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Culture-led city brands as economic engines: theory and empirics

Author

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  • Beatriz Plaza
  • Pilar González-Casimiro
  • Paz Moral-Zuazo
  • Courtney Waldron

Abstract

Cultural re-imaging through iconic art museums aims to create symbolic capital for a place in the form of creative images, reputation and associations with innovation. While literature has long identified architectural uniqueness as a potential driver of brand competitiveness, we argue diffusion of that image is equally important. This work draws upon economic concepts from other cultural industries (such as film, music and art) to develop a framework for understanding how cultural brands are built: How reproducible images of singular architecture accumulate in the media to strengthen a brand. We then test an art brand’s impact on visitors. This work aims to offer evidence that the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao brand generates tourism to the city of Bilbao. By understanding how iconic cultural infrastructures create symbolic capital, policy makers may better tailor similar culture-led branding strategies to other places. Copyright The Author(s) 2015

Suggested Citation

  • Beatriz Plaza & Pilar González-Casimiro & Paz Moral-Zuazo & Courtney Waldron, 2015. "Culture-led city brands as economic engines: theory and empirics," The Annals of Regional Science, Springer;Western Regional Science Association, vol. 54(1), pages 179-196, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:anresc:v:54:y:2015:i:1:p:179-196
    DOI: 10.1007/s00168-014-0650-0
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    Cited by:

    1. Alvaro Fierro & Ibon Aranburu, 2018. "Airbnb Branding: Heritage as a Branding Element in the Sharing Economy," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(1), pages 1-14, December.
    2. Matthias Firgo & Oliver Fritz, 2017. "Does having the right visitor mix do the job? Applying an econometric shift-share model to regional tourism developments," The Annals of Regional Science, Springer;Western Regional Science Association, vol. 58(3), pages 469-490, May.
    3. Beatriz Plaza & Catalina Gálvez-Galvez & Ana González-Flores & Jokin Jaca, 2016. "Repositioning through Culture: Testing Change in Connectivity Patterns," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(1), pages 1-15, December.
    4. Martin Thomas Falk & Eva Hagsten & Xiang Lin, 2022. "Domestic tourism demand in the North and the South of Europe in the Covid-19 summer of 2020," The Annals of Regional Science, Springer;Western Regional Science Association, vol. 69(2), pages 537-553, October.
    5. Ibon Aranburu & Beatriz Plaza & Marisol Esteban, 2016. "Sustainable Cultural Tourism in Urban Destinations: Does Space Matter?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 8(8), pages 1-14, July.
    6. Hanna Nyborg Storm, 2022. "From Bilbao to Bodø: how cultural flagships are transforming local cultural life," Journal of Cultural Economics, Springer;The Association for Cultural Economics International, vol. 46(4), pages 723-746, December.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Z1 Cultural Economics; R1 Urban Economics;

    JEL classification:

    • Z1 - Other Special Topics - - Cultural Economics
    • R1 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - General Regional Economics

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