It is within the context of the growing level of competitiveness between places, and even the decline of many, that a need has been identified for places to have a marketing focus. As a new and under-researched domain, and also due to some similarities, place marketing research has been guided...

1. Introducing urban branding : a spectral metaphor -- 2. The evolution of the place branding debate -- 3. Neoliberalism, consumption and the institutional frameworks of city branding -- 4. City branding as a politics of representation : a play with the visible, the invisible and the ghostly...

World population and the number of city dwellers are steadily growing. Globalization and digitalization lead to an increased competition for skilled and creative labor and other economic resources. This is true not only for firms, but increasingly also for cities. The book elaborates on...