Branding the skyline: the role of signature architecture in shaping creative city identity

This study explores the intersection between destination marketing and urban creativity through the investigation of how destination awareness, image and quality can shape perceptions of city creativity through the mediation of signature buildings. Being grounded in Symbolic Interactionism and Creative Class Theory, the study posits that iconic buildings function as powerful symbolic assets that can well express city identity and attract the creative class. We employed a quantitative research design, drawing on partial least squares-structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) to analyse data collected from 272 tourists in Alexandria, Egypt. Our findings revealed that destination image and quality remarkably enhanced perceptions of a city’s creativity through the mediating role of its signature buildings; however, destination awareness was found to have no significant effect on creativity perceptions. Our study offers novel empirical insights into the impactful role of the built environment in urban branding. It goes beyond traditional marketing standards by highlighting how iconic architecture functions as a critical channel through which destination image and quality brand a city’s identity as a creative hub. These findings offer valuable strategic implications for city planners and destination marketers.