Is Barcelona a brand? Yes, but it depends. It is not according to the technical definition of the concept of a brand made by publicist Toni Segarra, who considers that a brand, necessarily, is a simplification, so trying to encapsulate the enormous complexity inherent in a city like Barcelona into a brand is too difficult. "It makes me nervous that we try to reduce Barcelona to a brand," admits Segarra, considered the best Spanish creative of the 20th century.
And, then, if it's not a brand, what is it? According to the co-founder of the SCPF and Alegre Roca agencies, what does exist is "a perception of what Barcelona is in the world," that is, the city internationally projects a brand image that, in his opinion, "is close to the extraordinary." "Considering what Barcelona is, that it is not a state capital and that it is not excessively large, it has an image, a perception, a feeling of enormous value, but I don't know if we can exactly say it is a brand, I am very rigid, technically it is hard for me to enclose it within the parameters of a brand due to its complexity," says Segarra.
Much more flexible is the vision of Ignasi Puig, also co-founder of SCPF, and current CEO of the Pret-A-Com agency, who considers that brands "are built and exist in people's minds," so the Barcelona brand "is everything that people have in their minds related to the city, from more tangible aspects, such as Gaudí's architecture or Las Ramblas, to more intangible issues such as good quality of life, creativity or that we are a welcoming and advanced city."
"It is true that brands are like living beings, they evolve, and that, in the case of cities, there is always a greater degree of complexity, but we need to reduce that complexity to be able to work, and we call that simplification the Barcelona brand, it is a practical matter," argues Puig to defend the idea that one can indeed speak of the existence of the Barcelona brand.
In this sense, in the logic of simplification, Segarra admits that a Barcelona brand can indeed be built if we focus it towards a specific segment of the public to whom we want to sell something: "For example, the Barcelona brand that attracts talent, we can indeed build it," in reference to strategies to attract digital talent or nomadic professionals. "For this public, we do have the possibility of building a brand, because we can sell them that Barcelona is a modern city where life is very good; that is, a place where they will have no problems developing their work and, on top of that, when they finish work, they will hardly be better off than here."
This debate kicked off the first session of 2023 of the Barcelona Global Duets cycle, organized by Barcelona Global and which this year has the collaboration of The New Barcelona Post. It is a series of dialogues that aim to confront the views of two global Barcelonians, one residing in Barcelona and the other living and working abroad. The first meeting, featuring Toni Segarra and Ignasi Puig, took place last Thursday, February 23, and was moderated by fellow Barcelona Global partner, Bibiana Ballbè, founder of the creative agency TheCreativeAgency. The session could be followed live via streaming and is now also available in this same article or on the Barcelona Global Youtube channel.
Beyond the technicality of what is or is not a brand, both professionals agreed on highlighting the great treasure that Barcelona's global perception represents. "The city is astonishingly known internationally," emphasizes Toni Segarra, who alludes to the "exemplary" work carried out during the 1992 Olympic Games, which allowed the city to "make a strategic leap," something that has not happened with all Olympic cities.
"The Olympic Games were a massive advertising campaign! That's where the city's current global brand image comes from," the publicist stresses. "The Barcelona product is an extraordinary product, objectively," he adds, referring to it being a "very livable and beautiful place," by the sea and with security, which quickly made it a successful tourist destination after becoming known thanks to the Olympics.
Ignasi Puig, who has lived in Miami for almost 20 years, expresses a similar view: "From the United States, what I see is that the positive perception of the Barcelona brand continues to grow." "All my American friends want to visit Barcelona and, when they return, they come back fascinated, they live an extraordinarily positive experience. Barcelona never disappoints," he emphasizes. Segarra is of the same opinion: "when people from outside come, they recognize that we have a city we don't deserve. We are better off than we think."
And so, how does this very positive vision fit with the general feeling that Barcelona is no longer what it used to be and that it is in decline?, Ballbè asks them. "Barcelonians are very critical of our city, it is true that there is a lot of noise at the local level, but it does not reach the US. Internationally, Barcelona's evolution continues to be positive, these local perceptions do not transcend, they remain in the most local environment," Puig testifies.
For his part, Segarra believes that "there is a lot of self-complacent complaining," but acknowledges that today there is a new debate that has to do with the political model of the city that has been built in the last eight years. "There has been a strategic change in the city model, which is reasonably different from what it was," so he considers that the debate that has arisen is something totally normal and that it is part of the nature of human beings, "who are critical beings." "Criticism ---he points out--- is also part of that usual never-give-up attitude of Barcelona. This city, usually, never stops."
Toni Segarra: "Barcelona, inevitably, must advance to be a more sustainable, more equitable, and fairer place"The partner at Alegre Roca recalls how Mayor Pasqual Maragall had the vision to "Americanize Barcelona" and that today, with the new model, we are at the opposite extreme. "Maragall complained that before the public had to stimulate the private, when in the United States it is the other way around, where the public tends to manage the brutal push of the private. I believe that today, precisely, we are at the opposite extreme,there is excessive public intervention in Barcelona. The other model generates more growth and wealth," Segarra reflects.
But then, where should Barcelona go? Segarra asks to flee from nostalgia and from wanting to return "to lost paradises" that do not exist. "Barcelona, inevitably, must advance to be a more sustainable, more equitable, and more just place. We must find a way to achieve this while continuing to generate wealth. Barcelona is full of people eager to build in that direction," he considers.
And, how would they design a campaign to boost the Barcelona brand if they were commissioned? "Essentially, it would be a continuous campaign, because we are talking about a brand that has positive inertia," Puig argues. According to this advertising professional, it would be about "maintaining the essences and the most structural aspects of the brand" and "updating and incorporating more contemporary values."
According to Puig, in this brand update, it is very important to take into account that the competitive framework has changed. "Until now ---he explains---, Barcelona has developed in a very comfortable competitive environment, it was, exaggerating a bit, in a monopolistic market," but now "there is fierce competition among cities to attract talent." "I am not very clear that we are aware of this radical change that is taking place in the city market. We live in a new competitive environment where it is no longer about attracting tourists, it is about attracting talent, the best doctors, engineers, or programmers, to come to live and work in the city and develop their life project," he emphasizes.
For this reason, Puig urges to get to work because the world "is getting smaller and smaller" and there are more and more global competitors to attract the talent we lack and retain the one we already have. "A change of attitude is clearly needed, it is necessary to change speed and gain in aggressiveness, to make things happen," defends the also member of the
Ignasi Puig: "A change of attitude is clearly needed, it is necessary to change speed and gain in aggressiveness, to make things happen"Toni Segarra shares Puig's vision, pointing out that "it is a long-term race in which, without a doubt, Barcelona is invited to participate," but, "beyond eating well, living well, and being able to go to the beach" there are many aspects that must be improved in tune with the various programs promoted by Barcelona Global to improve the city's competitiveness and attractiveness. "Many of the necessary infrastructures must be improved" to attract this talent, Segarra emphasizes, referring to issues such as salaries, school availability, taxation, or excessive bureaucracy.
In the Q&A session, the president of Barcelona Global, Maite Barrera, expressed concern about the impact that a recently published article in the Financial Times, which stated that the city had lost its way, might have had on the Barcelona brand.
In Puig's opinion, "the importance of the article must be relativized" because "the facts will prove it wrong." "We have to play our cards, which are winning cards. Cities and brands are living beings, everything has its evolution, with better and worse moments. What matters are the trends, and the trend is positive, Barcelona is on the rise. If we have lost our way, we will surely find a new direction to reach a safe harbor," he states.
The America's Cup: new opportunity
"We resurface when we are in a terrible state," concludes Segarra, who notes that Barcelona "is a cyclical city." "The worst is over; Barcelona is once again in a moment of ascent," and this will be evident with the upcoming celebration of the America's Cup next year: "it will undoubtedly be an opportunity for Barcelona, one more to remain in the spotlight." This opinion is shared by Ignasi Puig, who believes that being the venue for this important global competition "will accelerate the city's positive inertia." "We must seize this opportunity; it will be a turning point towards something better."
For Ignasi Puig, among the "winning cards" that Barcelona has at its disposal, there is one that is not being played with enough determination: "if the objective is to attract talent, Barcelona must give greater prominence to its university and top business school ecosystem such as IESE and Esade, which occupy the top positions in all rankings." "All the universities we have are excellent, as happens in Boston," concludes Puig, referring to the American city that should serve as a "model and reference" for Barcelona.
"Toni, would you leave Barcelona, as Ignasi did?" Ballbè asked Segarra. "For a while, yes, but not for long... many times I have wondered where I would go to live if I didn't live here, but for those of us who like to eat well, there aren't that many places in the world to go," replied the publicist, laughing, who confessed to being "a fanatic of gastronomy."