BBJ EuroClick blog | The Budapest Business Journal on the web

2011-05-11Mihalis Kavaratzis

Does Europe have an identity that could be used and managed in terms of branding?

An increasingly common feature of EU policy documents is the reference to place branding and its potential for European countries, regions and cities. Indeed, recent years have seen the growth of place branding based on its potential to assist in economic, tourism, social and cultural development. This practice is popular and significant amounts of money are invested by local and national authorities in branding activities. Place brandings can be applied to all scales of places, i.e. from towns and cities to national and supranational entities.

About the blog

This blog delivers opinions and interpretations on current events about the economy in the context of the EU, Hungary and Central and Eastern Europe. We live in turbulent times; the financial crisis affects all of us and has changed some economic rules and paradigms, as well as those of European integration. Here, you will read intellectually inspiring pieces – you do not necessarily have to agree with every post, but you will probably have your own opinion concerning their topics. Our goal is to make you think about what is happening in the European economy. Hungarians and expats with different backgrounds living in Hungary will be asked to contribute: businesspeople, managers, researchers, journalists, representatives of NGOs, those who have special knowledge in this field. Politicians? We will see. Party propaganda – no thanks; policy issues – why not? If you feel like writing a post, do not hesitate to contact me: martin.jozsef.peter@gmail.com.

About the editor

József Péter Martin was trained at the Corvinus University of Budapest as an economist; he also studied in Leuven (Belgium) and Groningen (The Netherlands). He started his career in journalism at the Hungarian business daily Világgazdaság, then worked 12 years at the editorial office of business weekly Figyelő, where, after several other positions, he was editor-in-chief from 2003 until 2009. Nowadays he appears regularly in the domestic and international media as an economic and EU analyst and columnist. He is author of more than a thousand articles and dozens of studies on economy and politics. In 2010, he co-authored a book on the financial crisis (“Álomcsőd” – The Default of a Dream). He also holds lectures on European studies and economic journalism at the Corvinus University of Budapest. He is a member of the supervisory board of Transparency International in Hungary.