There’s something incredibly powerful about a city: The buzz, the feeling of energy, connection, and possibility.
Relaxing on a beach or in the countryside has its place, but when it comes to a truly awe-inspiring experience, nothing takes your breath away like one of the world’s best cities.
That’s why this month, we’re looking at how the top five cities in the world have built their brands, and created the experience for which they’re so famed.
It’s all about experience
Several organisations have released ranking of the world’s top cities, but there’s one that stands out to us at Customer Radar as being unique.
Resonance Consultancy has created a ranking system based on six metrics—place, programming, prosperity, product, people and promotion—all stemming heavily from actual feedback of experiences people have had in cities. Drawing on ratings from websites such as TripAdvisor, Resonance has been able to create a ranking system representative of thousands of experiences, rather than a few arbitrary ones.
Secrets of the world’s top five cities
According to Resonance’s ranking system, here are the top five cities from 2017, and what they’ve done to build their brand:
- London—the capital of capitals. In 2012, London created its own marketing department, ‘London & Partners’, purely to provide focus to its international marketing. This move had paid off, with a clear brand built around sophistication. The combination of high-class universities, luxury retail and incredible cultural diversity has seen London create this brand of absolute sophistication. Combine this with great connectivity (an expanded Heathrow and five local airports) and premium restaurants, and London takes out the award for best city brand.
- Singapore—Asia’s financial powerhouse of opportunity. Fifty years ago, Singapore was unstable, unskilled and largely impoverished. Jump forward to today, and it’s the world’s dominant hub for capital. This brand has been built around opportunity—not only is Singapore on a fantastic growth trajectory, but it’s government is actively investing in the future, recently announcing a $2.7 billion research and innovation plan. The city brand epitomises growth and ambition, making it the place to come for anyone seeking opportunity in the financial sector.
- New York—the city that never sleeps. It helps having a hit song about your city, but New York has done much more than that to build its brand and take out third spot. The image of activity and life is reinforced by an emphasis on programmes—from food and shows, to shopping and nightlife, New York constantly has more to offer. It’s the second highest city when it comes to overall promotion, meaning that the city’s marketing department (larger than that of most Fortune 500 companies!) must be doing something right to engage visitors in the New York experience.
- Paris—the city of light. Reeling from a series of terrorist attacks, Paris has garnered international support by its positive response, best captured by a Parisian magazine heading: ‘They have bullets. F— them, we have champagne!’ Combine this resilience with rich arts, culture, fashion and restaurants, and Paris’s brand of beauty and light is well and truly alive.
- Sydney—warm, friendly and laid back. Sydney is a manifestation of the good life, with endless hours of sun, great people and high levels of prosperity. The Australian government has done a lot to overcome the barrier of location and promote Sydney on the global tourism scene, investing in light rail, airports and a waterfront development to continue the brand of Sydney’s high quality of life. Who wouldn’t want to earn good money by day, then relax by the beach in the warmth of the evening?
Focus, and feedback
Looking at these secrets from the world’s top five cities, it’s clear what’s required to provide a stunning experience.
Those cities which have done best have a strong focus—they know the experience they’re trying to provide, and they double-down on trying to make that happen. They also recognise the power of feedback, and actively seek to harness it as a promotion tool for attracting future visitors. Tripadvisor, Google reviews and Lonely Planet reviews being some of the most well established go-to's when it comes to travel research for budding tourists. Companies, brands and marketing department alike have more of a need than ever to be in touch with the pulse of the customer, considering and responding to feedback, improving experiences and adding new ones to their offerings.
Regardless of your top pick, there’s plenty to learn about branding from these cities, starting with having a high-level of focus, and actively generating feedback.
