented, 'A brand is a type of shorthand for a product. With city branding, what you try to do is create that shorthand so that when people think of your city, they automatically think of what is best about it' [5] .
