Kentli bakışaçısından bir kent markası yaratmak: İzmir ili örneği

Place branding has become a growth area for national, regional and city economic development as the global competition for retention and attraction of qualified people, businesses, investment and tourists intensifies.This dissertation aims to explore the impact of various dimensions of urban life and dynamics on creation of a city brand through the perspectives of its residents. The author adopts a multidisciplinary approach to city brand building process grounded in a combination of marketing, urban planning and design, social sciences such as sociology, social psychology history and organization behavior.A place brand strategy is the story of the mutually-agreed and planned development strategy over a period between 15 to 20 years. The process involves paving the road for visions of the city; prioritizing investment decisions in infrastructure facilities, businesses and real estate; planning for vocational education, for events, for communication platforms and networks; and determining what is to be preserved and what is to be changed in order to create value for various stakeholders. The crucial stage in formulating the place brand strategy is determining its core values, which will shape the rest of the activities such as segmentation, targeting and positioning, urban development and regeneration, event planning and communication strategies.For this study, the city of Izmir is studied as a case adopting a qualitative approach including seven focus groups, three paired and fifteen one- to- one in-depth interviews. The study was conducted with a judgment sample composed of Izmirites of various cultural backgrounds (Muslim-Turkish members from native Izmirites, Anatolian immigrants; dual-nationality/bi-cultural members from Balkan states, and other parts of Europe; representatives from Non -Muslim (Levantine and Jewish) communities; of various professional and interest groups (city managers, urban designers and architects, academicians, foundation or association members). The interviews were enriched with visits to homes, work and worship places, and observations in various neighborhoods as well as an intensive brand immersion scheme through works of art, social media platforms, and collections of audio-visual material.Findings reveal that Izmir has the essential ingredients for creating a place brand, based on its core values of femininity, tolerance and comfort suggesting a competitive advantage in services sector. City?s success in its branding endeavor requires commitment and collaboration of its various stakeholders in reaching an agreement for brand visions; cultivation an atmosphere for creativity while maintaining consistency in developing strategies and activities; and finally a sensitivity for coordination and communication of outputs throughout the process to all those involved and affected.