CDA – A Roadmap for Branding Dublin 2012 – A Discussion Paper

A Roadmap for Branding Dublin, A Discussion Paper 20125. Dublin’s Top Assets“People love Dublin City Centre for its very unique and embracingpersonality. Quirky, secret and unpredictable, Dublin is old but young atheart. Sharp and quick witted, it is also conservative, narrow-mindedand disobedient”. 68Dublin’s assets play a key role in shaping the identity and the message ofthe brand. The assets of a city are not only the city’s strengths, but alsoareas which are considered important and are valued by the city and itspeople. By taking into account both the soft and hard assets we can formthe values that will underpin the brand, and begin to formulate an appropriatebranding strategy that will create a positive message for Dublin’s markets andaudiences.As already acknowledged, Dublin is starting from a strong base withevidence of a strong and positive international reputation. While most citieshave an existing reputation, not all reputations are positive, as Simon Anholtcomments:“Unless you’ve lived in a particular city or have a good reason to knowa lot about it, the chances are that you think about it in terms of ahandful of qualities or attributes, a promise, some kind of story… Parisis romance, Milan is style, New York is energy, Washington is power,Tokyo is modernity, Lagos is corruption, Barcelona is culture, Rio is fun.These are the brands of cities, and they are inextricability tied to thehistories and destinies of all these places.” 6968 Love the City, Designing Dublin: Learning to Learn, 201069 Anholt, S., Competitive Identity, 200745