Again, from Global City in Abu Dhabi

Posted by Carol Coletta on April 08, 2009 |

Tweeting again today from the Global City Conference in Abu Dhabi.  Read my posts here.

I was on the branding panel with an outstanding group of people. Thomas Sevcik, CEO of Arthesia, moderated very smartly.  Her Excellency Reem al Shemari, General Manager, Abu Dhabi Office of Brand, showed off what she has been able to do in just one year.  The Abu Dhabi brand will be built around "respect," and the research with local citizens and influentials puts her on solid ground.  Walter Anderau, on the board of Greater Zurich and a client of Arthesia, showed the clever way Zurich has moved from its brand from a one-note financial center to a series of four "themelands" that marry Zurich today with the city's aspirations in inspired ways.  (Zurich themes:  Machine in the Garden; Knowledge Eccentrics; Corporate Utopia; Cultural Innovation.)  And Dr. Kathy Alexander, CEO, City of Melbourne, told a great story about a great city using great photos. 

Interestingly, neither Zurich nor Melbourne pursued branding in a traditional way -- no slogans, barely a logo.

My contribution was to tell sad stories of place branding that didn't work.  Here's the way I started my remarks: 

"On the flight from…

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