City Marketing and Urban Branding Through Urban Regeneration and Image Maki..

The IUP Journal of Architecture, Vol. IV, No. 1, 201264

Sevin Aksoylu*

IntroductionCities provide social and technical infrastrucutre like social, cultural, industrial andeducational facilities, commercial activities, houses for dwellers and leisure amenities(Stewart, 1996). That is why, cities can be regarded as a product from this perspective andbranding strategies can be applied like the other products and services (Keller, 1999; Morganet al., 2002; Hankinson, 2004; and Anholt, 2005). Cities compete with each other to attractnew tourists, visitors and investments (Ashworth and Voogd, 1990; Kanter, 1995; andWarnaby, 1998).

The politics of urban development and interurban competition have been thefocus of urban studies in recent decades (Logan and Molotch, 1987; Cox and Mair,1988; Peck, 1995; Peck and Tickell, 1995; Lauria, 1997; Hall and Hubbard, 1998;Cochrane, 1999; Cochrane et al., 1996; Cox, 1999; and Jonas and Wilson, 1999a).Particularly, since the 1980s, the competition has increased between cities and theyhave felt a need to differentiate themselves from each other to assert theirindividuality. Depending on the increasing interurban competition, city marketing,urban branding and urban regeneration and image making have become the keyfactors for urban governance.

2012 IUP. All Rights Reserved.

* Professor, Department of Architecture, Anadolu University, Yunusemre Kampus, 26470Eskiehir,, Turkey. E-mail: [email protected]

City Marketing and Urban Branding ThroughUrban Regeneration and Image Making as a Case

of Eskiehir-Turkey

Depending on the increasing interurban competition, city marketing, urbanbranding and urban regeneration and image making have become key factors ofurban governance, and many city managers have started to strengthen placepromoting activities. Methods and technologies of urban marketing and citybranding are accepted as the dominant aspect of competition in cities during theglobalization and urbanization process, and can help and facilitate to differentiatethem from other places. Marketing techniques are often used to help a citystransformation into a center of tourism, culture and redevelopment. This paperexamines the effects of the urban regeneration and image making activities on thecity marketing and urban branding procedures as a case of Eskiehir..

Keywords: Urban regeneration, Competitiveness of the cities, Urban marketing, City branding

65City Marketing and Urban Branding Through Urban Regenerationand Image Making as a Case of Eskiehir-Turkey

Today, it is a fact that what is projected as the image of a city can be moreimportant than the reality of the city itself in shaping the visitors, investors and itsown inhabitants opinion of it. Marketing techniques are often used to help a citystransformation into a center of tourism, culture and redevelopment. In addition,urban tourism plays an increasingly important role in deciding the economicdevelopment strategies by the local authorities. In this matter, the city marketingplays a decisive role (Deffner and Liouris, 2005).

City marketing is defined as the practice of selling places, and entails publicand private agencies who strive to sell the image of a particular geographically-defined place, usually a town or city, so as to make it attractive to economicenterprises, to tourists and even to inhabitants of that place (Kearns and Philo,1993). City marketing aims at a series of different objectives such as raising thecompetitive position of the city, attracting inward investment, improving its imageand establishing city identity (Inn, 2004). Urban images are constructed boththrough discourseas in marketing campaigns, promotional brochures and touristadvertising and by more concrete means, including the transformation of the builtenvironment through public works, historical preservation and redevelopmentprograms (Broudehoux, 2001).

Marketing and promotion have been identified as the key components of urbanregeneration. It is evident that a longer-term view would require capitalizing on thebenefits of urban regeneration towards strategic goals of attracting economic activitiesas the basis for social and economic development of the city. This is often includedin city marketing, or the search for new roles for a city by promoting business,cultural, educational and other modern sector activities, including tourism (UNEP,2004). In the cities where urban marketing is a tool, the awareness of urbanregeneration is high. Urban regeneration projects contribute to the improvement ofthe image of the city and make it more attractive not only for the residents, but alsofor tourists and visitors. Tourism plays an important role in the development ofurban image construction process and deciding the economic development strategiesby the local governance authorities. Furthermore, it creates a more attractiveenvironment for investors, revitalizing further the local economy. Within thediscussions of city marketing, some economic and commercial facilities and culturalevents are accepted as crucial multiplier effects. Therefore, many cities have begunto accomplish these types of activities (Harvey, 1993).

Eskiehir, located in Central Anatolia, is a medium sized city with a populationof 600,000 and is not exempt from these developments (Appendix Table A1). Since1999 when the mayor Ylmaz Bykeren was elected, city marketing, urban brandingand image making activities and depending on this urban regeneration projectshave been implemented, and Eskiehir has become the most important type oftourist destination and tourism has grown as a source of revenue, thus greatlyinfluencing their economic and physical development. Otherwise, demand for


commercial, private health and hotel investments have increased. Some local artswhich tended to disappear, such as meerschaum products, were revived and somelocal foods such as ibrek, gbete, kakbrek , and ibrek, gbete, kakbrek, have been introducedto Turkey.

This article examines the relation of the image making and urban regenerationactivities to city marketing and urban branding procedures as a case of Eskiehir.Initially, relevant literature was reviewed. Statistical archives of the municipality,museums and Directorship of Tourism played a crucial role in data collection andanalysis. Promotional brochures, advertising campaigns, webpages, developmentplans and other reports on strategies are secondary data.

Urban Marketing and City Branding Through UrbanRegenerationIn recent decades, strategies for urban regeneration have been developed due tothe interurban competition and growing awareness of the cities role as an impetusfor innovation and regional economic growth. The concept of urban regenerationcan be evaluated in different ways depending on the development levels of thecountries. This process has developed in different periods and in different waysby considering the dynamic structure of cities. In the most developed economies,the goal is to promote a return to the city, revitalize the city center, restoreactivity in a fiercely competitive international context, and implement initiativesto improve the quality of the environment operating in a wide sense towards asmart growth. In course of time, urban regeneration has developed from therenovation or rehabilitation of built environment to rebuilding of the urban fabric,the renewal of the city image or the urban economy and equity, publicparticipation and their professional and social integration into a multi-functionalcontext (UNEP, 2004). Urban regeneration has been formalized in the US in the1960s, when relocation of marine activities started the total abandonment oflarge territories which have become harbor disused lands. Offices, shoppingcenters, markets, etc. formed the city center during this period and morefunctional city centers have been created. By the 1980s, social concerns werereplaced by economic concerns, and regeneration projects started preparing thecity for a new century (Gotham, 2001). Urban regeneration was launched inmany urban areas, functionally heteregeneous and densely populated to createhigh quality urban environment and image in the 1990s.

First implementations related to the urban regeneration examples of Turkey datedback to the early 1970s. Subsequently, urban regeneration projects through masshousing institution and municipalities have gained importance and theseimplementations have been recognized as one of the main planning tools. The rateof immigration to the cities is falling and there is a shift of focus from the problemsof dealing with the processes of explosive urban growth to the challenges of


restructuring and modernization of the increasingly obsolete urban fabric and alsoto create high quality urban environment and image as seen in the developed countries(Goksin and Muderrisoglu, 2005). Some legislation was put in practice to regulatethis process. The responsibilities of TOK (Mass Housing Authority) have widenedand its resources have increased through some regulations after 2003. Preparationand implementation of the improvement plans for regeneration areas, makingconstruction implementations and performing financial regulations are some of theresponsibilities of the institution.

Urban regeneration projects contribute to the improvement of the image of a cityand create a more attractive environment for visitors, investments, workers andcompanies. Urban regeneration has become a component of urban and regionaldevelopment strategies to think about not only the built environment, but also theimmaterial things, designing a good image and maintaining a good brand. The brandwill increase the status of the city as a place for investment or business establishment,a tourism destination or a residential place. Tourists will want to come or businesseswill want to locate in the city, just because of its fame (Ejigu et al., 2004). Accordingto Landry (2000), good quality of life is to be used as a competitive tool.

After the 1999 elections, the new mayor, who was the old rector of AnadoluUniversity, was elected in Eskiehir (Figure 1) and efforts to create a new imagefor the city, market the city as a focus of national and foreign investments andvisitors flows, to increase the quality of life for residents and to redefine its identityhave increased. The main aim was to promote Eskiehir as an exciting place to livein and visit through an emphasis on its cultural richness and life quality.The importance and weight of the creativity and culture have increased on theagenda of the municipality. Urban tourism is only one element of a wider strategyof urban regeneration (Hubbard, 1996). That is why strategies in Eskiehir were

Figure 1: Location of Eskiehir

Eskiehir


not only devised to attract tourists, but also citizens. Importance was given to theexpansion of the third sector such as services, culture, leisure and research,construction of tram lines, pedestrianization of the city center, conservation ofcivil architecture and construction and marketing of spectacular urban landscapesthrough urban marketing campaigns.

City marketing is a powerful tool in the hands of city management and, if usedappropriately, it can promote all aspects of urban development (Kavaratis andAshworth, 2005). Since encounters between cities and users take place throughperceptions and images and construction, the communication and management ofthe citys image are the indispensable parameters for applying city marketing. Urbanimages are constructed both through discourseas in marketing campaigns,promotional brochures and tourist advertisingand by more concrete means,including the transformation of the built environment through public works, historicalpreservation and redevelopment programs (Broudehoux, 2001). Marketing thereforecannot other than be the conscious and planned practice of signification andrepresentation (Firat and Venkatesh, 1993), which in turn is the starting point forexamining place branding. City branding is an approach that centers on theconceptualization of the city as a brand; and a brand is a multidimensional construct,consisting of functional, emotional, relational and strategic elements that collectivelygenerate a unique set of associations in the public mind (Aaker, 1996).

Reflection of local assets and characteristics depends on the link between thephysical urban transformation and branding. Because linkage and coordination withphysical transformation processes and urban (re) development initiatives havestrengthened the city branding, both the brand itself and the method ofcommunication can take various forms: e.g., events, award ceremonies, conferences,supporting film industry, fashion locations, delegations, trade fairs, television, press,literature, signature buildings, and local ambassadors (Johan and Power, 2006).Consumer orientation is one of the cornerstones of marketing thought. In urbanmarketing, consumers orientation would behow the residents make sense of thephysical, symbolic elements of the city and how they encounter the city in whichthey live. In general, people make sense of places or construct places in their mindsthrough three processes (e.g., Crang, 1998; and Holloway and Hubbard, 2001). Theseare first through planned interventions like planning, urban design and so on;secondly through the way in which they or others use specific places; and thirdly,through various forms of place representations like films, novels, paintings, newsreports and so on. It is generally acknowledged that people encounter places throughperceptions and images.

Many large-scale urban development projects and a series of cultural-architectural or sports events designed to stage urban change and transform theimage of Eski ehir at national-international level and within the city werelaunched. Consequently, Eski ehir re-created a new image for itself and transmitted


this image to tourists, potential investors and residents. An important element ofthis process has been the key role played by a series of cultural events, streetmusic, theater, dance performances, fashion shows, light installations on PorsukRiver and historical buildings. Urban marketing campaigns, supported by a programof cultural and festive events staged on and around the building sites, have turneda mundane experience into a spectacular event. The impact of tourism has increaseddue to the multiplication of opportunities for the visitors and the tourist flows inEski ehir,, and the urban tourism sector started to become an important part ofthe citys economy.

According to Jansen-Verbeke, there are a number of primary tourism elementsthat have the ability to attract tourists and visitors (Ejigu et al., 2004). One ofthe most primary elements in tourism is that the visitor leaves with the feelingthat there were so many things to do and see, but did not have much time, andso wants to come back (Ejigu et al., 2004). Cultural facilities such as museumsand art galleries, theaters, concert halls, cinemas, conference centers, indoorand outdoor sport facilities, amusement facilities such as night clubs, casinos,organized events, festivals, parks and green areas, water, canals, artificial beach,interesting buildings, religious buildings, place of livelihood, cultural heritage,hospitality, safety and local customs are the other elements to attract tourists.At the same time, night life, including both fancy restaurants and venues whichattract young and trendy people (Chatterton and Hollands, 2002), local cuisine,public spaces, particularly natural environments and parks, together with facilitiesfor outdoor sports (Cybriwsky, 1999) and landmark buildings (Temelova, 2007)provide opportunities for high-quality education for both young and professionals,who are widely considered as an essential element of urban competitiveness(Stead, 2003). Events, particularly mega-events (Hall, 1992; and Hiller, 2000),large demonstrations, concerts, sports events, and cultural exhibitions are alsothe components of brand classification of creative arguments and images. Culturalevents may add life to city streets, giving citizens renewed pride in their homecity (Richards and Wilson, 2004).

There are also secondary or additional elements such as hotels, catering facilities,commercial centers or areas and markets, accessibilityinternal transport networkand parking facilities, tourism facilitiesinformation offices, maps, leaflets andguides. Though there are problems related to traffic and parking facilities, Eskiehirhas all the possibilities mentioned above, thats why pleasure of the inhabitantsand number of tourists increase day by day. Tourism in the city is based mainly onshort breaks rather than on long-term vacations in Eskiehir..

Urban Branding and the Changing Image of Eskiehir ThroughUrban RegenerationBranding is differentiation of yourself from others. Therefore, a first step towardsthis is to identify local strengths and characteristics. Eski ehir is a medium


sized city with a population of 600,000 people. Porsuk river, Odunpazar historicalsite, some monumental buildings, modern social structure of the inhabitantswho migrated from Bulgaria, Romania, Greece, Albania, Macedonia in generaland two universities with youth population, etc., are the local strengths andcharacteristics of the city.

By considering the importance of physical changes as mental images, constructionof cultural buildings such as contemporary glass arts museum that is the first inTurkey, Eskiehir Greater Municipality City Theaters, City Opera and green areasthat are differentiated with the distinctive facilities such as artificial beach, Thefairy tale castle, etc., have increased. While on the one hand Eskiehir GreaterMunicipality tried to emphasize the local strengths and characteristics and brandingthe city, on the other hand some applications which were copied from some Europeancities such as Amsterdam, Stockholm, Paris, etc., by ignoring the identity andcharacteristics of the city have been realized. Furthermore, traffic and accessibilityproblems due to the insufficient tram lines from the mass housing and squatterareas to the city center and lack of parking space have increased. Projects ofMunicipality and its effects to the image making of the city are discussed below.

Spatial, Social and Cultural Projects of Eski ehir Greater Municipality

The development of the symbolic economy of cities has broadened the competitionover the control of visual images (Zukin, 1995). Urban regeneration has played akey role in transforming the construction sites and new urban developments into atourist attraction for both visitors and citizens through architectural spectacle, culturalevents and festivalization. Image building is supported by physical infrastructures,policies and events, both in a culturally direct manner and in a quasi-cultural one.The first category includes the construction of new landmark structures designed byprestigious international architects, creation of local museums, support of local artfoundations, installation of artistic elements in different parts of the city and theorganization of events. After Lord Mayor Ylmaz Bykeren was elected in 1999,initially, collective intelligence conference was realized for preparing a strategic planin 2000 and subsequently, an environmental layout plan with a scale of 1/100,000and a master plan with a scale of 1/25,000 were prepared. A master plan with ascale of 1/5,000 was revised and transportation master plan was also prepared.Odunpazar Historical Site Regeneration Project and Master Porsuk River Projecthave been elaborated. Some historical buildings were restored by giving them someactivities. Eskiehir Greater Municipality aimed at decreasing the use of motorvehicles in the city center and first stage tram lines entered into service in 2004, andthe project of extending the current 16 km tram line was prepared, but was suspendeddue to political differences between the local and central governments. The secondstage is more important than the first one for city transportation because it willreach out to the outskirts where the squatters and mass housing areas are denselyconstructed. Pedestrianization of the city center and increase in the bicycle routesare the supported activities of the mass transport.


Master infrastructure Project was prepared by municipality and financed by theEuropean Investment Bank (EIB). The length of new infrastructure lines constructedin Mayor Bykerens term reached to 1,500 km in total. This work was supportedby the municipalitys own resources and external loan. All the old and health damagingwater pipes were replaced. Hundreds of kilometers of potable water lines were laid.New storm water lines were constructed in numerous districts. The construction offive new boulevards of 25 m width started. The city dump that has been causingserious environmental issues like air pollution because of casual storage for yearswas solved by construction of a new plant on 700,000 sq. m area. A new fully equippedsewerage treatment plant is being constructed by the existing Wastewater TreatmentPlant that can treat only half of the waste it takes in. The new treatment plant, oneof the biggest projects, shall manage to meet its own electricity need to a largeextent from the waste it treats (www.eskisehir-bld.gov.tr, 2010).

As mentioned earlier, Porsuk river is the main characteristic and symbol of thecity. That is why, Master Porsuk project was prepared and a section of the river bedwhich covers 13 km of inner city transition was cleaned and arrangements weremade for using the river as a means for transportation and touristic purposes for thefirst time in Turkey. Today Amsterdam type boats and Venice type gondolas giveservice on Porsuk River (Figure 2). Sand and mud catcher facilities were constructedat the entrance point of Porsuk into the city, cautions were taken in order to preventground liquefaction and natural disaster risk. 24 vehicle and pedestrian bridgesover Porsuk River which are determined to be not resistant to possible earthquakesare reconstructed in the scope of Master Porsuk Project. While restoring the existingpedestrian bridges, elderly, handicapped and people using baby buggies are all takeninto consideration. Eight water level control structures were constructed on specificpoints along the 13 km stretch. Blanket gablon arrangements were carried out inthe Porsuk river bed for the purpose of preventing landslip due to erosion.Eskiehir Greater Municipality is the first municipality that takes precaution against

Figure 2: Boats, Gondolas and Bridges in Eskiehir

Source: http://www.eskisehir-bld.gov.tr (2010)


the aridity trouble by constructing a pond which is 2.5 km long. The pond is not onlythe water guarantee for lack of water in the future, but it also hosts national andinternational water sports organizations.

A city must have special characteristics and good qualities in order to brand itselfsuccessful. According to a research called intercity competitiveness index 2008-2009and realized by International Center of Excellence for Competitiveness (URAK),Eskiehir is the third city of Turkey in terms of human capital and quality of life. Therange of branding skills and innovation index in the industry increased from 16th in2008 to 10th in 2009 (www.urak.org, 2010). Eskiehir has a highly educated and open-minded city population. Prosperity and social development level and youth populationof the city is higher than many cities in Turkey. One of the essential elements ofurban competitiveness is the opportunity for high quality education for bothprofessionals and young people (Stead, 2003). There are two universities in Eskiehirand the number of formal students in both the universities is 40,502, and the numberof students attending open university is 1,092,915. Depending on the dynamic sociallife, municipality also gave importance to the provision of social and cultural facilitiesand activities which are demanded from the citizens and the students. City theaters,symphony orchestra and city opera are some of these facilities. City theaters ofEskiehir Greater Municipality started to stage plays in 2001. There are also twosymphony orchestras in Eskiehir, one belonging to Anadolu University, and theother to Greater Municipality. The Eskiehir Symphony Orchestra is acting as theopera orchestra of the city since its foundation in 2002. The art activities attract greatattention of the public and tickets are sold out days before the dates of activities.Orchestras of national and international organizations are invited to perform theirconcerts. Apart from this, exclusive opuses are presented regularly in the city operahouse. Drama training is free to all children over seven years of age.

smet nn Headquarter Building was restored and will be put into service asIndependence War Museum in the near future (Figure 3).

Figure 3: smet nn Headquarter Building

Source: http://www.eskisehir-bld.gov.tr (2010)


Haller Youth Center is the one of the most successful performances of municipalitywithin the scope of urban transformation for its contribution to the citys history byrestoring the market hall and ascribing it a social, economical and cultural identity(Figure 4). Municipality was awarded the Historical Cities Association Award in theyear 2002. The Haller Youth Center, which was once an abondened market hall forfruit and vegetables, was restored to a community center by the municipality, and it istransformed to a multipurpose center comprising a theater of the municipality,exhibition hall, various shops, bars, cafes and small restaurants.

The corn silo, waiting to be demolished, was turned into a luxurious hotelwith a unique project in the world and brought Eski ehir important tourismvalues (Figure 5).

Figure 4: Views from the Outside and Inside of Haller Youth Center

Source: http://www.eskisehir-bld.gov.tr

Figure 5: View of the Corn Silo Before and After the Restoration


Odunpazar district, where many vernacular houses and monumental buildingssuch as Kurunlu Klliye are located, is the historical site of the city. With the aimto develop Eskiehirs tourism potential, and to conserve and transform thetraditional values to the future, Odunpazar Houses Conservation and SustenanceProject was realized. One of the Odunpazar houses was designed as part of the citymuseums complex. The first of the city museum complex structures was designedas Contemporary Glass Arts Museum. The museum, where about 50 works of art ofboth local and international contemporary glass artists are displayed, is establishedwith the cooperation of Greater Municipality, Anadolu University and Glass FriendsGroup. While 48,428 people visited the museum between March 2008 and December2008, this number increased to 108,088 people between January 2009 and December2009 (Statistical Data of the Contemporary Glass Arts Museum, 2010). EskiehirCity History Museum will open within the same structure in the near future.Moreover, Wax Works Museum will open in the old municipality building which isregistered as monumental building. The old slaughterhouse building in Kent Parkwas restored and transformed into a restaurant complex. Transportation to thiscomplex is by boats on Porsuk river (Figure 6).

One of the components of city branding is to create public spaces, particularlynatural environments and parks together with facilities for outdoor sports (Cybriwsky,1999; and Temelova, 2007). What a city actually looks like and the physicalcharacteristics it possesses are extremely important. Eskiehir Greater Municipalitytried to differentiate its activities from the other cities. This provided branding,uniqueness, pleasure of inhabitants and tourist flows to the city. One of the differencesis the activities in the green areas. While the green and flowered area was only240.000 m2 in 1999, it increased to 1.239.000 m2 at present. Eskiehir is a model citywith its glant parks and refuges embelished with various kinds of flowers.

Figure 6: Odunpazar Houses and the SlaughterhouseAfter the Restoration



Large scaled and highly qualifiedparks such as City Park, Science,Art and Culture Park, and PondPark were constructed. Science,Art and Culture Park, which is aresting and amusement parkwith an area of 400,000 m2, is oneof the few in Turkey and biggestpark in Eskiehir (Figure 7). Ithas a big pond with area forwater sports activities,restaurants, cafes, an open airconcert space for 1,200 people,amphitheater and a pirate ship.Transportation in the park isprovided by mini trains. It makesa major contribution to Eskiehir reputation for being the new favorite spot ofdomestic tourism. The fairy tale castle, decorated with the most famous fairy talecharacters like Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs and Pirates of the Caribbean, isthe most colorful spot of the park. A science experiment center is arranged in orderto provide the elementary and high school students an actual environment wherethey can carry out scientific experiments. A planetarium is also present where childrenlearn about the secrets of the sky and magical space apart from endless parks.

Kentpark has 350 m artificial beach (Figure 8) to make Eski ehir people feel thepleasure of sea, indoor and outdoor swimming pools, child pool, play tools, city house,restaurants, pond, horse-riding spaces, walking areas decorated by sculptures andbuffets are all attraction spots ofKentpark. A 400 m2 semi-Olympic swimming pool complex,with food courts, child pool andgym sections, offers service,while swimming lessons areprovided to all age groups byexpert swimming instructors. Themanege is one of the mostattractive points of Kentpark forboth young and elderly.

The construction of a Pond parkwill be realized very soon with abig pond, playground for children,sports fields food courts andmultipurpose space for concerts

Figure 8: Artificial Beach


Figure 7: Science, Art and Culture Park



and other activities. It will also serve as a stop for the passengers travelling on the ringroad which strengthens the image of Eski ehir as a model city. A picnic area with a minipond, bridges over creeks, playground for children, walking tracks and sitting area areother points of attraction that are constructed. Natural island, called ukur ar, which waspreviously used as fish mall, has been transformed into a new park.

Many social activities and support to the women, elderly and handicapped arerealized by the municipality. The Greater Municipality Women Consulting and SolidarityCenter where women get support in areas of health, education, law, in-familycommunication from experts is put into service. Activities of this center are judicialand psycological consultation, helping women to access institutions where they canget medical and economical support, setting strategies to fight with violence directedat women, arranging educational programs on health and social matters, informingwomen on methods of fighting with violence. Free of charge courses and social activitiesare provided in the educational centers for everybody from 7 to 70. English, German,French and Russian language courses, painting, chess and hot glass processing coursesattract great attention. Vocational courses extend from computer training, nursing ofold and ill persons and mother-child training to various hobby art programs. Withinthe scope of Every House, a workshop project, new education centers are establishedto provide housewives and young girls with professional skills. Outlet stores whereproducts of trainees can be sold are established.

City Marketing Campaigns and Urban Tourism in Eskiehir

As mentioned earlier, the main targets of marketing strategy are the success inattracting tourists, investors, businesses, residents and the influence on local society.In general, people make sense of places or construct places in their minds throughthree processes (Crang, 1998; and Holloway and Hubbard, 2001). Initially, throughplanned interventions, such as city planning, urban designing, etc., and subsequently,through the way in which the people use specific places, and finally through variousforms of place representations such as novels, reports, paintings, films, TV series,news, etc. According to Holloway and Hubbard (2001), interactions with places maybe through direct experience or the environment or indirectly through mediarepresentations; events, particularly mega-events (Hall, 1992; and Hiller, 2000)large demonstrations, concerts, sports events, and cultural exhibitions, have thehypnotic power to attract and concentrate at the same time and in the same placethe attention of millions of people from all over the world. This strong communicativepower can be used in urban discourse to spread ideas of transformation, regeneration,and success, and not just for an external audience: cultural events may add life tocity streets, giving citizens renewed pride in their home city (Richards and Wilson,2004). Presenting the right image in the right way through the right channels is amajor challenge for urban branding initiatives. Combination of a slogan and logo isthe most commonly used methods. This is often considered as an essential startingpoint for any urban branding campaign.


Eskiehir Greater Municipality defined some slogans to empower its image, suchas center of love and culture, city of civilization, city of solidarity, etc. This objectivewas supported by organizing other international and national events. Because, eventsare considered the strongest tool of marketing and ideal carriers to strengthenEskiehirs profile and many festivals and races were arranged in the city..International Eskiehir feast is organized in the autumn every year and many artistsand groups from different countries are invited. One of the countries is selected asspecial visitor, and many branches of art, such as ethnic music, classical music, jazz,cinema and theater plays are presented for 10 days during the feast. Canoe races onPorsuk river are traditionalized with the cooperation of Turkey Canoe Federation.Traveling film festival, the rock film festival, English short films week, the jazz andblues festival, international Eskiehir children and youth theaters festival, streetfeast, youth feast, kid feast and the international terracota symposium are someexamples of these activities (Appendix Table A2). Cities have to use the media suchas TV, magazine, newspaper, etc. to promote the good events and things which happenin their boundaries. If the cities use the media, their brands will be spread effectively.Eskiehir and Mayor Bykeren succeeded in using media to promote the goodthings in Eskiehir. City has been widely used in Turkish movies and TV series andthe Mayor was invited for many TV programs and appeared in many national televisionchannels and the city took part in the TV and magazine news. This resulted in theincrease of tourist number from 68,000 in 2004 to 146,451 in 2009 (Directorship ofTourism and Culture, 2010) and tourist flow is increasing with each passing day.

Investments of national and international private entrepreneurs and night lifeactivities have also increased in recent years. The number of shopping centers, privatehospitals, chains of hotels, restaurants cafes, bars, etc. increased. Lastly, a deal forthe establishment of manufacturing plant of cherry cars has been made betweenauthorities of municipality and the chamber of industries.

ConclusionDue to accelerated and intensified globalization, cities and urban regions are in agreat competition with other places in order to create liveable cities, to attractinvestments, businesses, residents, tourists, shoppers, talents, events, and to improvecitizens satisfaction. As mentioned earlier, the image of the city plays an importantrole in attracting investors, tourists, visitors and to make citizens stay withsatisfaction. Cities can create images to be unique and many cities in the worldhave been successful in doing this. Since the 1990s, place branding has beenintroduced and used to help create a positive image and make cities memorable andrecognizable (Twitchell, 2005). Eskiehir, where the number of educated and open-minded city population is higher than in many Turkish cities, became a highlydistinctive brand, and creativity and culture are mostly employed to build aninnovative image. Recently, Eskiehir offers many things for citizens, tourists andvisitors to enjoy, including international events, attractions, entertainment, sports,


commerce, restaurants, etc. Tourist flows and rate of investments increased duringthe last two years. The municipality has therefore made it clear that an accessible,safe and attractive public realm will be essential to enhance the competitiveness ofthe cities in the national and global markets. But it must be known that branding

can supplement the good things that are taking place in the city; traffic, polluted

river and environment, lack of accessibility and disappearance of the city identity or

even the perceived image of these things can lead to a negative brand for a city that

will be difficult to reverse. On the one hand, Eskiehir Greater Municipality tried toemphasize the local strengths and characteristics, and on the other hand, some

applications copied from some European cities such as Amsterdam-type boats and

bridges and Venice-type gondolas by ignoring the identity of the city were

implemented. The municipality has to give up this type of applications, solve traffic

and parking problems by considering the transportation master plan, extend the

tram lines to the mass housing and squatter areas, and prevent the pollution of

Porsuk river. Furthermore, as a component of branding, construction of new landmark

structures designed by prestigious international or national architects (Thermal hotels,

conference center) and special attention to situations of multiethnicity and

multiculturalism must be realized.

References1. Aaker A D (1996), Building Strong Brands, The Free Press, New York.

2. Anholt S (2005), Some Important Distinctions in Place Branding, PlaceBranding, Vol. 1, No. 2, pp. 116-121.

3. Ashworth G and Voogd H (1990), Selling the City, Belhaven, London.

4. Broudehoux A M (2001), Image Making, City Marketing and the Aesthetizationof Social Inequality in Rio De Jenairo in Consuming Tradition, ManufacturingHeritage, in Nezar Alsayyad (Ed.), Global Norms and Urban Forms in the Age ofTourism, pp. 270-295, Taylor and Francis Group, Routledge, New York.

5. Chatterton P and Hollands R (2002), Theorising Urban Playscapes: Producing,Regulating and Consuming Youthful Nightlife City Spaces, Urban Studies,Vol. 39, No. 1, pp. 95-116.

6. Cochrane A (1999), Redefining Urban Politics for the Twenty-First Century,in A E G Jonas and D Wilson (Eds.), The Urban Growth Machine: Critical PerspectivesTwo Decades Later, pp. 109-124, State University of New York Press, Albany,New York.

7. Cochrane A, Peck J and Tickell A (1996), Manchester Plays Games: Exploringthe Local Politics of Globalisation, Urban Studies, Vol. 33, pp. 1391-1336.

A


8. Cox K R (1999), Ideology and the Growth Coalition, in A E G Jonas andD Wilson (Eds.), The Urban Growth Machine: Critical Perspectives Two Decades Later,pp. 21-36, State University of New York Press, Albany, New York.

9. Cox K R and Mair A (1988), Locality and Community in the Politics of LocalEconomic Development, Annals of the Association of American Geographers,Vol. 78, pp. 307-325.

10. Crang M (1998), Cultural Geography, Routledge, London.

11. Cybriwsky R (1999), Changing Patterns of Public Space, Observations andAssessments from the Tokyo and New York Metropolitan Areas, Cities, Vol. 16, No. 4,pp. 223-231.

12. Deffner A and Liouris C (2005), City Marketing: A Significant Planning Toolfor Urban Development in a Globalised Planning Tool for Urban Developmentin a Globalised Economy, 45th Congress of the European Regional ScienceAssociation, August 23-27, Amsterdam.

13. Ejigu A, Sjoholm J, Nordgren E and Lindstrom P (2004), Twinning Identities-Losing Uniqueness?, Royal Institute of Technology, Twinning Cities, Planningfor Regional Development Across Borders Project Work.

14. Firat A F and Venkatesh A (1993), Postmodernity: The Age of Marketing,International Journal of Research in Marketing, Vol. 10, No. 3, pp. 227-249.

15. Goksin and Muderrisoglu (2005), Urban Regeneration: A ComprehensiveStrategy for Creating Spaces for Innovative Economies, 41st ISoCaRP Congress.

16. Gotham K F (2001), Urban Redevelopment, Past and Present, in K F Gotham(Ed.), Critical Perspectives on Urban Redevelopment, Elsevier Science Ltd., Oxford.

17. Hall C M (1992), Hallmark Tourist Events: Impacts, Management and Planning,Belhaven, London.

18. Hall T and Hubbard P (Eds.) (1998), The Entrepreneurial City: Geographies of Politics,Regime, and Representation, Wiley, New York.

19. Hankinson G (2004), Relational Network Brands: Towards a Conceptual Modelof Place Brands, Journal of Vacation Marketing, Vol. 10, No. 2, pp. 109-121.

20. Harvey D (1993), Form Space to Place and Back Again Reflections of on theCondition of Postmodernity, Mapping Cultures, in J Curtis, T Robertson andL Tickner (Eds.), Global Changes, Urban Regeneration, p. 87, Routledge, London.

21. Hiller H (2000), Mega-Events, Urban Boosterism and Growth Strategies:An Analysis of the Objectives and Legitimations of the Cape Town 2004 OlympicBid, International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, Vol. 24, No. 2,pp. 439-458.


22. Holloway L and Hubbard P (2001), People and Place, The ExtraordinaryGeographies of Everyday Life, Pearson Education Limited.

23. Hubbard P (1996), Urban Design and City Regeneration: Social Representationsof Entrepreneurial Landscape, Urban Studies, Vol. 33, pp. 1441-1461.

24. Inn K (2004), Plan for City Identity Establishment and City Marketing theCase of Kimpo City, Dela Journal, No. 21, pp. 233-240, Ljubljana.

25. Johan J and Power D (2006), Image of the City-Urban Branding as ConstructedCapabilities in Nordic City Regions, Nordic Innovation Center, Oslo.

26. Jonas A E G and Wilson D (Eds.) (1999a), The Urban Growth Machine: CriticalPerspectives Two Decades Later, State University of New York Press, Albany, New York.

27. Kanter R (1995), Thriving Locally in the Global Economy, Harvard BusinessReview, Vol. 73, No. 5, pp. 151-161.

28. Kavaratis M and Ashworth G J (2005), City Branding: An Effective Assertionof Identity or a Transitory Marketing Trick?, Tijdschrift voor economische en socialegeografie, Vol. 96, No. 5, pp. 506-514, Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

29. Kearns G and Philo C (Eds.) (1993), Selling Places: The City as Cultural Capital,Pergamon, Oxford.

30. Keller K (1999), Designing and Implementing Brand Strategies, Journal ofBrand Management, Vol. 6, No. 5, pp. 315-332.

31. Landry C (2000), The Creative City, A Toolkit for Urban Innovators, Earthscan, London.

32. Lauria M (Ed.) (1997), Reconstructing Urban Regime Theory: Regulating UrbanPolitics in a Global Economy, in Ley D (Ed.), Urban Livability in Context, UrbanGeography, Vol. 11, pp. 31-35, Sage, Thousand Oaks, CA.

33. Logan J R and Molotch H (1987), Urban Fortunes: The Political Economy ofPlace, University of California Press, Berkeley, CA.

34. Morgan N J, Pritchard A and Pride R (2002), Destination Branding: Creating theUnique Destination Proposition, Butterworth-Heinemann, Oxford.

35. Peck J A (1995), Moving and Shaking: Business Elites, State Localism, and UrbanPrivatism, Progress in Human Geography, Vol. 19, pp. 16-46.

36. Peck J A and Tickell A (1995), Business Goes Local: Dissecting the BusinessAgenda in Manchester, International Journal of Urban and Regional Research,Vol. 19, pp. 79-95.

37. Richards G and Wilson J (2004), The Impact of Cultural Events on City Image:Rotterdam, Cultural Capital of Europe 2001, Urban Studies, Vol. 41, No. 10,pp. 1931-1951.


38. Stead D (2003), Is Urban Living Becoming More Attractive?, Local Environment,Vol. 8, No. 5, pp. 559-565.

39. Stewart D (1996), Market-Back Approach to the Design of IntegratedCommunications Programes: A Change in Paradigm and a Focus on Determinantsof Success, Journal of Business Research, Vol. 37, No. 2, pp. 142-157.

40. Temelova J (2007), Flagship Developments and the Physical Upgrading ofPostsocialist Inner City: The Golden Angel Project in Praque, GeografiskaAnaler B, Vol. 89, No. 2, pp. 169-181.

41. Twitchell James B (2005), Branded Nations, Simon & Schster Paperbacks,New York.

42. UNEP (2004), Guidelines for Urban Regeneration in the Mediterranean Region, PriorityActions Programme Regional Activity Centre Split.

43. Warnaby G (1998), Marketing UK Cities as Shopping Destinations: Problemsand Prospects, Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Vol. 5, No. 1, pp. 55-58.

44. Zukin S (1995), The Cultures of Cities, Blackwell, Oxford.

Annual population increase rate (%) 18.3 9.6 21

Internal migration rate (%) 17.8 8

Total fertility 55.0 44.0 78

Dependency ratio (%) 2.5 1.7 80

Infant mortality rate (%) 43.0 40.0 79

Literacy rate (%) 98.7 99.0 2

Graduation from university rate (%) 7.8 8.6 2

Number of people per doctor 764.0 630.0 3

Number of hospital beds per person (2001) 430.0 245.0 2

Table A1: Demographic Characteristics of Eskiehir

Source: www.die.org.tr (2010)

Rank AmongProvinces

Rate ofEskiehir

Rate ofCountry

Appendix


Reference # 71J-2012-02-05-01

Appendix (Cont.)

Table A2: Number of Performances and Audiences of Cultural Facilitiesin Eskiehir

Strategic Aim Culture for All

PerformanceGoal

City theaterand thesymphonyorchestra oftheactivities tobe carriedout

PerformanceIndicator

Number ofparticipants tocreative dramatrainings

Number oftheater shows

Number oforchestraconcerts

Number oftheateraudiences

Number ofaudiences toorchestraconcerts

Realizationin 2006

40

220

60

63.897

36.103

Realizationin 2007

40

248

68

61.316

37.936

Realizationin 2008

40

228

60

76219

36.150

Realizationin 2009

250

228

65

65.101

34.500

Source: Directorship of Eski ehir City Opera (2010)

Copyright of IUP Journal of Architecture is the property of IUP Publications and its content may not be copiedor emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission.However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use.

Date post:	01-Sep-2015
Category:	Documents
Upload:	cansin-caner-keskin
View:	15 times
Download:	3 times

City Marketing and Urban Branding Through Urban Regeneration and Image Maki..

Documents