TERRITORIAL BRAND COMMUNICATIONS IN POST-CRISIS RECOVERY

Abstract

The article examines place brand communications as an instrument of post-crisis territorial recovery. The purpose of the study is to provide a theoretical rationale for the role of territorial brand communications in post-crisis recovery and to demonstrate how they shape the trust of key stakeholders in a territory as a safe, predictable and promising space for investment, tourism and living. The topicality of the issue is driven by intensified competition among territories for capital, people, tourist flows and partnership support under conditions of heightened uncertainty, where decisions increasingly hinge on trust and the predictability of rules. In this context, brand communications help reduce information asymmetry, explain the logic of recovery, establish clear expectations, and sustain confidence in institutions and the local environment. Methodologically, the research combines a conceptual-analytical approach with theoretical generalisation, as well as analysis and synthesis, to refine the conceptual framework and identify the factors through which brand communications influence trust. A comparative examination of post-crisis and post-war recovery programmes was conducted on the basis of publicly available materials, and case analysis was used to specify the underlying mechanisms. The results indicate that brand communications affect all stages of stakeholder behaviour, from initial perception and the direction of information search to post-decision responses in the form of support or disappointment. On the basis of comparing post-crisis and post-war recovery programmes and their public representation through brand communications, two typical models are distinguished: a recovery model integrated with long-term modernisation, and a recovery model funded predominantly by donors and dependent on external actors. The practical value of the article lies in providing applied guidelines for organising systematic territorial brand communications during recovery as a set of targeted, verifiable promises for different stakeholder groups, explicitly linked to recovery programmes, implementation procedures and responsible institutions.