Digital place branding through sustainability: how cities and regions of the world gain visibility through climate change solutions

Abstract This article examines the digital visibility of subnational places (e.g., cities and regions) related to different sustainability narratives in the digital discourse. The study thereby wants to bring new insights into digital place branding and sustainability. In a semantic network analysis of content on Twitter (now X), we identify which cities and related regions are prominently branded online in relation to the topic of sustainability and which of their solutions for sustainability promote their visibility. The visibility of cities and regions is differentiated geographically and compared longitudinally, specifically comparing two years of climate conferences, namely 2016 (post-Paris Agreement) and 2022 (post-COP26). The results reveal a rather one-sided representation of sustainable solutions related to places’ online branding, with a strong focus on strategic use of technological solutions as main narratives. However, results also highlight geographical differences and a shift in the digital visibility of places over time regarding proposed narratives of solutions with the appearance of more nature-based and social-based solutions. Some places gain global recognition and digital visibility through prizes or awards they won, emphasizing their positioning in the international setting as model cities. The study contributes to the topical but underexamined domain encompassing the critical intersection of subnational place branding, sustainability communication, climate change and digital visibility. Thereby, it offers a more differentiated view on sustainability in order to better understand and utilize it in place branding.