Тerritory Branding as a Tool to Increase the Attractiveness of a City for Potential Residents

This work is aimed at identifying the relationship between the developed brand of the city and the choice of this city by potential residents for permanent place for living. The work implies two research methods. A qualitative method, namely in-depth interviews for data gathering. The quantitative research method is content analysis. The respondents are divided into two groups: tourists and potential residents. The sample rested on clear criteria regarding the frequency of visits to cities. The research is based on brand assessment of five cities: Barcelona, ​​Brussels, Budapest, Vienna and Paris. According to the results of the study, a direct relationship was revealed between the brand of the city and the choice of it for relocation. Namely, the more developed the brand of the city, the higher the likelihood that this city will be chosen by potential residents for permanent residence. Moreover, in the process of analyzing the answers of the respondents, a difference was found in the perception of the cities’ brands between tourists and potential residents. Barcelona, ​​Vienna and Paris all had clear brand positioning, while Budapest and Brussels in particular were reported by respondents as cities with little or no branding policy. In short, this work highlights the importance of implementing and developing a brand for cities to compete on a level with other destinations in the fight to attract potential residents.