IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v17y2025i8p3361-d1631444.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Developing a Sustainable Cultural Brand for Tourist Cities: Insights from Cultural Managers and the Gen Z Community in Brașov, Romania

Author

Listed:
  • Lavinia Ciuculescu

    (Faculty of Economic Sciences and Business Administration, Transilvania University of Brașov, 500036 Brașov, Romania)

  • Florin Alexandru Luca

    (Faculty of Economic Sciences and Business Administration, Transilvania University of Brașov, 500036 Brașov, Romania)

Abstract

This article explores the challenge of developing a sustainable cultural brand for cities that are primarily perceived as tourist destinations. While major urban hubs like Berlin (DE), Edinburgh (UK), and Lisbon (PT) have successfully transitioned from being known mainly for tourism to becoming recognized cultural destinations, the process behind this transformation remains underexplored, especially when it comes to mid-sized cities. How does a town move beyond its touristic image to build a lasting cultural identity? What strategies enable this shift, and what role do different stakeholders play? Focusing on the Romanian city of Brașov, a scenic destination in Transylvania mostly known for its natural environment and medieval architecture, the paper addresses this gap by investigating how a cultural brand can be developed through strategic marketing efforts. Using an integrated approach that combines two qualitative studies and one quantitative analysis, the research provides new insights into (i) cultural marketing strategies that can enhance Brașov’s city brand; (ii) stakeholder perspectives on developing Brașov’s cultural identity; and (iii) the role of Generation Z, whose influence on urban cultural branding has, so far, been minimally researched, in shaping the cultural future of cities, particularly Brașov. Some of the findings highlight key areas for developing Brașov’s cultural brand, including expanding nightlife activities, introducing more contemporary and year-round themed festivals, and tailoring promotional efforts to the short attention spans of the “TikTok generation”. Participants emphasized the need for a more diverse range of cultural events, including experimental and niche performances, alongside stronger educational initiatives to encourage long-term engagement by involving schools and universities. The results offer actionable insights for policymakers, urban planners, and cultural leaders seeking to develop a city brand centered around culture, focusing on long-term identity and community engagement rather than solely on tourism.

Suggested Citation

  • Lavinia Ciuculescu & Florin Alexandru Luca, 2025. "Developing a Sustainable Cultural Brand for Tourist Cities: Insights from Cultural Managers and the Gen Z Community in Brașov, Romania," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 17(8), pages 1-33, April.
  • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:17:y:2025:i:8:p:3361-:d:1631444
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/17/8/3361/pdf
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/17/8/3361/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Alexandru Bogdan & Dorina Chambre & Dana Maria Copolovici & Tudor Bungau & Constantin C. Bungau & Lucian Copolovici, 2022. "Heritage Building Preservation in the Process of Sustainable Urban Development: The Case of Brasov Medieval City, Romania," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(12), pages 1-21, June.
    2. Teemu Moilanen & Seppo Rainisto, 2009. "How to Brand Nations, Cities and Destinations," Palgrave Macmillan Books, Palgrave Macmillan, number 978-0-230-58459-4, May.
    3. Amelia Green & Debra Grace & Helen Perkins, 2016. "City branding research and practice: An integrative review," Journal of Brand Management, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 23(3), pages 252-272, May.
    4. Elena-Lavinia Ciuculescu & Florin-Alexandru Luca, 2024. "How Can Cities Build Their Brand through Arts and Culture? An Analysis of ECoC Bidbooks from 2020 to 2026," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(8), pages 1-20, April.
    5. Beatriz Casais & Túlia Poço, 2023. "Emotional branding of a city for inciting resident and visitor place attachment," Place Branding and Public Diplomacy, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 19(1), pages 93-102, March.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Yauheniya Barkun & Ewa Glińska & Katarzyna Dębkowska, 2021. "Differentiation of regional attractiveness for gaining talents in the context of place branding theory," Place Branding and Public Diplomacy, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 17(1), pages 78-92, March.
    2. Gary Warnaby & David Bennison & Dominic Medway, 2011. "Branding a Roman Frontier in the Twenty-first Century," Chapters, in: Andy Pike (ed.), Brands and Branding Geographies, chapter 15, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    3. Isaac Taberner & Albert Juncà, 2021. "Small-Scale Sport Events as Place Branding Platforms: A Content Analysis of Osona’s Projected Destination Image through Event-Related Pictures on Instagram," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(21), pages 1-21, November.
    4. Razvan Tiberiu Radu & Alina C. Radu, 2024. "Tourism Transformed: How Netflix’s „Wednesday” Enhanced Destination Marketing in Busteni, Romania," Economics and Applied Informatics, "Dunarea de Jos" University of Galati, Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, issue 3, pages 325-333.
    5. Daniela Argento & Özgün Imre & Michael Johansson & Kari Rönkkö, 2025. "Facing sustainable city challenges: the quest for attra-chment," Place Branding and Public Diplomacy, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 21(1), pages 31-43, March.
    6. Fabiana Mariutti & Ralph Tench, 2015. "Are we talking the Same Language? Challenging Complexity in Country Brand Models," Athens Journal of Business & Economics, Athens Institute for Education and Research (ATINER), vol. 1(1), pages 49-62, January.
    7. Shaun M. Powell, 2016. "Journal of Brand Management – Year end review 2016," Journal of Brand Management, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 23(6), pages 601-611, November.
    8. Drule Alexandra-Maria & Chiº Alexandru & Dunca Adina-Georgeta, 2013. "Exploratory Research Regarding Romanians’ Perception About The Regional Brand “Maramureª”," Annals of Faculty of Economics, University of Oradea, Faculty of Economics, vol. 1(1), pages 776-785, July.
    9. Furong Wan & Jianxin Li, 2024. "Navigating the Digital Age: City Branding in the Era of Social Media and Digital Transformation," Journal of the Knowledge Economy, Springer;Portland International Center for Management of Engineering and Technology (PICMET), vol. 15(4), pages 16666-16699, December.
    10. Ekramul Islam & Derek Ruez & Syed Mahbubur Rahman & Shahbaz Altaf, 2024. "City branding, discourse and politics: a case study on Compassionate Louisville," Place Branding and Public Diplomacy, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 20(4), pages 556-567, December.
    11. Fabiana Mariutti & Ralph Tench, 2016. "How does Brazil measure up? Comparing rankings through the lenses of nation brand indexes," Place Branding and Public Diplomacy, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 12(1), pages 17-31, February.
    12. Celso Lopes & João Leitão & Juan Rengifo-Gallego, 2018. "Place branding: revealing the neglected role of agro food products," International Review on Public and Nonprofit Marketing, Springer;International Association of Public and Non-Profit Marketing, vol. 15(4), pages 497-530, December.
    13. Laura Ripoll González & Fred Gale, 2020. "Place Branding as Participatory Governance? An Interdisciplinary Case Study of Tasmania, Australia," SAGE Open, , vol. 10(2), pages 21582440209, May.
    14. Vaňová Anna & Vitálišová Katarína & Rojíková Darina & Škvareninová Dagmar, 2023. "Promotion of biosphere reserves: How to build awareness of their importance for sustainable development?," Environmental & Socio-economic Studies, Sciendo, vol. 11(4), pages 49-61, December.
    15. Mechthild Donner & Lummina Horlings & Fatiha Fort & Sietze Vellema, 2017. "Place branding, embeddedness and endogenous rural development: Four European cases," Place Branding and Public Diplomacy, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 13(4), pages 273-292, November.
    16. Steven Chen & Eric Shih, 2019. "City branding through cinema: the case of postcolonial Hong Kong," Journal of Brand Management, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 26(5), pages 505-521, September.
    17. Scarborough, William J. & Crabbe, Rowena, 2021. "Place brands across U.S. cities and growth in local high-technology sectors," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 130(C), pages 70-85.
    18. Giovana Goretti Feijó de Almeida & Lucília Cardoso, 2022. "Discussions between Place Branding and Territorial Brand in Regional Development—A Classification Model Proposal for a Territorial Brand," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(11), pages 1-24, May.
    19. Shixin Ivy Zhang & Yi Wang & Nancy X. Liu & Yat-Ming Loo, 2021. "Ningbo city branding and public diplomacy under the belt and road initiative in China," Place Branding and Public Diplomacy, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 17(2), pages 127-139, June.
    20. Michal Poljak & Radoslav Ponechal, 2023. "Microclimatic Monitoring—The Beginning of Saving Historical Sacral Buildings in Europe," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(3), pages 1-20, January.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:17:y:2025:i:8:p:3361-:d:1631444. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.