Evaluation of place marketing strategies as an urban policy in globalizing cities

Place marketing approach is used for multiple purposes such as attracting entrepreneurs,tourists, institutions, activities and similar elements to cities by creating a favorable image forplaces. Today, cities try to attract tourists, investments, companies and skilled labor and findnew markets for exports. For this purpose, cities adopt tools of strategic marketingmanagement and conscious branding.This study discusses European examples of city marketing strategies which gain increasedimportance as a result of differentiation of competitive conditions in global level anddeindustralization process as well. Since place marketing approach is a strategy required forcompetitive environment in globalization process, case studies selected for this study arecentral European cities which are gama cities including Istanbul, developing andimplementing new capacities that they do not have by using place marketing techniques inorder to integrate with the global system and targeting to win global actors by creatingattractive urban environment.In the theoretical part of the study, a number of concepts such as urban competitiveness, localeconomic development, cultural cynosures and creative labor force are explained. In the thirdpart of the thesis, case selection criteria are defined and in the fourth and fifth sections,marketing processes of Berlin and Barcelona are explained as two selected case studies. In theconclusion part, data put forward by the concepts explained and cases examined arediscussed.Keywords: Place marketing, city marketing, image, urban competitiveness, globalizing cities,attractive city, organizing capacity.