Place in practice: Major event and city branding: An evaluation of Liverpool as the 2008 European Capital of Culture

Purpose – This paper aims to explore the effectiveness of a key branding campaign, based on a case study of Liverpool as the 2008 European Capital of Culture. Branding is a popular practice adopted by many cities in the context of intensified tourism competition. Design/methodology/approach – This study looks at quantitative data collected from an on-street face-to-face survey in 2008. In total, 611 questionnaires were distributed to and collected from local residents, visitors from the immediate hinterland, domestic tourists and overseas visitors. Findings – The analysis is done, first by investigating respondents’ impression on the Liverpool 08 brand and the branding campaign, and then by exploring the effects of the campaign. The positioning of Liverpool compared with other similar cities is addressed in the end. Originality/value – Event marketers need to be aware that visitor perceptions of the event’s branding are unlikely to be homogeneous. This could have significant implications on the design of brand and branding campaign and, then, affect whether the city could be effectively marketed.