Place Branding Approach within Functional Urban Areas—Evidence from Poland

Abstract

As people’s mobility increases, the places they inhabit are also changing, resulting, among other things, in the creation of commuter zones. The existence of such areas has contributed to the development of the concept of functional urban areas (FUAs). Such units quickly began to gain relevance on a global scale, triggering the issue of differentiating themselves from other such areas in pursuit of residents, tourists, and investors. This issue is intertwined with branding and, since FUAs are territorial units, the issue of place branding. The aim of this study was to identify the degree of involvement of Polish FUAs in marketing and place-branding activities. In this way, the following research problem has been formulated: what is FUAs’ approach to territorial marketing and place branding? A qualitative method was chosen to achieve the stated objective. Given that the adaptation of the concept of place branding in relation to FUAs is at an early stage, the exploratory nature of qualitative research was utilized in the form of in-depth interviews. The interviews were conducted between April and June 2021 among employees representing 15 FUAs in Poland. The results suggest that there is a diverse understanding of the issue of place branding but also a noticeable need to conduct extensive marketing activities. All areas pointed to the basic principle of introducing a place branding policy that is applicable in their areas, namely, responding and reacting efficiently to emerging social and economic challenges.

1. Introduction

In the era of universal connectivity and the possibility of instantaneous contact, especially in the post-COVID era, the issue of community becomes even more important. A community that is self-supportive and offers new opportunities, such as jobs, sustainable mobility, or a low-carbon economy, is becoming a highly desirable territorial product for local governments.

On a global scale, there is a noticeable increase in population and migration movements. The situation within European countries is more diverse. According to the data available on the Eurostat website and in the framework of the research carried out by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), it can be noticed that the overall population is stabilizing, recording a slow decline [1,2]. There is also a noticeable change in citizens’ preferences for their place of residence—an increasing number of people choose to live in the city within urban cores (UCs) instead of within commuting zones (CZs) [3]. This is unlike the situation observed in the central and eastern parts of Europe, where there is a growing interest among residents in living within CZs instead of UCs. This is due, among other things, to the improving commuting amenities and general connectivity to the city center that are offered as part of the functional urban area’s (FUA’s) affiliation. Within this context, it is worthwhile to look at the issue of shrinking cities, i.e., shrinking populations in large urban centers, and the consequent impoverishment of cities in terms of qualified personnel and innovation. Therefore, the missing human capital has to be sourced elsewhere, for instance, from the CZs [4]. This may also drive these regions in particular to develop such entities as FUAs. What makes the situation in the central and eastern parts of Europe so different and incomparable to the rest of the continent are the rapid political changes those countries (namely, Hungary, Slovakia, Czechia, or Poland) have undergone since the collapse of the communist system [5,6]. They are also areas that have adapted remarkably well to the concepts of polycentricity (e.g., Gdańsk–Gdynia–Sopot Functional Area) and agglomeration (e.g., Warsaw metropolitan area). Polycentricity in this case means the variety of resources available within the framework of quality of life for residents, tourist attractions for visitors, or the necessary instruments for business development [7]. It is also important to note that the Baltic States are successful in the concept of city diplomacy, a concept that relies on horizontal cooperation to solve local government problems, establish long-term partnerships, and implement projects [8]. It represents the key concepts and competences necessary to develop place branding concepts within FUAs. This raises the question that formed the basis of the study: will these regions also be able to co-operate when it comes to branding a place as complex as a FUA?

The topic of place branding in relation to FUAs still constitutes a niche within research from both FUA and place branding research perspectives. In order to understand in depth what the level of involvement of FUAs in building their own place brand really is and to find out what, if any, actions they have already taken, this qualitative research was conducted. The aim of the study was to identify the approach of Polish FUAs in terms of activities related to marketing and place branding. No study to date has found an answer to this question for any of the world’s FUAs.

2. Theoretical Framework

2.1. Functional Urban Areas in Poland

Literature sources provide considerable knowledge on FUAs in terms of their definition and delimitation. According to them, FUAs are continuous spatial arrangements—a FUA cannot include a municipality or other administrative unit that does not in any way border the FUA it aspires to join [5,9,10]. They are often seen as compact areas that include functionally connected CZs and UCs whose interconnection is expressed in such indicators as commuting, intensity of development, interconnection of the labor and housing markets, natural structure, and volumes of flow of goods and services of a diverse nature [3,10]. In addition, FUAs are characterized by unified development goals shared by all of the member units, such as employment, traffic congestion, environmental issues, or development imbalance [11,12,13]. This is a key issue, as within the integrated territorial investment (ITI) strategies, all FUA member units must collectively decide what will constitute their priorities for action for the next programming period. Hence, Web of Science (WoS) records 2804 results for the topic ‘functional urban areas’, with the most numerous categories being studies embedded in environmental sciences (832 studies) and environmental studies (456). This may indicate the high relevance of environmental issues among FUAs internationally. It also coincides with data posted by the Supreme Chamber of Control in Poland, which, within the 2014–2020 time horizon under the ITI strategies, recorded the largest scope of intervention for the thematic objective ‘supporting the transition to a low-carbon economy in all sectors’ [14].

The administrative units included as FUA’s members, on the Polish scale, can constitute of urban, rural and urban-rural municipalities [10]. Within the subtypes of FUAs occurring in Poland, the most frequently mentioned are voivodeship centers (located around voivodeship cities), regional centers (located around cities with a population of 100–300,000), sub-regional centers (located around cities with a population of 50–100,000), and local centers [9,10]. As of 2023, there are 58 FUAs in Poland [15]. Those with voivodeship cities at their core are required to create the aforementioned ITI strategies, which outline the most relevant activities for the planned program period [16]. So far, one financial perspective has been completed, which ran from 2014 to 2020, and a new program period began in 2021. The planned objectives within the strategy are mostly implemented within the regional operational programs, and are funded by the European Regional Development Fund and the European Social Fund [17]. However, as revealed in the conducted research, some of the FUAs additionally generate their own financial contributions from all municipalities in their area and from external projects. Ultimately, Polish FUAs with a core in the form of a voivodeship city are considered to play a key role in socio-economic development not only at the scale of the entire voivodeship but also of the entire country [9,18,19]. The increased relevance of such units results in an increasing number of municipalities joining the FUAs operating in their region as part of the new timeframe starting in 2021. This renders them particularly interesting for the research undertaken.

Notably, there are divergent opinions in terms of terminology when it comes to the use of such words as ‘agglomeration’, ‘functional urban area’, ‘metropolitan area’, or ‘urban clusters’ [20]. There is also a noticeable lack of understanding of these issues, as often these concepts are used interchangeably. This is due to the lack of an agreed-upon definition of agglomeration and the emerging sub-categories of this type of unit, but this does not hinder their development, as in the case of FUAs. This situation also reflects the level of understanding of promotion, marketing, and branding issues. As the research revealed, the representatives of ITI offices demonstrate different levels of understanding of place branding issues [21,22,23]. Administrators of such entities tend to use such concepts as ‘marketing’, ‘territorial brand’, or ‘regional brand’ interchangeably, without noting any differences between them [24]. It goes in line with international literature, where such a phenomenon has also been noted globally [22,23,25,26].

2.2. Place Branding in the Context of Complex Territorial Units

The theory of place branding and marketing-related concepts in general is constantly evolving along with market developments. Therefore, also within the framework of place branding over the last 40 years, there have been significant changes in its perception [27]. The rapid development of the place branding concept can be attributed to the increasingly intense global competition and information noise [28]. A brand, understood in its primary sense, is used by a single company that wants to be recognized in the market by its target audience. Hence, a brand can be considered a combination of functional values with additional values, for example, emotional [29]. Its strength and effectiveness are judged by the associations that arise among the public—the stronger the associations, the stronger the brand. Bearing in mind that a brand is related to the climate and social image of an entity, its importance becomes apparent at the local and regional level—relevant within a place branding framework [30].

Sometimes, however, a brand is also developed by several organizations, thus becoming a collective brand, a concept that is very relevant from the perspective of FUAs. When this is the case, these organizations seek to create a common marketing strategy based on shared values while also sharing the costs and benefits of the brand being built. When such a jointly built brand relates to a territory, it takes the name ‘territorial marketing’ or ‘territorial branding’ [31].

Territorial marketing, like strategic marketing, aims to secure a position in the perception of the audience through the possession of a distinctive image. In order to do this, it is important to define and identify the target audience for whom a combination of offers and benefits will be created to meet their expectations [32,33]. Such offers are created on the basis of region-specific values while trying to conceal possible negative connotations associated with the place [34]. Such region-specific values are both tangible (e.g., monuments, urban infrastructure) and intangible (e.g., cultural events, emotional connections) [35].

The difference that exists between the concepts of place branding and territorial marketing is the number of dimensions they cover. Within place branding are such dimensions as culture, politics, and public diplomacy. Territorial branding, on the other hand, uses the branding process to reinvent places [36]. Both concepts, however, treat a place as both a brand and a product. In this context, place branding represents the current stage in the development of the place marketing concept [37]. On the other hand, while comparing place promotion and place branding, one has to point out the intuitiveness and sometimes randomness of place promotion activities. Place branding, by contrast, requires a strategic focus, and its existence can be traced directly to the latest requirements of regional governance, which are oriented towards the needs of their stakeholders [38]. And modern approaches to the branding process point to the importance of involving citizens in using and developing the proposed brand. This includes citizens assigning their own values in relation to the brand rather than adopting them top-down [39]. Stakeholders, and therefore people in general, are a key facilitator of the place branding process. Through their nostalgia, experiences, and pride in their heritage, they simultaneously enrich the brand of the place [40]. What has remained a universal truth and underpinning of the concept of place branding over the years is that with the deepening process of globalization, cities, agglomerations, and FUAs are recording an increasing need to differentiate themselves from other similar entities [41]. As Robert Govers has pointed out, flashy advertising is neither an effective nor efficient way to attract investment, tourists, or residents. A place that has an established reputation does not need ‘loud’ and pushy marketing [42]. This is why it is so important to find its differentiator, on which reputation and image can be built.

There has been an increasing interest amongst territorial organizations in the issue of place branding [43,44]. This fact simultaneously ties in with the previously mentioned problem of misunderstanding branding issues, which breeds additional frustrations and problems as the authorities focus their attention and efforts on the visual aspects of places, ignoring the embedding of place branding in the administration system [21,45,46]. The issue regarding the role of regional administrators within the framework of place branding is particularly relevant due to the fact that these stakeholders are usually the initiators of the branding process, and yet studies on them make up a fraction of the studies that consider residents [40,47]. The task of such administrators becomes the identification of the region’s differentiators and then, through the use of branding techniques, the integration of all the identified stakeholders around the given identity, which should then be communicated externally (to tourists, investors, among others) and internally (to residents, local businesses) [48,49,50,51]. According to the literature, residents can be considered the most important of the stakeholders because of their ability to be intermediaries between the other identified stakeholders [52]. Thus, it is all the more important to consider ITI offices in the context of the territorial brand being built. This is also confirmed by other studies, indicating that the territorial brand is seen as strongly linked to strategic planning, which is the basis for the operation of these offices [53]. Furthermore, within the literature, one can also find an understanding of place branding as a tool for managing complex identities, whereby all administrative areas become an integrated whole. This understanding gives place branding relevance in terms of the created future of the area and the implemented policies within it, which is crucial for FUAs [54]. A recognizable brand attracts not only tourists but also business investors and new residents, while raising the level of satisfaction of current residents with their place of residence [55]. Which is important especially for such entities as FUAs, which base their activities on implementing amenities especially for these stakeholder groups.

Research has already been conducted on the barriers that prevent Polish FUAs from implementing extensive promotional activities. Such barriers as financial, socio-organizational, political, communication, and internal have been identified [21]. It is noteworthy that FUAs, as units made up of individual territorial and administrative units, noted issues of cooperation and communication, among other inter-municipal issues, to a considerable extent as part of the barriers. And communication is the basis for both building and communicating a territorial brand.

3. Materials and Methods

Thus far, research on place branding in the context of FUAs is still niche. Therefore, due to the novelty of the subject under consideration, a qualitative research method was selected. As a result of the prevailing COVID-19 pandemic in 2021 and restrictions on the number of people who could be in one room, it was decided to use in-depth interviews using remote communication methods with programs such as MS Teams and Zoom.

In terms of the sampling frame, an analysis of available studies and online sources was conducted, covering a list of all international FUAs provided by the OECD. The sample size was narrowed down due to the arguments cited earlier in the ‘Introduction’ regarding the characteristic conditions of the Baltic States and Central and Eastern European countries in general. These are areas that are increasingly emphasizing cooperation in their regional policies. It was finally decided to focus on Polish FUAs, the core of which are voivodeship cities. As of 2021, there were 17 such units in Poland. Such a selection was influenced by the fact that in Poland, such units are required to run official websites, which made it possible to reach out to these units to conduct the planned in-depth interviews. In addition, such FUAs are obliged to create ITI strategies, which provided a basis for the preparation of the planned research.

In order to prepare the interview scenario, all ITI strategies for each of these 17 FUAs were analyzed. As such, three key issues were identified that were addressed and tested within the identified research problem: (1) level of involvement of FUAs in the implementation of place branding, (2) inclusion of place branding issues in ITI strategies; and (3) relevance of place branding issues in the development of FUAs. These three main areas constituted the questions posed to the interviewees, along with supporting questions if the situation called for such action. Thus, the interviews took the form of open discussions within the researcher’s areas of interest. Through the prior analysis of the ITI strategies, it became possible to compare the actual answers given by the representatives of the FUAs to what was included in the strategies. The juxtaposition of the results of this analysis with the information obtained from the interviews will be presented in Section 8, ‘Discussion’. Such a set of studies allowed the most accurate information to be obtained, fostering the achievement of the study’s objective.

In order to invite FUAs to an in-depth interview, official emails and phone calls were made to each of the selected 17 ITI offices. Each of the interviewees was assured of the anonymity of their answers. As a result, 15 of the 17 units took part in the research. These included FUAs located around: Białystok, Bydgoszcz–Toruń, Gdańsk–Gdynia–Sopot, Gorzów Wielkopolski, Katowice, Kielce, Kraków, Lublin, Łódź, Olsztyn, Opole, Szczecin, Warszawa, Wrocław, Zielona Góra. FUAs located around Rzeszów and Poznań did not express their agreement to take part in the research. The duration of the interviews varied between 40 min and 1.5 h. For each interview, the head of the office appointed the most suitable person to take part in the interview; hence, it is possible to see the diversity in terms of interviewees’ positions.

Table 1. FUAs, the positions held by their representatives in the survey and the coding used.

FUA	Interviewees’ Positions	Coding
Białystok	- Head of the planning and development team	- R1
Bydgoszcz-Toruń	- Head of the ITI office	- R2
Gdańsk-Gdynia-Sopot	- Communication specialist and Chief specialist for Intermediate Bodies-ITI, coordinator of infrastructure projects	- R3
Gorzów Wielkopolski	- Head of the ITI and strategic programming department	- R4
Katowice	- Deputy head of the ITI office	- R5
Kielce	- Head of the ITI office	- R6
Kraków	- Chief Specialist, development policy planning and financing team	- R7
Lublin	- Head of the ITI office and ITI office employee	- R8
Łódź	- Deputy head of the ITI office and ITI office employee	- R9
Olsztyn	- City hall employee	- R10
Opole	- Head of the ITI office and Head of Project Appraisal and Selection Unit	- R11
Szczecin	- Deputy head of the ITI office, ITI coordinator	- R12
Warszawa	- Head of the ITI office	- R13
Wrocław	- Monitoring, Operational Program ‘Technical Assistance’ and Information Team and ITI office employee	- R14
Zielona Góra	- Head of the ITI office	- R15

Source: own elaboration.

provides key information on FUA representatives who took part in the survey. Separate codes have been given to each FUA for clarity in the coding responses.

As can be seen in the case of FUAs located around Gdańsk–Gdynia–Sopot, Lublin, Łódź, Opole and Wrocław, two types of occupied positions by interviewees were listed. This is due to the fact that two interviewees representing one FUA were interviewed at the same time. In the case of these FUAs, the need arose because of the division of responsibilities in their units. To ensure the most accurate responses, two people were selected to actively participate in the survey. This type of interview is not new and is described in the literature as a paired depth interview, in which the interviewer conducts the survey with two people simultaneously [56,57]. It was not possible to separate the statements of these individuals within the coding, as they complemented each other’s statements.

The interviews were conducted from the beginning of April to the end of June 2021. All interviews were recorded with the consent of the interviewees and subsequently transcribed by the research author. The author of the study used open coding, and all statements made by ITI office representatives were analyzed individually. The responses were then grouped by their level of involvement in place branding implementation, the presence of place branding issues in ITI strategies, and their view of the relevance of place branding in the development of FUAs.

Due to the chosen research method and the nature of the units analyzed, the limitation of the study becomes apparent—it is not possible to generalize the results to all FUAs, even on a national scale.

4. Results

With the ability to record the interviews conducted, the discussion of the results can be supported by direct quotes from the interviews. By doing so, the author tries to remain as impartial as possible, bearing in mind the nature of qualitative research. The comparison of statements from other FUAs within separate IDIs also allows for impartial identification of similar behaviors and views.

It should be taken into account that the interviews were conducted in Polish and the statements were translated. In order to maintain the anonymity of the study, the statements were not assigned to specific individuals. Subsequent Section 5, Section 6 and Section 7 present responses to the specific issues that were raised during the interview. The statements were not altered; therefore, some terms and issues—as mentioned in Section 1—were used interchangeably, not always in line with the literature on the subject.

5. Involvement of FUAs in the Implementation of Place Branding

Within the responses, it is possible to notice a different approach to the issue of place branding for FUAs. A significant proportion of responses indicate that there is no top-down requirement to introduce such measures. There were also strongly positive responses, highlighting the promotional activities undertaken to date.

Table 2. Involvement of FUAs in the implementation of place branding.

	IDI Results
Pro-branding	- R1: ‘We have created our logo. There have been conferences, for other ITI offices, where this logo was used. However, it was not used in such a way that the public could see it’; - R3: ‘We, on all our promotional channels, promote our projects, and this is not only the website, not only Facebook, but also Twitter and Instagram. Milestones are reported back, we are at these events and through our channels we report what interesting things are happening. Any hard investment sells hard with information’; - R4: ‘As much as possible, we do and will include marketing issues as part of our strategy. Such a practical example is the ongoing joint ‘FUA Economic Promotion Project’’; - R5: ‘The agreement obliged us to maintain this type of information/promotion and it was implemented. As far as the territorial brand is concerned, we emphasized joint action, joint management of the problems of the municipalities identified together’; - R6: ‘In this new document—such as the Supra-Local Development Strategy—we will certainly want the contractor [external company preparing the document] to highlight this. We don’t have a brand identified documentation-wise. We have created our logo’; - R9: ‘To answer directly—yes, we have this in mind. In the context of the supra-local strategy—I cannot yet answer how this will look. But of course yes, it will be taken into account’; - R10: ‘We can consider development of our local identity as our brand’; - R11: ‘We have put a lot of work into making residents aware of the Agglomeration in general. This is what we have tried to promote successively. I think it is already well recognized among the municipalities to which we travelled quite a lot. That’s because the residents weren’t quite aware of what the Agglomeration was exactly either, and I think that’s changing now. The residents are becoming a part of it’; - R15: ‘We had a weekly newspaper created within the FUA. In the weekly there was information about cultural events, about concerts, about successes of school children, about sports, about history—everything that would be of interest to residents. Over time, we started to receive information from residents that they were very happy with this weekly, that they didn’t know about such events or attractions’;
Neutral	- R8: ‘We did not have to build this brand, of course it is being built because we always write—or partners write—that a given investment was realized with funds, among others, apart from programs that are required/obligatory when it comes to raising funds—they also write about FUAs and ITI. There was no such campaign or collection of all this in such a uniform publication/presentation. Why? Also for the reason that these projects are now coming to an end’; - R12: ‘We had to fit in with the information and promotional activities of the Marshall of the Regional Operational Program. We therefore had to enter into these designated tracks, into the ‘stile’’;
Anti-branding	- R2: ‘From the new perspective, our FUA will split and there will be 2 separate FUAs. So, we didn’t promote the brand in any way, it wasn’t in our interest, because we didn’t want to create a common brand’; - R7: ‘Up to now we have not, in my opinion, put enough emphasis on communicating aspects of our activities or promoting this. But this has also been a deliberate action, for the reason that we have been oriented towards typically substantive activities. We have tried not to promote ourselves, but rather to promote the municipalities that are in the Association’; - R13: ‘The issue of territorial branding was not a key issue. As local authorities, we are also at the stage of building their own local brands. It is important for us to be locally distinct. Local governments are not too keen to have a brand imposed on them, because everyone is building their own local brands. Visual identity issues have been developed. The metropolis logo was developed in 2014 as part of another project’; - R14: ‘Rather, no one within this first strategy focused on marketing as such, whether to ‘sell’ ourselves externally or, generally, to ‘sell’ ourselves internally—somewhere within our office’.

Source: own elaboration.

includes quotes from interviews according to the breakdown of positive, neutral, and negative statements that were identified during the study.

It can clearly be seen that pro-branding statements predominated within the given answers. Neutral and anti-branding responses indicated a lack of awareness of the need for place branding issues or the barrier of individual municipalities building an individual brand. In addition, top-down requirements for the functioning of ITI offices and the creation of logos were mentioned, which for many units constituted the main element of the created brand.

6. Inclusion of Place Branding Issues in ITI Strategies

As with the responses regarding place branding in FUAs overall, individual units gave similar responses. Those that did not notice such activities overall also did not note their existence in their ITI strategies. Similar to Table 2,

Table 3. Inclusion of place branding issues in ITI strategies.

	IDI Results
Presence	- R4: ‘In fact, a logo book was created, a logo—with the enlargement of the FUA it is so universal, attractive and up-to-date that now, when new members joined us, we also made such walls with the logo when signing such letters of intent, even outside the project, because it turned out to be such broader activities, because it was aimed at economic promotion, but it really translated here into the recognisability of the FUA and within the framework of our ITI cooperation’; - R5: ‘An exchange of good practice, which we have tried quite hard to implement. The fact that we have such diverse municipalities is also important. This meant that we had to look at problems from different perspectives’; - R7: ‘The ITI strategy is to do this and set the pursuit of image building as one of the tasks. A concrete action will be the development of a communication strategy whether with the external environment or internally’; - R9: ‘Above all, within the framework of the strategy, our demand was for joint economic-tourist-recreational promotion within the budgets in the respective unit. Because each territorial unit is characterized by a different characteristic product of the area, which results from certain conditions’; - R10: ‘In the strategic objectives of the ITI we have included a point like this, e.g., ‘strengthening local identity, inter alia through cooperation with NGOs’. This regional identity can constitute this FUA brand’; - R11: ‘Within the framework of information and promotion activities, we tried to bring the idea of integrated actions closer’; - R12: ‘Because some of the ITI projects are supposed to show an integrated character, we came up with a plan in the office that will allow us to promote in a modern and coherent way for the whole area—a modern approach to sustainable mobility and a low-carbon economy’; - R13: ‘The emphasis is on the brand of the funds from external institutions and not on the brand of the metropolis. A brand is a brand, but for us it is important that there is consistent branding, e.g., cycle paths’;
Neutrality	- R15: ‘We are implementing joint investment partnerships outside the FUA. Selected municipalities—not all forming the FUA—undertake individual collaborations. There are projects outside the ITI office’;
Absence	- R1: ‘There is nothing about marketing in the ITI strategy. We, in the meantime, when we were already functioning for a few years, created a document called ‘Economic promotion strategy with elements of tourism promotion strategy’ and this is a document that was prepared for us by an external entity’; - R2: ‘There was no agreement to create an internal brand and the ministry did not provide more funding for this purpose’; - R3: ‘The ITI strategy itself has no such section on promotion. Promotion within the FUA itself is done through projects, but not always either’; - R6: ‘We certainly don’t have any branding put into the ITI strategy’; - R8: ‘In the previous perspective there were 16 partners, now we have 27 partners so by talking about a territorial brand we would be committing one faux pas, which is that for the previous period of six years we would have been promoting or creating the brand of the 16, yes? And now we have a brand of 27, I’m not a marketing specialist so I don’t want to comment, whereas I think it would be some kind of a gaffe’; - R14: ‘So in fact there were problems of pure identification within our unit. Who are we anyway, what are we for, what do we actually do? But we as the ITI office have not created any such document, any manual. We are following the guidelines’.

Source: own elaboration.

contains quotes from interviews according to the breakdown of statements regarding the presence, neutrality, and absence of place branding issues within the ITI strategies.

As with the questions about involvement in branding issues, there was a similar distribution of responses regarding their inclusion in ITI strategies. It is worth noting an answer that was labeled ‘neutral’—the FUA in question was introducing activities promoting branding concepts through co-operation, but on a scale broader (or narrower) than that within the municipalities that make up the FUA in question. Those answers that indicated the absence of place branding issues in ITI strategies were primarily due to the nature of ITI offices, which are primarily designed to focus on carrying out tasks imposed on them in advance—or identified within the framework of residents’ needs.

7. Relevance of Place Branding Issues in the Development of FUAs

In this case, most people responded positively. Even if they stated that they have not carried out such activities so far, they are definitely open to such activities in the future.

Table 4. Relevance of place branding issues in the development of FUAs.

	IDI Results
Relevant	- R1: ‘We are going to do everything we can to get funding and start working on this’; - R3: ‘With all our forces we promote the FUA, its projects and its effects very strongly. There are very few resources for promotion and they focus on the responsibilities of the beneficiary’; - R4: ‘Business meetings, economic forums, bringing together speakers and authorities from all over the country, from all over the European format. So it was even possible to go further somewhere with this logo, with the logo developed. The municipalities themselves have asked whether such activities can be continued in the current perspective’; - R5: ‘We will definitely continue such promotion in the new perspective. We will put a very strong emphasis on the theme of cooperation, partnership and cohesion, but not only in the context of investment and development’; - R6: ‘Definitely the brand is a very important part of the future perspective’; - R7: ‘Do we want to be recognized among the residents? Rather, for now, we want to be recognized among officials, among our partners. We will continue to communicate to the residents the division into municipalities of the Metropolis, rather than the Metropolis as a whole. This is being discussed and brainstormed all the time’; - R10: ‘I think rather yes, because this will let people know that there is such a thing as a FUA. So that the municipal authorities themselves understand that you don’t have to act on your own, but to cooperate and create an area of mutual cooperation, where you can talk about problems, to solve these problems. I think this is important’; - R11: ‘We have 21 units making up the sub-region. Territorially, this is ¼ of the entire region. More than 60% of the region’s companies operate in the agglomeration. We have experience, which makes us invited and listened to as experts in the creation of regional policy’; - R12: ‘We put pressure on these local authorities to show in some way that the activities belong to our area. For example, on Facebook by adding a hashtag. We would consolidate our identity and sell it as cycle paths, ecology—maybe’; - R15: ‘We are geared towards residents. Information such as strategies, strategy consultations and other such information is posted on our pages. This is not our main area of interest’;
Neutral	- R2: ‘We used to be called a duopoly in an official government document—possibly we will seek a change in branding to stop being called that’; - R9: ‘We see territorial marketing as important and should be developed in the new perspective, but prioritizing—I don’t know if it is the most important. I think that here we come back to the basic problem again. That is, the need and the possibility of financing projects that would solve these needs’; - R14: ‘There is no formal and legal stability. We are currently talking about a 5-year perspective, this is one EU perspective and it is a very short time perspective. Perhaps long enough that this brand should be solidly promoted/built, perhaps not’;
Irrelevant	- R8: ‘We, as the ITI office, are not in charge of promotion. If there is such a project or a problem reported that we have to, that the aldermen, the residents will say—listen, we are such a region that is unpromoted in Poland, that the residents don’t know that we have such nice things—then for us it will be one of the issues that we have to solve’; - R13: ‘For us there are other things that are important. There will certainly come a time when the Metropolis itself will break through more into the consciousness of the residents. For now, the residents’ sense of belonging to the Metropolis is very low’.

Source: own elaboration.

includes quotes from interviews according to the breakdown of relevant, neutral, and irrelevant statements that were identified during the study.

Although it may not be directly apparent from all of the quoted statements, the vast majority of individuals consider place branding issues to be important in the development of FUAs. Some pointed to the general relevance of the concept, others to specific target groups they are focusing on (residents, investors, tourists), or ideas for building a brand in their area. There were also negative statements, which again emphasized that at this point in time, marketing in a broad sense is not the goal of ITI offices.

8. Discussion

The aim of this study was to identify the approach of Polish FUAs in terms of activities related to marketing and place branding. In addition, the research identified the focus and examples of marketing, branding, and promotional activities undertaken to date for individual FUAs.

Table 5. FUAs committed to building their own place brand emerging from the study.

FUA	Marketing Goals	IDI Interpretation	Commentary
Białystok	- Attractiveness for investments	- Pro-branding of FUA - Absence of place branding issues in ITI strategy - Place branding issues relevant for development	- Separate document created—not implemented - Created tourism product—Pearls of Białystok FUA
Bydgoszcz-Toruń	- Image/brand - Support for entrepreneurship - Relations	- Anti-branding of FUA - Absence of place branding issues in ITI strategy - Lack of relevance of place branding issues in FUA development	- Split of the FUA in new time perspective
Gdańsk-Gdynia-Sopot	- Image/brand - Support for entrepreneurship - Attractiveness for residents - Attractiveness for tourists - Integration	- Pro-branding of FUA - Absence of place branding issues in ITI strategy - Place branding issues relevant for development	- Promotion through social media - Promotion through projects carried out within ITI strategy
Gorzów Wielkopolski	- Image/brand - Relations	- Pro-branding of FUA - Presence of place branding issues in ITI strategy - Place branding issues relevant for development	- Focus on the economic promotion aspect - Separate document created focusing on marketing
Katowice	- Image/brand - Support for entrepreneurship - Attractiveness for residents - Strengthening the metropolitan area function	- Pro-branding of FUA - Presence of place branding issues in ITI strategy - Place branding issues relevant for development	- Promotion through mutual stakeholder support - Focus on the environmental aspect
Kielce	- Image/brand - Attractiveness for investments - Attractiveness for tourists	- Pro-branding of FUA - Absence of place branding issues in ITI strategy - Place branding issues relevant for development	- Focus on the natural wealth aspect, including an amphitheatre set in a limestone quarry - Attractiveness for tourists - Attractiveness for residents - Special portal set up for the FUA and its ITI office
Kraków	- Image/brand - Attractiveness for residents	- Anti-branding of FUA - Presence of place branding issues in ITI strategy - Place branding issues relevant for development	- Focus on the economic promotion aspect - Focus on the environmental aspect - Separate project created focusing on marketing - Creation of a new job position for marketing issues - Conducted research to establish USP * and brand awareness
Lublin	- Image/brand - Relations - Strengthening the metropolitan area function	- Neutral involvement in place branding issues - Absence of place branding issues in ITI strategy - Place branding issues irrelevant for development	- Focus on problem solving - Attractiveness for residents - Branding as a by-product of the executed actions
Łódź	- Attractiveness for investments - Integration	- Pro-branding of FUA - Presence of place branding issues in ITI strategy - Lack of relevance of place branding issues in FUA development	- Integration - Focus on economic, regeneration, tourism and leisure aspects
Olsztyn	- Image/brand - Attractiveness for residents	- Pro-branding of FUA - Presence of place branding issues in ITI strategy - Place branding issues relevant for development	- Building local identity as a FUA brand
Opole	- Image/brand - Attractiveness for investments	- Pro-branding of FUA - Presence of place branding issues in ITI strategy - Place branding issues relevant for development	- Information and promotional activities to bring the idea of the FUA closer to the public
Szczecin	- Image/brand - Support for entrepreneurship - Attractiveness for residents - Attractiveness for tourists - Integration	- Neutral involvement in place branding issues - Presence of place branding issues in ITI strategy - Place branding issues relevant for development	- Attractiveness for residents - Focus on transport and urban mobility aspects - Promotion through social media - Promotion through projects carried out within ITI strategy
Warszawa	- Support for entrepreneurship - Integration - Relations	- Anti-branding of FUA - Presence of place branding issues in ITI strategy - Place branding issues irrelevant for development	- Promotion through projects carried out within ITI strategy - ITI as an element of cooperation formation - FUA municipalities as separately built brands - Focus on the aspect of low-carbon mobility
Wrocław	- Image/brand - Support for entrepreneurship - Attractiveness for investments	- Anti-branding of FUA - Absence of place branding issues in ITI strategy - Lack of relevance of place branding issues in FUA development	- Focus on intra-area promotion among municipalities - A weak brand that may change within each successive timeframe - Overabundance of administrative entities that undermine the legibility of the FUA brand
Zielona Góra	- Image/brand - Support for entrepreneurship - Attractiveness for tourists	- Pro-branding of FUA - Neutrality regarding inclusion of place branding issues in ITI strategy - Place branding issues relevant for development	- Integration - Attractiveness for residents - Support for entrepreneurship - Focus on aspects of information and promotion of the available resources

* USP—Unique Selling Proposition. Source: own elaboration on the basis of Matwiejczyk et al. (2020) [32].

summarizes the marketing objectives of each examined FUA that could be identified within their ITI strategies, along with the responses given during the IDIs. It includes an interpretation of the responses given (included in Table 2, Table 3 and Table 4) on three key issues: attitudes toward place branding issues, the inclusion of these issues within the ITI strategy, and the relevance of these issues in the development of FUAs. The last column provides additional information that emerged from the interview with individual unit representatives.

It is worth bearing in mind that the provided responses were given after the 2014–2020 timeframe had ended. At that point, FUAs were at the development stage of the new ITI strategy for the 2021–2027 timeframe. Most of the areas referred to the strategy already developed and expressed a desire to deepen the broader marketing issues in the next timeframe. The differences in responses may be due to the fact that most FUAs outsource the preparation of their ITI strategies to external companies. As some of the interviewees admitted, they were not always aware of what was included in the strategy. For the creation of such a strategy to actually have the desired effect, it is worth considering the literature on management. It should be indicated that in order to implement the strategy successfully, it is crucial to take into account such aspects as information systems, allocation of resources, personnel management, learning, formal organization structure, organizational culture, and political factors [58].

It can be further noted that representatives from eight FUAs confirmed that marketing objectives and place branding issues were addressed in their ITI strategy. Only one FUA responded in a neutral manner. The remaining areas were answered in the negative but indicated specific activities related to promotion, marketing, and branding issues. Some interviewees answered in the negative if marketing issues were not directly stated as the main goal in their ITI strategy, although they appeared indirectly within other objectives. This discrepancy in responses, while the desk research noted marketing objectives, is due to the varying priority given to these types of activities. A recurring theme that ITI offices are aiming to promote is sustainable urban mobility. The topic of sustainability is hardly novel, and the fact that these units are prioritizing this action so highly only underlines how much more there is to do in this area [59].

What is also worth noting is, as can be seen in Table 5, the mention of social media as a primary tool for FUA’s branding. This ties in with literature, where an increasing emphasis on marketing activities in the virtual sphere can be noted. This also applies to place branding—social media helps level the playing field for FUAs with smaller budgets as it offers relatively lower costs than traditional media [60,61,62]. To some extent, this helps those FUAs overcome one of the main barriers they identified concerning funding [21].

In line with what was noted during the interviews, there are also references in the literature to the fact that the implementation of place branding policies is primarily based on responding appropriately to emerging social and economic challenges [61]. It also solidifies the implementation of the concept of city diplomacy within the context of young diplomacy countries, which seek horizontal cooperation within their local governments for the realization of their strategic development plans [8]. However, in contrast to what interviewees indicated, the literature suggests that budget has no impact on the effectiveness of place branding [47].

As the literature sources emphasize, branding is not just a logo [63,64]. However, most of the FUAs continue to associate the brand precisely with the logo. This causes a paradox, as the very concept of the brand, its identity, is different from its perceived image. Experts in brand theory note that there is no such definition of a brand that is approved by all [65]. Some literature sources see positives in this phenomenon, such as the fact that while the concept of a brand has been in existence for many years, it is still a dynamic and fast-growing area of research [66]. Ultimately, in the case of the development of regional brands, it must be remembered that in this case, the action of the authorities is key, as is that of local people and organizations, which is extremely important in the case of FUAs [67].

Branding is a deliberate action to improve or change the current image [68]. These activities include designing, planning, and communicating the image created [69]. Based on the conducted research, it is apparent that errors are noticeable at each of these identified stages within FUAs.

9. Conclusions

The purpose of the article was to examine the approach of Polish FUAs, the core of which are voivodeship capitals, to issues of place branding. The purpose of the article was achieved by comparing the answers provided in the IDIs with the information contained in the ITI strategies of individual units. The responses indicated varying levels of knowledge and commitment to the concept, although a significant number of the interviewed FUAs expressed a desire to increase their place branding activities.

In terms of policy implications, thought should be given to the structure of how FUAs operate around voivodeship capitals. Currently, FUAs in Poland function on the basis of their offices and implement ITI strategies. A significant number of representatives of ITI offices pointed out that at the present moment they are primarily focused on cooperation with internal and external stakeholders focused on improving the living standards of residents. Despite the fact that FUAs at this stage are not experiencing strong competition among themselves, they see the potential to apply the concept of place branding. It is therefore worthwhile to pay attention to the training of these units in terms of branding, increasing their knowledge and competence in this area to increase their chances of success. It could also be beneficial for them to create a sub-unit outside ITI offices that would channel and set the direction of promotion and branding. By doing so, the offices could—as they themselves emphasized during the interviews—operate according to their strategies and at the same time have branding aspects written into their foundations.

Conclusively, as pointed out earlier, there is a wide divergence in the understanding of terms such as ‘marketing’, ‘promotion’, or ‘place branding’, which has a significant impact on the planning of activities within their scope.

The limitation of the study is due to the research method, as a qualitative study was chosen, which makes it impossible to generalize the conclusions. This is also influenced by the characteristics of Polish FUAs—the functioning of such areas in other countries certainly differs from their functioning in Poland. This is highly dependent on the human factor and the level of knowledge/learning, aspects that, as previously mentioned, management theory identifies as crucial in the implementation of effective strategies [34].

A future study should include a new time perspective and its strategy. It would also be worthwhile to carry out a study within the framework of other countries where FUAs are gaining importance and are a basic unit to be considered for planned territorial actions.