A dimensão estratégica da comunicação para construção da marca lugar: os sentidos atribuídos à cidade de Salvador pelas administrações municipais no período pós-redemocratização (1986-2016)

Abstract

This research aimed to understand the formulation of municipal administration strategies in Salvador concerning the creation of a place brand throughout different cycles of governance in the post-redemocratization phase of the country. The investigation covered the management of five mayors: Mário Kertesz (1986-1988), Lídice da Mata (1993-1996), Antônio Imbassahy (1997-2004), João Henrique (2005-2012), and Antônio Carlos Magalhães Neto (2013-2016). Concepts such as place brand, city brand, city image, and government communication were interconnected to understand the contributions of the City Hall in attributing meaning to the city and promoting the local image. It is a case study using process tracing as a procedure, identifying intracase causal mechanisms for each management period. Methodological procedures included identifying institutional actors in public administration involved in forming a city vision, collecting information on the involvement of consultancies and communication agencies in campaign execution, document research on city projects and programs, and conducting interviews with key informants for each municipal governance cycle. Aiming to understand the city as a meaning-enunciating instance and considering the municipal administration as the protagonist in the local image construction process, an analytical model was developed, interpreting each municipal administration cycle through: 1) the analysis of mayors' speeches at the beginning of their terms (intentions and vision for the city's future); 2) identification and analysis of management projects and programs related to the city brand idea (strategy and operationalization of this city vision); and 3) understanding the involved communication strategies. Documentary analysis of speeches, projects, and programs revealed a set of independent variables that repeated to varying degrees across the mentioned periods. Results indicate the convergence of certain themes as essential for developing a city brand (culture, tourism, and infrastructure) while highlighting the impact of ideological differences between political groups in office, contributing to the difficulty instructuring a long-term city brand, as opposed to a government brand. As a contribution to the field of study, there is a recognized need to understand the city brand phenomenon beyond approaches that solely view it as an action for the tourism promotion of destinations but rather engaging with contemporary emerging dimensions such as environmental, social, and participatory governance.