 As of 2011, the global competition of cities is estimated to host at least 2.7 million small cities/towns, 3,000 large cities, and 455 metropolises,

In essence, place branding is "a strategy for projecting images and managing perceptions about places".As such, it purposes to induce affective responses from consumers, thereby forming meaningful relationship between person and place.Most often associated with capitalistic function, branding has traditionally been understood as a strategy used upon promoting goods and services to evoke emotional response from consumers.