Brand identifiers as a tool of territorial development

One of the promising areas of scientific research today is branding of territories. This issue is widely covered in the context of territorial marketing. Brand influence on recipient’s behavior is a significant brand management goal. That is why branding is actively used today in economy, in particular, when creating a territorial image. The development of urban space is predetermined by the need to form strategic guidelines that are adaptive to the existing competitive potential of the territory, dynamically changing environmental conditions, and toughening competition in the investment, information, labor, event, tourist and other markets. In this regard, the issues of territory’s promotion in the domestic and intercountry spaces by means of creating a recognizable urban brand which is associated with the most significant competitive advantages of the territory become more and more crucial. The importance of understanding the category of territory branding in the economic context is determined, in our opinion, by the formation of a territory brand, which helps to significantly strengthen the regional identity aimed at the elimination of various contradictions of religious, national character, as well as solution of problematic issues connected with the coexistence of various social groups within the same region. In order to determine the influence of brand identifiers on the economic development of the region, the authors have conducted a marketing study among the population of the Republic of Crimea, in which 242 respondents from various social and age groups took part. The survey reveals: respondents’ awareness of regional symbols depending on their age; respondents’ emotional perception of the logo of the city of Yalta; associative perception of the logo of the city of Saki; visual perception of the logo of the city of Kerch; knowledge of the logo of the city of Sudak; associative perception of the logo of the city of Feodosia; attitude of the population of the Republic of Crimea to the logos of cities in the region.