Branding Clusters and Cities

Economic development is an important part of keeping the nation moving forward on its economic and social goals. The way in which clusters and cities are branded is important for helping its citizens understand their place within it all while helping people of other places formalize a concept of the area. A paper by Brian Crombie discusses the benefits of branding cities and clusters for greater growth (2011).

Clusters are branded in much the same way as products and services. Branding can apply to any mass communication that include companies, political parties and nations to create success on the market (O’Shaughnessy & O’Shaughnessy, 2000). Branding is a process of creating greater awareness of the offerings of an area. Such brands should do the following (Crombie, 2011):

-Target opportunities in high growth sectors such as life sciences, sustainable technology, life sciences, financial resources or advanced technology.

-Create a supportive business environment.

-Provide a brand that attracts business, investments and jobs.

A strong brand is, “distinctive by its positioning relative to the competition, and by its personality, which comprises a unique combination of functional attributes and symbolic values” (Kavarvztiz, 2004, p. 65). It provides an extra nudge to ensure people are aware of its businesses, cluster, and opportunities.

Brands should give a name and image to the social system and social capital within the area (O’Shaughnessy & O’Shaughnessy, 2000). People should be able to formalize what an area stands for and what it can provide on different planes such as core competencies, its people, and its lifestyle. When done well it creates a total image of the area that can be useful for helping people believe in that brand.

Each cluster and city has an image. Some images are well known while others are not known at all. Each brand should accurately reflect the area but also push to enhance those aspects that are most beneficial for growth. When people can formalize the image of an area and have adequate information to understand that area they are more likely to invest, grow businesses, and train people around that image.

Crombie, B. (2011). Branding cities and clusters for economic development. ISM Journal of International Business, 1 (3). 

Kavaratzis, M. (2004), From City Marketing to City Branding: Towards a Theoretical Framework for

Developing City Brands. Journal of Place Branding, 1

O’Shaughnessy, J. & O’Shaughnessy, N. (2000). Treating the nation as a brand: some neglected issue. Journal of Macromarketing, 20 (56).

Four Factors of Unconscious Marketing

Subconscious goals = how we see the world.

As competition between products and services rises, marketers seek new methods of promoting products beyond the cultural borders that often limit sales potential. The paper by Woodside and Brasel (2011) provides an overview of unconscious branding as well as its four major methodological approaches.  Understanding what researchers have already found and where large gaps in the literature exists help in highlighting the need for additional research.

Unconscious marketing deals greatly with the concept of behavior, action and beliefs (BAB) toward products. At its core is the belief that behavior proceeds action, which in term fosters particular beliefs in products (Wilson, 2002). Thus, most thinking is on an unconscious level and behavior typically occurs before conscious thinking. If so, marketing can be effective at an unconscious level.

To understand the unconscious it is often beneficial to see an example in ancient history. When Socrates went to the oracle of Delphi it was relayed that his greatest task and that of mankind was to seek truth and know thyself (Pettinger, 2011). As the mind seeks to know itself, it has developed two mental processes that are called the conscious and the unconscious. The conscious is the limited, but available information, while the unconscious is the stronger processor but is difficult for people to reach (Wilson, 2009).

In terms of branding, the unconscious may be extremely important in influencing branding and purchasing behavior. The problem faced by researchers is that the unconscious is multi-dimensional and may have four factors that include lack of awareness, lack of intent, efficiency, and lack of control (Bargh, 1994). This makes the unconscious a wild horse with its own processes that represent the true nature of man.

Unconscious branding is a relatively new field built off Frued’s psychoanalysis. Despite his approaches, it has taken decades to move into new theories and approaches. Researchers have a number of opinions and limited research to back up their claims. Despite these successes, understanding the phenomenon means to look beyond traditional approaches to new ways of analysis.

There are generally four major research studies and ways of looking at unconscious branding:

-Non-conscious visual drivers: The visual processing mechanisms are unconscious and goals influence what we will see before becoming consciously aware.

-Priming Ads: Internet ads can make more forced ads (i.e. television) more effective through priming.

-Social motivations for conforming or escaping: Advertisements that focus on either helping people identify with particular groups of people or escape to form a self-identity can be effective. 

-Internal consumer autopilot: It is believed that non-conscious behavior, routine, schema and habit affect our choices.

Woodside and Brasel (2011) argue that new and more comprehensive models are needed to make findings practical. The report helps us think about how underdeveloped this field is as well as the potential possibilities for companies that want to use new models and methods to improve their brand awareness. By understanding how to sequence advertisements and use internal motivations, marketers can increase their response rates as well as their financial effectiveness.

The processing of most environmental cues is subconscious and most people cannot tap that source of information to pull it into their conscious. This means that it is these powerful processing tools, based in our need for survival, where brands can create the most effectiveness. This is why brands often offer either social acceptance (i.e. jewelry) or they offer solutions to problems (i.e. automobiles). Sometimes they come together (i.e. Mercedes). Attachment to any particular brand is based in its social advantages,  neuro-economic resource choices, and solutions to unconscious conflicts.

Bargh , J . A . ( 1994 ) The four horsemen of automaticity: Awareness, intention, efficiency, and control in social cognition . In: R.S. Wyer and T.K. Srull (eds.) Handbook of Social Cognition , Vol. 1, 2nd edn. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum , pp. 1 – 40 .

Pettinger , T . ( 2011 ) Radical thinking: What you can learn from the timeless philosophy of socrates, Retrieved October 20^th, 2013 from http://www.pickthebrain.com/blog/radical-thinking-what-you-can-learn-from-the-timeless-philosophy-of-socrates/ 

Wilson , T . D . ( 2002 ) Strangers to Ourselves: Discovering the Adaptive Unconscious . Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press .

Woodside, A. & Brasel, S. (2011). Unconscious thinking, feeling and behavior toward products and brands: introduction to a Journal of Brand Management special issue. Journal of Brand Management, 18, (7).