Ricerc@Sapienza

This new piece of research is inscribed within a broad research programme on
Place-identity and Social Representations of European Capitals in first visitors of six
different nationalities begun by de Rosa in the 1980s (de Rosa, 1995; 1997; 2013b) -
later developed along multiple interrelated research lines based on “field studies” and
“media studies”, inspired by the modelling approach to social representations that
articulates different constructs/theories (like social representations, collective memory,
place-identity, attitudes, social practices, branding…) techniques and
verbal/textual/iconic communicative channels (de Rosa, 2013a; 2013c). In particular
this contribution represents an integrative work concerning a study on the
“Destination@-branding” (Morrison & Anderson, 2002) of ten European Capitals.
In accordance with the model of “destination branding” (Cai, 2002) - 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 brands of Rome, London, Paris, Helsinki, Vienna, Warsaw, Berlin, Madrid,
Brussels and Lisbon are the symbolic tools and cultural artefacts created in different
historical periods in order to contribute to the “distinctiveness” of the different cities
and the objectification of different social representations anchored in their history and
collective memories.
Therefore, the first aim is to compare the iconic structural elements of the brands (ancient and modern stems and logos) of the ten historical European capitals, which
play a determinant role in the narration of urban history.
The research also compares the social representations evoked by brands (stems
and logos) of the ten European Capitals among potential first-visitors.
Moreover, by considering that the branding is an evolutionary process (rebranding) the
contribution analyses the recent transformations of some commercial brands in a
longitudinal perspective.
Finally, the contribution integrates the results of the analysis of the main graphic
element of the branding in the framework of the more complex research programme (de
Rosa, Bocci, Dryjanska, 2017), suggesting a preliminary overview of the Destination
@-Branding focused on the iconic social representations.