Share these talks and lectures with your colleagues
Invite colleaguesResearch paper
Revitalising US urban tourism post COVID-19: A brand strategy case study
Journal of Brand Strategy,
13
(4),
346-355
(2024)
Abstract
After the COVID-19 pandemic, many US cities have suffered financially due to people adopting a hybrid work approach and moving from cities to the suburbs. Meanwhile, suburban residents are hesitant to visit cities due to concerns about increased crime rates since the pandemic. This has created a branding and marketing challenge for urban areas, particularly in smaller metropolitan areas that rely heavily on suburban commuters and day visitors. As a result, cities need to rebrand to better reach the new suburban consumers and bring them back into the city. This paper provides a case study on how the city of Providence, Rhode Island, addressed these issues through a marketing campaign targeting individuals who live up to an hour outside the city. The paper also describes how the city commissioned a market research study to determine the best strategy for the rebrand to move forward.
Keywords: urban tourism; post-covid-19 recovery; marketing strategy; market research; consumer behaviour; travel trends
The full article is available to subscribers to the journal.
Author's Biography
Carly Fink is the president and founder of Provoke Insights, a leading full-service market research firm, where she specialises in branding, advertising, media and content marketing. Drawing on over 20 years of experience in brand strategy, consumer behaviour and market research, Carly also teaches branding, marketing and market research for the MBA programme at Baruch College, having previously lectured at NYU and Boston University. Her work has appeared in numerous scholarly journals, and she has featured on various conference panels. She graduated with honours from Lafayette College, holds a dual MS from Boston University in research and advertising, and earned her MBA from Baruch College.
Kristen Adamo is the President and Chief Executive of the Providence Warwick Convention & Visitors Bureau (PWCVB), and its subsidiary the Rhode Island Sports Commission. During her tenure with the PWCVB, the organisation developed a cohesive destination brand, and launched such successful marketing initiatives as Providence Restaurant Weeks and Three Nights of Lights. Her work has led to Providence being named ‘America’s Favorite City’ in Travel + Leisure magazine.
