5.1 What consists of creating a Memory Brand ? Cities tend to formalize their image • A branding strategy is based on a “Central based on their identity in order to attract Idea” concept: People have a specific sense people and investments. Such an image about their city. Through such a strategy, is related to the profile that they want their personal and subjective perceptions to create. Place branding and marketing may be aligned to the reality. That is the strategy is not just a tool; it is about a reason why collective memory can play long process that presupposes the deep an important role to the strategy, the aim knowledge and understanding of the city, of which is to increase national (or even its neighborhoods and its people. The international) awareness of what makes question raised is: How does the image the city unique and special. of a city formed? According to Kotler, Haider and Rein (1993, p. 273), the image • The central idea should be accessible to of the city is a “set of beliefs, ideas, and everyone: Since technology changed the impression that a person holds regarding way people live and socialize, city brands an object” and a city, as a result. The image may be visible not only in the real world of the city represents a simplified form of but also in the digital one. Most of times, all the hypotheses as well as information what happens in the digital world has a related to them. Thus, it may be developed tremendous impact on real world. That by oral stories narrated among people in means that stakeholders change their a café or in a house as well as by the news minds about a place taking into account on the TV, the interment and the branding its general perception presented on the strategy of the city. internet. That is the reason why local communities must think and act digitally; City branding strategy takes into they should promote a digital identity, account the various particularities which will be aligned to any offline action of local people, the economic and and policy. social components of the city and • A flexible organizational structure: the wider environment as well as Taking into account that political and the multiple identities economic situation may change, it is crucial to establish an autonomous brand (Govers and Go, 2009). management structure. The management team should have its own resources and a Its foundations should be underlined, as realistic budget to accomplish the strategy. follows: That is the reason why low-budget ideas and means are proposed in the next steps. 84