City branding of Beijing and Shanghai: Brand associations among stakeholders

This thesis explored the city brand image and associations, positioning, strategies, and the main challenges faced by city brand managers in Beijing and Shanghai. This qualitative research used in-depth interviews to collect data from the participants. The thesis findings indicated that different stakeholders may establish different brand associations for a city according to its attributes and its unique experience or interest needs. These associations can be positive or negative. While positive city brand associations can bring significant benefits to a city, negative brand associations may have the opposite effect and damage a city's reputation. This thesis has significant implications for the city branding strategies of Shanghai and Beijing and provides insights for city brand practitioners and policy makers, highlighting the key role of stakeholders in building and maintaining successful city brands.