The concept of place branding has emerged in recent years as a powerful instrument and it is becoming more popular all over the world. Place branding is important today because in the global marketplace of instant communication and growing democracy, the opinions of the people count as much as the opinions of the powers in charge. As a consequence of expanding globalization, the need for place branding is more important than ever. Having a positive brand is necessary to compete with other nations, states, regions or cities. This resembles corporate and service branding. In any marketplace, the corporation or service must be seen as desirable to thrive. The marketing techniques used in corporate arenas have similar focuses as city marketing.
Place marketing process starts with analyzing market opportunities, developing marketing strategies and implementing them. The main elements of the place marketing process, also known as the framework and elements, are divided into three components: producers, the market and the consumers. It is the responsibility of place marketing to transfer an identity of the city into something desirable to the residents, visitors and investors. For example, Barcelona used the 1992 Olympic games as a branding opportunity. Landmarks, such as the Sagrada Familia, were referred to during the games and a new brand image started being re-created across the world. Just having an event as important as the Olympics is a type of branding because it gives of the image of Barcelona being able to sustain such a large event and have support of the residents. It gave Barcelona the opportunity to show different aspects of what it had to offer including the culture, history, food, language and blossoming areas within the city.
The successful development of a place can be done through improving the quality of living, increasing investments, and attracting individuals and business, which can be done by looking at a place in four ways: