Destination@-Branding and Re-Branding of Ten European Capitals

This contribution is a part of a broad research programme on Place-identity and Social Representations of European Capitals in first visitors of six different nationalities. In accordance with the model of “destination branding” including: brand identity, brand image and brand element mix (name, logo, sign, design, symbol, slogan…), this contribution focuses on the institutional stems and commercial logos and compares these iconic structural elements of the brands of ten historical European Capitals. The research also compares the social representations evoked by the brands among potential first-visitors. Moreover, this chapter analyses the recent transformations of some commercial brands in a longitudinal perspective (re-branding). Finally, this contribution integrates the results of the analysis of the main graphic elements of the branding in the framework of the more complex research programme, suggesting a preliminary overview of the Destination@-Branding focused on the iconic social representations.