Global Branding: Coming to a city near you
UK local authorities – providers of local council services? Or global brand managers? The landscape of local government is changing.
As citizens demand more sophisticated services and better access to them, we’re seeing a shift in the way that local authorities conduct themselves. Increasingly, local governments are thinking and behaving more like global brand managers. So what’s brought about this change?
The growth of city regions
Since as early as the 15th century, cities have been transforming from population centres to economic centres. As population density increased in the city, inhabitants began spilling over to the outerlying areas, creating city regions with significantly increased populations.
There was a growing desire to go beyond simply providing housing for these citizens, to delivering services. These included infrastructure, transportation, education and social care.
Providing these services is key to maintaining the productivity and growth of a city region as its continued success is largely dependent upon its ability to continually attract businesses and economic development. And the better the services in a region, the more attractive it becomes.
Achieving this is a balance between economy, infrastructure, services, education and well-being. Ensuring a strong economic environment is vital to providing employment for growing urban populations, but also to funding education and research required to maintain the business environment, as well as attracting new people to move into the city region.
Changing demand for services
Citizens want their public services to match the quality and accessibility they receive in the private sector from organisations like Amazon and First Direct. That means joined-up services, multi-channel 24/7 access and same-day delivery.
Central to delivering this level of service is effective funding and streamlined operations. Funding becomes even more pertinent when looking at the difference between regional and local budgets. While an individual council may have a revenue budget of approximately £500m–£1bn, combining with the budgets of other public sector bodies, such as health, police and probation can quadruple the amount available to the city region.
Once acquired, funds must be used in the most effective way possible. City regions can take advantage of the economies of scale offered by sharing services across such a large collection of organisations to drive down their operating costs. A large part of this is aligning budgets and joining up services provided by multiple agencies. Further funds can be released by creating efficient buildings and eliminating surplus assets.
Subsequent savings can then be rolled back into helping local authorities become more competitive in the global market.
From local to global
Recent figures reveal that at current rates, 60% of the UK’s population will soon live in city regions. This shift creates areas with a population two to three times larger than the inner city. For example, London’s population is 7.5 million, while its wider metropolitan area has up to 14 million inhabitants. Similarly Tokyo’s population is 12 million with a total of 35 million people living in its wider metropolitan area. This creates regions that have the populace and accompanying challenges of some countries – for example, Malaysia has a population of just over 24.5 million.
This elevated status means that city regions are competing for resources and recognition on the world stage. Glasgow is currently bidding against the likes of Abuja, Nigeria and Halifax, Canada to host the 2014 Commonwealth Games. And look at Liverpool’s successful 2008 European Capital of Culture bid, the 2012 London Olympics bid and Kent’s evolving status as the Garden of England. All of these initiatives aim to drive investment and funding into the region while increasing its profile. Focus here is not on just infrastructure in terms of technology and buildings, but also on businesses and people.
But what is a regional brand and what does it mean? Establishing this is critical, as the brand must be clearly communicated from the beginning if it is to be successful. City regions must look at themselves and decide what they stand for and what their key message is. New York kick-started this under its last Mayor, but it is the current Mayor who appointed the city’s first chief marketing officer. This has led to campaigns like ‘I love New York’ and ‘NYC.gov – always open’. New York City is a brand and according to a survey of the world’s most desirable brands, it clocks in at a reputable 13th out of 2,400 brands.
City regions across the world are preparing themselves for global competition to attract investment, people and recognition. Are you ready for the challenge?
