Construction logic of ocean city branding: Based on cultural brand and cultural memory

The current ocean city development is witnessing a “transitional period” amid modernization and globalization. It has become a consensus of urban development to shape urban cultural brand through culture and stimulate the vitality of urban innovation. Previous studies mainly elaborated on the importance of urban cultural brand in urban development from the perspective of urban marketing events and festivals, but few studies focused on the construction of urban cultural brand from a humanistic perspective. Considering basic human needs, and based on Empathy Theory and Cultural Memory Theory, the current study selected Shenzhen, as the sample and adopted case study approach and grounded theory to explore the empathic elements of urban cultural brand construction from the angles of urban cultural brand and cultural memory, to clarify the memory process of urban cultural brand construction, and to explain the supply and demand sides of brand building. The exploration in this study from the dual dimensions of urban cultural supply and human cultural demand aims to provide reference for the development and promotion of ocean city cultural brand in the new era.