Supervisor:Dr. Mehran Alalhesabi
Abstract:
With the growth and development of information and communication technology and the beginning of the era of globalization, space and time have become compressed and cities are competing for a higher status by seeking a sustainable image of themselves and attracting citizens and other groups including tourists, investors and elites. In this period, the image of the city, how it is perceived and evaluated, and the communicative nature of the image, is considered more than ever. Urban branding is one of the approaches that have helped cities to enhance their competitiveness in this process of competitiveness, The focus of this approach on the structure of the city's image not only affected the planning processes but was also considered a key conceptual image. Somewhat distanced from its original origins by Lynch and regarded as a communicative, competitive, and valuable nature. Therefore, identifying a city image forms the basis of branding and examining what the city has to offer (identity), what is perceived (image), how the image and its components are formed, the users' evaluation of the city (evaluative image) and what makes them feel pleasant or unpleasant to one place, and ultimately, how to influence and promote the image with different branding tools for economic and social goals seems necessary. This study chose Bushehr as a case study for reasons of natural and climatic conditions, socio-cultural and physical characteristics seeking to identify and evaluate the city's common image, identify the city's competitive advantage, components of the overall image and its components for branding, The Importance and Role of Branding Tools in Shaping the Image from the Viewpoint of Audiences (Experts, Citizens, Tourists), In this process a qualitative research design with a concurrent mixed methods procedures is used. Therefore, firstly, by analyzing the research literature in fields such as urban planning and architecture, marketing and tourism, the concept of image, its components, the concept of branding and its various techniques have been identified. Then, through field study and open and closed questionnaires, an overview of Bushehr city, the image of components and their elements and their evaluation using descriptive tables is explained. Finally, by comparing means and one-way analysis of variance, elements of mental image of Bushehr city and differences between groups were investigated. The results show that two types of images are recognizable in the face of the environment. The overall image is about the city as a whole and the image of the different elements of the city, as well as the image being formed in two ways (direct experience of the environment) and indirect (influenced by the media), On the one hand, this image has an introductory component that includes the design dimensions, physical structure, function, facilities and social and cultural characteristics of the environment, and on the other it contains a complementary component that encompasses the likeability and emotions that are formed after understanding the introductory component. Branding focuses on the concept of image and utilizes physical, socio-cultural and infrastructural techniques to influence the introductory component of the image, making the space more attractive for the complement component. The advertising technique also enhances the influence of the two former components on branding and ultimately enhances the image of the exterior (tourists) and the interior (citizens). Surveys show that the overall image of Bushehr city is derived from the natural and social characteristic (sea and people's Intimacy), which also corresponds to the identity of the city and is somehow the brand's provider of the city. It was also found that branding techniques, including social and cultural indices, facilities, and infrastructure, had the most impact on the minds of audiences, and the physical structure and media advertising had the least impact, To reinforce the city's brand and its perceived image in the branding process, paying attention to all socio-cultural dimensions, enhancing facilities and especially physical and advertising interventions as a complement to the brand seems necessary.
Keywords: Metal Image, Image Component, Brand, Branding, Bushehr