CC BY
4
UDC 332; DOI 10.18551/rjoas.2023-12.13
BRANDING MODEL OF BANDUNG CITY
Auliana Lina*, Arifianti Ria
Department of Business Administration, Faculty of Social and Political Sciences,
Padjadjaran University, Indonesia
Taryana Agus
Department of Government Science, Faculty of Social and Political Sciences, Padjadjaran University, Indonesia
*E-mail: lina.auliana@unpad.ac.id
ABSTRACT
Cities in Indonesia are starting to compete to create attractive branding. City branding is used to strengthen a good image and differentiate it from other cities. This research examines how the city of Bandung reviews or redesigns city branding so that it is better able to adapt to the situations and conditions faced by the city. The research protocol was used as a basis for conducting in-depth interviews with the resource persons, and FGD activities with seven key informants, which consisted of; education experts, the local government of Bandung city, representatives from the culinary industry sector, humanists, smart city experts in Bandung city, representatives from creative industry players, and representatives from the hospitality sector related to accommodation and transportation.
KEY WORDS
City branding, Bandung, public service, development.
The transformation of the modern world and information technology has become a benchmark for cities in Indonesia to continue to develop and advance. Each city strives for promotions aimed at establishing a positive reputation both nationally and internationally. The right way to do this is to build a strong identity to be recognized by the wider community. City branding is one of the steps to raise public awareness of the tourism and economic potential of each city. Several cities in Indonesia have even started to build a brand or brand as a city characteristic.
City branding is the identity of a city that is used to promote all activities in the city, especially its tourism and cultural potential (mCity, 2019). City branding can also be defined as an identity, symbol, logo, or brand that is characteristic of an area according to the potential and positioning of the target area. The process of giving an identity or designation to a city or region cannot be done haphazardly but must have certain aims, objectives, weights, and values that provide benefits for the residents and the area (Aulawi, 2019).
Cities in Indonesia are starting to compete to create attractive branding. City branding is used to strengthen a good image and differentiate it from other cities. In general, branding is relevant to the uniqueness of the city. City branding also strengthens the identity positioning which reflects the identity of the city, for example, "Paris van Java" for Bandung. This shows the image that Bandung is the center of fashion on the island of Java, as well as Paris which is the center of world fashion (mCity, 2019). So that Bandung becomes the top of mind of the public and tourists as a fashion tourism destination.
Based on the background above, it is interesting to examine in a study how a city, in this case, the city of Bandung, reviews or redesigns city branding so that it is better able to adapt to the situations and conditions faced by the city. The sources in this study are related stakeholders who have a major role in influencing the determination of city branding in the city of Bandung.
LITERATURE REVIEW
A study by Ramadhan et al. (2015) examined the role of Surabaya city branding on visiting intentions and visiting decisions to the city. The results of the study revealed that the city branding of the City of Surabaya, namely "Sparkling Surabaya" has a significant effect on visiting intentions. Improving the quality of the City of Surabaya with city branding, which is not just a tagline, can significantly attract tourists to visit the City of Surabaya.
Lubis (2018) shows that there is an influence of "Colorful Medan" city branding on the image of the city in Medan city of 64.64%, and the other 35.36% is influenced by other factors. In another study by Rahmi (2018), it was revealed that city branding activities in the city of Medan have an effective influence on building the city's image and the decision to visit tourists. In addition, the city's image and the decision to visit tourists also influence the growth of tourism in Medan City.
As for city branding, "Jogja Istimewa" Wahyudi and Ratnasari (2016) revealed that the positioning of the "Jogja Istimewa" brand places more emphasis on the culture and privileges of the region to be applied in various aspects. The differentiation offered includes the richness of Javanese culture, a city of education, complete and well-known tourism to the international level, and the hospitality of the people. The reason Jogja changed the brand was due to an internal change in the Privileges Law and also Jogja felt that the old brand had lost the spirit that could represent the determination of the Governor and the people of Jogja.
According to Kasapi and Cela (2017), branding is very important in determining marketing strategy. Just as goods, services, and organizations are branded. In addition, cities can also be promoted. Cities have a series of features, such as culture, art, heritage, or natural resources that makeup what is defined by De Chernatony and McDonald (1992) as "'complex identities that exist in the minds of consumers' or 'complex identities that exist in the minds of consumers. Meanwhile, these features work together to create a distinct image in the minds of consumers. Because a brand represents what is in the minds of consumers and not what the marketer wants to present through the brand.
"All branding tries to give a product a specific and more distinctive identity, and that's basically what most city marketing wants to do for the city. Places need to be differentiated through a unique brand identity if they are to be, firstly, recognized as existing, secondly, to be perceived in the minds of customers as a place of superior quality to competitors and, thirdly, to be consumed in a way commensurate with the purpose of the place".
Currently, according to Kasapi and Cela (2017), place branding, and more specifically city branding, has gained tremendous momentum among city officials. Thus, place marketers seek to portray a city as a brand, to promote the city to existing and potential target groups; and distinguish themselves from one another, to assert their individuality in pursuit of various economic, political, or socio-psychological goals. In this very tight competition, it is time to start thinking about new ways to improve the city's image to attract visitors through the development of city branding.
City branding is understood as a means to achieve competitive advantage to increase investment and tourism, and also to achieve community development, strengthen local identity and identification of citizens with their city and activate all social forces to avoid social exclusion and unrest (Kavaratzis, 2004).
From the results of a study of comparative literature related to the notion of city branding, the main concept of city branding used refers to Kavaratzis (2004), where this study will examine the leading and mainstay sectors of the city of Bandung which are the main factors in determining city branding of the city of Bandung.
METHODS OF RESEARCH
This study uses a qualitative method of study in which data and information are obtained through a triangulation process, both from sources related to leading sectors, existing secondary data, and experts related to city branding in the city of Bandung. The next step is to develop a research protocol as a basis for conducting in-depth interviews with
resource persons, and FGD activities conducted with seven key informants, consisting of; education experts, the local government of Bandung city, representatives from the culinary industry sector, humanists, smart city experts in Bandung city, representatives from creative industry players, and representatives from the hospitality sector related to accommodation and transportation. FGDs involving relevant stakeholders and representatives from other community leaders were carried out as a confirmatory event based on the results of in-depth interviews and research studies. It is hoped that the output from the results of this research study using qualitative methods will result in comprehensive studies in redesigning Bandung city branding in the future.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
The results of the study by Romli and Romli (2020) show that the communication strategy "Bandung Champion" as part of Bandung City branding is internalized by the Bandung City government and the Bandung City community through various programs such as promoting cycling, musrenbang, facilitating business permits, cleaning volunteers and arranging parks city. However, there are various obstacles in the internalization of the "Bandung Champion" program, namely: the low sense of belonging of city stakeholders, limited time and human resources owned by the Bandung City Government, the Bandung City Government's socialization strategy which cannot make the "Bandung Champion" Program a social engineering tool ( social engineering), the emergence of a negative perspective from city stakeholders towards the Bandung City Government as the originator of the "Bandung Champion" Program, the domination of Bandung City Government staff, the bad habits of Bandung City residents. The implementation of the communication strategy by the Bandung City Government in realizing the "Bandung Champion" program has been carried out, but all this does not guarantee that the process of internalizing city stakeholders will be successfully formed.
Bandung City is the third largest city in Indonesia after Jakarta and Surabaya. The city of Bandung has a strong reputation as a tourist destination, shopping center, culinary spot, and a mecca of fashion and clothing. This factor contributes to the growth of creative industries in the city of Bandung, supported by the availability of various resources. Bandung has several leading sectors that have the potential to increase economic growth and creative industries. To optimize the selling value, a marketing strategy is needed that maximizes the brand image of the city of Bandung (Humas Kota Bandung, 2016).
The nickname of the City of Flowers has often been made for the city of Bandung, where you can often find parks within the city. Bandung in the past still had a very natural, cool, and comfortable atmosphere. Urban planning looks orderly with beautiful gardens sprinkled with clear rivers (Adryamarthanino & Nailufar, 2023). The city of Bandung is easy to find park spots for recreation for young people to the elderly and even for pets. The Elderly Park is one of the parks located in the middle of the city which is intended for the elderly to have a leisurely walk. There is also a pet park which is the destination for the people of Bandung who want to spend time with their pets by walking leisurely. Music Parks, Gesit Parks, Maluku Parks, Radio Parks, and many more are often used as tourist destinations for young people in the city of Bandung
From the culinary tourism aspect, based on the 2021 Taste Atlas Awards, Bandung received a rating of 4.39 for its traditional food. The city of Bandung is ranked as the 5th best culinary in Asia, surpassing other cities such as Seoul, New Delhi, Hong Kong, and Bangkok which are also famous for their culinary delights. Overall, Bandung's culinary specialties get ratings above 4 stars. For example, batagor gets a high score of 4.5, while karedok and cilok get a score of 4.2. On the drink side, bandrek gets a rating of 3.8 stars from various reviews, while bajigur gets a score of 3.3. Bandung managed to print reviews and recommendations of up to 10,000 foods, drinks, recipes, and 9,000 places to eat (Aurellia, 2022). Bandung is famous for its contemporary aesthetic cafés, Sundanese restaurants, and street food. One of the street food that is currently being hit is located in the Lengkong, Cibadak, Japati, Dipatiukur, Kota Baru Parahyangan areas, and many more. Various types of coffee shops
ranging from traditional to modern are also starting to mushroom in the city of Bandung. Various forms of coffee shops range from minimalist, colorful, outdoor, and indoor, to other more complete concepts (Nariswari, 2022).
Education Aspect Bandung City is listed as one of the best cities in the world for students based on a report released on June 29 2022 by Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) through the 2023 QS Best Student Cities program. Bandung City occupies the top position in Indonesia as the best city for students with a total score of 39.4. According to the QS ranking involving 140 cities around the world, Bandung is ranked 120th globally. Meanwhile, Jakarta is ranked 124th with a total score of 37.5, and Surabaya is ranked 126th with a total score of 37.2 (Humas Kota Bandung, 2016). Several universities in the city of Bandung are also included in the list of the 40 best universities in Indonesia according to the Quacquarelli Symonds Asia University Ranking, such as the Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB), Padjadjaran University (Unpad), Telkom University, Indonesian University of Education (UPI), Parahyangan Catholic University (Unpar), National Institute of Technology (ITENAS), and Maranatha Christian University (Aisyah, 2022).
Art and cultural tourism in the city of Bandung always attract attention. Like the symbol of the Indonesian state which is stated in Bhineka Tunggal Ika (Different but one). Bandung reflects the diversity of ethnicities, cultures, and languages in Indonesia but still has the same goal. The city of Bandung has a unique cultural wealth. The thick Sundanese culture and art found in the city of Bandung are the main attraction for tourists. Popular Sundanese culture includes wayang golek, jaipong dance, tap tilu dance, angklung art, and much more (Javawisata, 2021). Cultural arts tourism destinations in Bandung, one of which is Saung Angklung Udjo featuring Sundanese art performances. Apart from that, a destination for enjoying souvenirs can visit the Cupumanik Wayang Golek craft.
The city of Bandung is also the first smart city pilot in Indonesia before the 50th Asian-African Conference in 2015. This initiative was launched by Bandung Mayor Ridwan Kamil with the establishment of the Bandung Command Center (BCC). Initially, the goal was only for the safety of heads of state and foreign guests coming to Bandung. However, after the conference was over, the City Government of Bandung turned the BCC into a tool to meet the needs of the local community. This project involves the installation of up to 4,000 CCTV cameras. The Bandung City Government is slowly implementing the smart city concept by adopting various public service applications in various government agencies such as service offices, sub-districts, and sub-districts to meet community needs. This concept involves the use of information technology-based infrastructure and various applications in the provision of public services. It is planned that each Regional Work Unit (SKPD) will have 4 to 5 applications, bringing the total of 30 SKPD applications to 150 applications. The planning of the Bandung City Government in building a smart city that is integrated from 4 aspects, namely Life, Work, and Entertainment (Live, Work, Play), Improvement of transportation infrastructure/infrastructure (Road Network), Development of public transport facilities based on mass public transport (Public Transport), Development technology and behavior (Technology and Behavior) (Yulianto et al., 2020).
As a creative industry center, the city of Bandung already has the Bandung Creative Hub (BCH) as a place that provides public space for various creative activities. On December 28, 2017, this unique building with five floors (excluding the basement and rooftop) was officially opened and introduced to the public by the Mayor of Bandung, Ridwan Kamil. BCH is directly supervised by the Technical Implementation Unit (UPT) of the Bandung City Culture and Tourism Office and provides various room facilities. One of the facilities at BCH is the Bandung Design Archive (BDA), a mini museum that archives various designs in digital format. BCH also has Game & Animation facilities to support the growing creative digital industry. There is also an Amphitheater which is used for fashion shows and film shows, Music Studio, Painting Museum, Indonesia Photography Archive, Library, Photography Space, and Fashion Workshop. Apart from that, Bandung is also famous for its creative industry centers such as Factory Outlets (FO) on Jalan Dago and Jalan Riau, jeans in Cihampelas, shoes in Cibaduyut, t-shirt centers in Jalan Suci, textiles in Cigondewah, knitting in Binong Jati, dolls in Sukamulya, etc. (Alim, 2018).
According to information submitted through the official website of PT Kereta Api Indonesia China (KCIC), the fast train will cover a distance of 142.3 kilometers from Jakarta to Bandung. The development of this transportation infrastructure is an opportunity for the excellence of the city of Bandung. In addition, accommodation has begun to develop in response to the increasing capacity of tourists. Public transportation facilities have also begun to be provided, such as buses, bandros, etc.
The development of the city of Bandung is increasingly clearly felt by residents. The city of Bandung can make nicknames such as the city of flowers, culinary city, education city, cultural arts tourism city, smart city, creative industry center as well as accommodation and transportation as leading sector indicators. Leading sectors can be maximized to become a characteristic for building city branding in the city of Bandung.
The "Bandung Champion" program is part of Bandung City's city branding efforts. This communication strategy has been adopted by the Bandung City government and its people through various programs. The slogan "Bandung Champion" became the main foundation in the government's vision and mission at the time of Mayor Ridwan Kamil, whose initial idea for this program was to cover various aspects of the lives of Bandung residents, such as welfare, happiness index, tourism, environment, and other fields.
On the other hand, the results of this study indicate that the city branding of the city of Bandung with the brand "Bandung Champion", in the future tends to be assessed as not fully representing the leading and mainstay sectors in the city of Bandung which is the main magnet that makes Bandung residents feel at home and visitors to the city of Bandung. The main challenge going forward is how to redesign Bandung City branding which takes into account the city's positioning, "Bandung City Pikabetaheun".
CONCLUSION
The current city branding for the city of Bandung with the name "Bandung Champion", from the opinions of stakeholders regarding leading and reliable sectors which include culinary cities, educational cities, cultural arts tourism cities, smart cities, creative industry centers, as well as accommodation and transportation, tends to be incomplete. able to reflect and adapt the situation and condition of the aspects that are the main magnet of the city of Bandung which is currently being felt by all parties where "Bandung City Pikabetheun". This means that anyone who comes to the city of Bandung feels at home and will come back again.
From the results of the study above, the following can be suggested:
• City branding "Bandung Champion" tends to need to be considered for redesign so that it can represent and adapt to the situation and conditions of the city of Bandung in the current era;
• Positioning the city of Bandung that makes residents and newcomers feel at home is a key phase in redesigning the city branding of the city of Bandung;
• In redesigning Bandung City Branding, it is hoped that the government and relevant stakeholders will be able to rally the opinions of all stakeholders in the city of Bandung so that the emergence of a new city branding and the new Bandung city logo can be understood and agreed upon by all stakeholders and communities in the Bandung city.
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