Brücke / Bridge, City of Chengdu, Sichuan province, China (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Chengdu’s Global PR Plans Signal Rise Of China’s Tier Two Cities.

David explains why the move by the Chengdu city government to expand its location marketing effort is a wise move.

Another wise move is Ogilvy‘s effort to build a location marketing practice. China’s cities have long depended on face-to-face meetings with a continuous flood of foreign businessmen to bring investment into their cities, and tourism marketing was handled even less systematically. The reason is one of knowledge and capability rather than intent. Yet even when these cities recognized their shortcomings, few understood where to go for help.

As Ogilvy demonstrates, the answer is clearly-marked and marketed expertise.