Historical & Cultural Conditioning of Building City's Image & Brand - The example of Lodz (Poland)

The aim of this article is to present, with the example of the city of Lodz, the impact of the narrative of a place led by myths and symbols on the perception of the image and brand positioning. Throughout the research procedure, the historical overview of Lodz was outlined in the forefront. Then, the content of 67 selected texts presenting genealogical myths were analyzed. The confrontation of historical content with myths made it possible to formulate a conclusion that the knowledge of the culture of a place, including myths and symbols, is a database for the analysis of the reasons for the success / failure of the image and brand of the place. In the case of Lodz, vivid myths telling about the city's fall are the cause of a negative image, while reconstructed myths are used as a tool for repair its image.