Antecedents of residents' city brand attitudes

City branding is a relatively new area of academic research in marketing. Earlier research focuses on city brand images and particularly the contrast in brand image between cities. Essentially that attention reflects the interest of policy makers in developing sound competitive brand positions, with the aim of achieving a competitive advantage. The current paper shifts the focus to explaining the brand attitudes that residents have of a particular city. What are the key antecedents (city attributes) influencing city brand attitudes? The paper reports on a quantitative survey of a sample of 878 residents of the Cold Coast City. The findings show that the major antecedents are social bonds, a sun and surf brand personality, and creative business. Safety, nature and cultural activities are also influential attributes. Apart from insight into how city brand attitudes are shaped, the paper provides a framework for public policy intervention to improve the urban environment. (C) 2008 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.