Modern Brands as Images of the City in the Public Opinion: an Analysis of the Research on the Example of the City of Irkutsk

In the era of the competition of cities for their inhabitants and attracting investment for their development, an interesting, recognizable (strong) brand has a significant impact on its competitiveness. At the same time, the analysis of modern scientific literature indicates the absence of a unified approach to the definition of a brand; a particular difficulty is the insufficient definition of the concepts of a territory brand and a city brand. This article is devoted to the study of the development problems and the formation of the brand of Irkutsk. The aim of the work is the analysis of various sociological studies conducted in recent years, in which the opinion of the inhabitants of the city of Irkutsk on its image is studied. The results will serve as one of the elements in the development of the city’s brand. The authors analyze the sociological studies which used various research methods: a semi-structured interview, a questionnaire, a content analysis of electronic media. They observe the individual components of the city’s image and highlight their influence on the formation of the city’s brand. The authors identify the key city symbols and interpret their specific character according to the Irkutsk residents. They come to the conclusion that the inhabitants of Irkutsk consider it necessary to form the concept of the city, which should become the basis for creating a brand of the city and of the territory as a whole.