What is the contemporary significance of my topic：
With China's urbanisation rate reaching over 65%, tourists, population and talent have become resources that cities must compete for, and city branding is a powerful tool. However, the current mainstream city branding strategies mostly target the absolute number of tourists, while the degree of segmentation is insufficient, the strategies do not match the level of urban development, and they cannot effectively enhance the memory of tourists and the participation of residents, and they cannot make the audience form a sense of identity and a deep attachment relationship. This does not help the city in attracting and retaining talent, potentially affecting subsequent decades of development.
My chosen topic takes local residents of the city as the main audience, integrates the idea of gamification in the process of city brand promotion, with the aim of increasing residents' knowledge, identification and attachment to the city, and cuts into the city branding strategy from a micro perspective and in a gamified way, so as to make the city brand accurately reach the target group: a relatively young group through the easy-to-accept form of the game.
People born in the 80's/90's are now the main employment group. People in this age group grew up in a more affluent environment, have received a higher level of education, and are more in pursuit of fun and the realisation of personal values in work and life, valuing interest, self-worth, happiness, and other relatively high-level needs. The importance of this group to the city is reflected in many aspects such as demographics, employment environment, willingness to consume, cultural vitality, etc. Born in the era of game popularity, they have a higher degree of acceptance and reliance on games, and they are able to quickly understand games and substitute into their roles. These two qualities are the basis for the promising objectives of this topic. the gamified city brand could align with the city's branding and messaging, it offers valuable and engaging experiences that help the gamified city brand could align with the city's branding and messaging, it offers valuable and engaging experiences that help visitors connect with the city's culture, history, and unique characteristics.
By increasing the connection and relationship between people and the city, and by expressing a sense of the city's texture to its inhabitants, it will give them more peace of mind and attachment. By exploring never-before-visited locations and learning more about known ones, inhabitants will be able to gain a sense of the city as a real presence around them, and will be able to see the city beyond the limited confines of their daily lives and work, developing multiple perspectives of seeing and experiencing it, and realising a deeper understanding of the city. This will particularly apply to new urban migrants.