Green Fiscal Policy and Brand Development Potential: Evidence from China’s Comprehensive Demonstration Cities for Energy Conservation and Emission Reduction

High-quality brand development requires both innovation and legal protection. Although innovation and branding reinforce each other, companies must also prioritize legal safeguards to prevent brand image damage caused by infringement. Therefore, a city’s level of innovation and intellectual property protection jointly shapes its brand development potential. Green fiscal policies can incentivize enterprises to invest in eco-friendly technological R&D, thereby providing foundational support for brand development. This study utilizes trademark data (2005–2018) from 299 prefecture-level cities in China and employs a quasi-natural experiment based on the pilot program of “Comprehensive Demonstration Cities for Energy Conservation and Emission Reduction.” A multi-period DID model is utilized to assess whether such fiscal policies enhance urban brand development potential. According to the findings, the policy substantially improves brand potential by raising awareness of intellectual property and restricting industrial energy use. Heterogeneity analysis reveals stronger policy effects in western and eastern urban areas, particularly in cities with more “Time-Honored Chinese Brands,” increased research and development investment, lower fiscal pressure, greater marketization, and non-resource-based economies. These results add to the literature on brand innovation and protection and provide empirical support for the role of green fiscal policy in promoting brand growth potential.