EXPLORING AND MEASURING CITY BRAND PERSONALITY IN SMALL CITIES
Andriani KUSUMAWATI
Brawijaya University
Abstract
City branding strategy has received considerable interest since it play an important part in promoting city competitiveness and uniqueness. The purpose of this research is to analyse in more depth the dimensions of the City Brand Personality of three small cities in East Java Indonesia, as identified in previous research. Survey method was employed through questionnaires involving 360 residents in three cities to assess five dimensions of brand personality with a total of 42 personality traits from Aaker Brand Personality Dimensions and Traits represented the city. The result of the research using descriptive statistical analysis shows that the city branding communication used by the three different cities have similarities, in terms of involving the residents to participate in tourism activities, selecting tourism ambassadors, and actively conducting activities in the form of festivals and sports events to attract the tourists visitation to their area. In terms of brand personality dimensions, it was found that Batu and Banyuwangi possessed characteristics of full excitement, while Surabaya was considered full of competence. In addition, those cities were far from ruggedness. This examination of city brand personality as an application of city branding communication would extend the brand personality framework to city branding study.
Keywords: Brand Personality, City Branding, Small City, Indonesia
Topic: Business Administration