Online social media — a vehicle for city branding in China: the case of Sponge City Program (SCP)

The shift of academic attention from city marketing to city branding heralds a new era of representation and signification of cities as brands. Conscious practices of nationwide program implementation could be used not only for improving urban resilience but for city brands promotion. In China, to c...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Thadani, Dimple, Li, Lei, Chan, Faith Ka Shun
Format: Book Section
Language:English
Published: Springer 2020
Subjects:
Online Access:https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/64215/
_version_ 1848800103709540352
author Thadani, Dimple
Li, Lei
Chan, Faith Ka Shun
author_facet Thadani, Dimple
Li, Lei
Chan, Faith Ka Shun
author_sort Thadani, Dimple
building Nottingham Research Data Repository
collection Online Access
description The shift of academic attention from city marketing to city branding heralds a new era of representation and signification of cities as brands. Conscious practices of nationwide program implementation could be used not only for improving urban resilience but for city brands promotion. In China, to cope with the frequent occurrence of urban water issues, a nationwide initiative called Sponge City Program (SCP) has been launched since 2013. Given the significant impact of online social media on brand image, various levels of the Chinese Governments have begun to use online social media for city program promotion. In particular, brand community formed by stakeholders on online social media can significantly influence the brand image by co-creating contents. In this paper, we first analyze the current application of online social media for city marketing in China based on the SCP implementation. Next, we propose a framework/typology to inform how Chinese’ social media could be used for effective city branding. Finally, we conclude by discussing the implications of online social media use in China.
first_indexed 2025-11-14T20:46:15Z
format Book Section
id nottingham-64215
institution University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus
institution_category Local University
language English
last_indexed 2025-11-14T20:46:15Z
publishDate 2020
publisher Springer
recordtype eprints
repository_type Digital Repository
spelling nottingham-642152020-12-31T05:51:56Z https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/64215/ Online social media — a vehicle for city branding in China: the case of Sponge City Program (SCP) Thadani, Dimple Li, Lei Chan, Faith Ka Shun The shift of academic attention from city marketing to city branding heralds a new era of representation and signification of cities as brands. Conscious practices of nationwide program implementation could be used not only for improving urban resilience but for city brands promotion. In China, to cope with the frequent occurrence of urban water issues, a nationwide initiative called Sponge City Program (SCP) has been launched since 2013. Given the significant impact of online social media on brand image, various levels of the Chinese Governments have begun to use online social media for city program promotion. In particular, brand community formed by stakeholders on online social media can significantly influence the brand image by co-creating contents. In this paper, we first analyze the current application of online social media for city marketing in China based on the SCP implementation. Next, we propose a framework/typology to inform how Chinese’ social media could be used for effective city branding. Finally, we conclude by discussing the implications of online social media use in China. Springer 2020-12-02 Book Section PeerReviewed application/pdf en cc_by https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/64215/1/Online%20Social%20Media%E2%80%94A%20Vehicle%20for%20City%20Branding%20in%20China.pdf Thadani, Dimple, Li, Lei and Chan, Faith Ka Shun (2020) Online social media — a vehicle for city branding in China: the case of Sponge City Program (SCP). In: Proceedings of the 2020 International Conference on Resource Sustainability: Sustainable Urbanisation in the BRI Era (icRS Urbanisation 2020). Environmental Science and Engineering . Springer, Singapore, pp. 381-389. ISBN 9789811596056 Sponge City Program; City Branding; Online Social Media; Urban Water Management http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-9605-6_26 10.1007/978-981-15-9605-6_26 10.1007/978-981-15-9605-6_26 10.1007/978-981-15-9605-6_26
spellingShingle Sponge City Program; City Branding; Online Social Media; Urban Water Management
Thadani, Dimple
Li, Lei
Chan, Faith Ka Shun
Online social media — a vehicle for city branding in China: the case of Sponge City Program (SCP)
title Online social media — a vehicle for city branding in China: the case of Sponge City Program (SCP)
title_full Online social media — a vehicle for city branding in China: the case of Sponge City Program (SCP)
title_fullStr Online social media — a vehicle for city branding in China: the case of Sponge City Program (SCP)
title_full_unstemmed Online social media — a vehicle for city branding in China: the case of Sponge City Program (SCP)
title_short Online social media — a vehicle for city branding in China: the case of Sponge City Program (SCP)
title_sort online social media — a vehicle for city branding in china: the case of sponge city program (scp)
topic Sponge City Program; City Branding; Online Social Media; Urban Water Management
url https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/64215/
https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/64215/
https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/64215/