TERRITORIAL BRANDING IN THE DIGITAL ENVIRONMENT: PROSPECTS AND CHALLENGES FOR LOCAL DEVELOPMENT

Abstract

Branding of territories in the digital environment today is becoming a key tool for shaping the competitiveness of cities and regions, developing tourism, attracting investments and strengthening social cohesion of the community. Digital technologies allow territories not only to form a unique image, but also to directly interact with various target audiences – tourists, investors, residents and the business environment. The article analyzes the prospects and challenges of using digital tools for branding territories for local development with an emphasis on the practice of the city of Lviv. The work identifies the following main prospects for using digital tools for branding territories, such as: increasing the recognition of the territory, increasing tourist attractiveness, attracting investments and developing the business ecosystem, increasing community participation in brand formation, personalizing communication with target audiences, integrating the brand with the concept of “smart city” and sustainable development. At the same time, the implementation of digital branding tools for territories is accompanied by a number of challenges: marketing risks and limitations, information overload and competition for audience attention, bureaucratic and political restrictions in management processes, inequality of access to digital resources and technologies, the danger of a one-way or superficial narrative, reputational challenges in the event of crisis situations. To overcome these challenges, a set of management solutions has been proposed, which includes the development of strategic brand campaigns, the implementation of digital analytics, community involvement through inclusive digital platforms, ensuring transparency and prompt response in crisis situations, etc. The main prospects for the application of digital branding tools for Lviv have been identified and management recommendations have been proposed to overcome key challenges that may affect the effectiveness of local development. The results obtained allow us to conclude that digital tools for branding territories are an effective direction for the sustainable development of cities, in particular Lviv, provided that there is a systematic approach to managing prospects and challenges.