Correspondence: Ram Herstein, Business School, Ruppin Academic Center, Emek Hefer 40250, Israel. Tel: +972 9 898 3029; Fax: +972 9 898 7604; e-mail: ramh@ruppin.ac.il

¹is a senior lecturer and Head of Marketing at the Ruppin Academic Center, Israel. His research area is private branding, and his papers have been published in leading marketing and business academic journals. He is an adjunct lecturer at CUNY and gives seminars to store brand managers from emerging markets.

²is Head, MBA Programs, Professor of International Marketing, Ruppin Academic Center and Emeritus Professor, Graduate School of Business Administration, Bar-Ilan University, both in Israel. He has published in The Journal of Marketing Research, Columbia Journal of World Business, Long-Range Planning, European Journal of Marketing, International Marketing Review and others.

Received 7 August 2007; Revised 7 August 2007.

Abstract

The objective of this paper is to demonstrate how a city image can be managed throughout the planning stage — from diagnosing a current image to implementation of a new image. Moreover, we show how a city brand can be derived from its new image. In this case study, a city with a negative image was chosen. The objective for the city's management was not simply to determine a brand to attract tourism or investment, but rather to change the public's perception of the city from negative associations to positive ones. The case study described here shows how marketing research is a key factor in both the diagnosis and image designing stages. Research was used to first determine the city's image among both residents and non-residents. Both groups viewed the city in negative terms. It was found that image could not be improved without first implementing significant changes in the city's infrastructure. 'Face lifting' was accomplished by establishing cultural institutions mainly for children. This led to designing a brand: 'The Children's City'. Subsequent research showed that these changes led to a significantly more positive image for the city.