Branding and identity of urban space through the prism of emblems

The article presents a theoretical and methodological study of the process of forming a territory brand in the structure of urban marketing, since in the conditions of competition of territories for various types of resources, the issues of attracting and retaining potential consumers of territorial services become particularly relevant. In the process of creating a city brand, it is necessary to identify and differentiate competitive advantages that are unique and of value to various target groups of consumers. The paper presents and characterizes the stages of creating an urban brand. It is determined that the basis of urban branding is the creation of its identity, through the formation and consolidation of such an image that would inform, motivate and interest to visit this city. The creation of identity in the work is considered as a tool for the development of the city, the promotion of its resources and advantages, which will contribute to increasing its competitiveness. The role of the coat of arms as a polysemiotic tool for symbolic transmission of information in the process of creating the image of the city is characterized. Based on the conducted experiments, it is proved that the symbolic elements of the coat of arms cannot always be correctly interpreted in the minds of the audience, as a result of which difficulties arise in identifying the city and forming its incorrect image.