Branding a City-within-City
Bloom (a subsidiary of Abu Dhabi-based National Holding Company) is in business to build communities that integrate aesthetics, quality living, and value-added offerings in education, hospitality, healthcare, leisure, and retail. Bloom’s diversified
portfolio includes residential and commercial properties, retail and leisure centers as well as mixed-use communities in UAE. The company is committed to identifying and developing strategically located master-planned communities in the MENA region and other parts of the globe.
Ideanco worked with Bloom in 2008/2009 and proposed to develop a comprehensive branding and marketing strategy for one of Bloom’s mega projects located in North Africa. The proposal was primarily focused on the specific and distinct Branding and Marketing of Megaprojects (City within a City), Mixed-use developments, Retail, Entertainment, Commercial and Residential aspects of cities within cities to attract investors from the local area, regionally and internationally. The proposal also stressed the importance of the inclusion of the local culture in the design of the marketing and branding strategy of the mega project while adhering to the overall objectives of the project to attract investors (local and international).
Whereas Branding has normally been associated with companies or products, nowadays, major cities of the world are resorting to marketing and branding themselves in order to compete with each other to attract global investors, visitors, skillful workers, and events. Dubai is a shining example of a city that made huge strides and succeeded in branding itself as a global destination for tourism and major events such as the World Expo 2020.
City branding is a strategic way of local governments to win this competition and to attain economic and socio-cultural objectives.
However city-branding strategy has been misconceived to be limited marketing and advertising activities thus failing to recognize the importance of an integrated city branding process. The process that integrates advertising, marketing campaigns, City logo, Visual identity, Branding strategy, Visual communication would address:
- Competing for investment from business and other investors;
- Recruiting talent and job-creating organizations to the area;
- Attracting investors, visitors, and residents;
- Encouraging innovative and sustainable development;
- Promoting the city as a dynamic place to live, work, learn and play and explore.
