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Carly Stiana Scheffer-Sumampouw et al. Smart City Branding

homework for Manado City. The idea of Manado’s demics who feel that this has been - they issued
smart city is internalised in smart tourism. Moreover, this must have gone through various meetings,
the campaign was well-documented, as was Mana- They have spent much money, a lot of time and
do Fiesta. Newspapers have written a lot about it ideas, everything must have come out when
since 2018, and the slogan “diversity in harmony” is discussing this programme, and we certain-
well-documented both on mass media and social me- ly hope that this will continue, because in the
dia. (Manado Fiesta Official, 2020). However, based current era of digital, everywhere people are
on in-depth interviews with three government offi- now, district cities have even followed the steps
cials and one tourism expert, the author found that of the last Manado city, they took the initiative
the idea of a smart city, smart tourism, innovative to become digital cities, for example, the city
branding and diversity in harmony remains merely a of Bitung. WelOtherties in Indonesia have used
slogan you can uphold and later take down according that, meaning they have followed this step or
to change in leadership. The city government thinks adopted it from the last Manado city. As I said
of “diversity in harmony” as past events and merely earlier, let us monitor this good program to see
an event well-documented in mass media. In online whether it has ended or will continue, and I am
news media, we found the slogan “diversity in har- sure that if the government is smart, they will
mony” mentioned along with the launch of Manado use this because this will be something extraor-
Fiesta when Manado was set to be a smart city back dinary for our city, not only in Manado but
in 2018. On the other hand, the author considers that other cities in Indonesia. [Walansendow, 2021]
diversity in harmony is not only a slogan. It serves as It implies that smart city branding has changed
the DNA of Manado City. Based on observations, lit-
erature reviews, and internet news searches, Manado just as city leadership has. Where it puts the branding
as merely a slogan, other cities even started to imi-
has diversity in several dimensions; the city has rich tate Manado to become a digital city. Indeed, various
tourist destinations and a variety of authentic food tactics of city branding can be applied according to
and beverages. “Bubur Manado” is one famous por-
ridge available in almost every canteen. Based on field leadership. However, values, culture, and local wis-
dom are the same. Thus, it should be communicated
observation, tolerance is high within the city. Manado consistently.
respects the diversity of religions despite the majori-
ty of inhabitants being Christians. Politically speak-
ing, diversity in harmony plays a vital role in putting Our Internet News Search Concludes the Following
Manado as a role model city in Indonesia as a country. This internet search is based on news articles and
photos released by mainstream media: Kompas, Tem-
Indonesia has a slogan, “unity in diversity”. If Manado po, Liputan6, BBC, detikcom, CNN, CNBC, and Antara
plays its role by correctly branding the city, it serves as
the miniature model of Indonesia, the country. Last- News and Media Indonesia from 2018 to 2021 (rough-
ly, our expert informant, who functions as a tourism ly two years before the pandemic hit in 2020). In 2018,
the city of Manado was declared a smart city. We did
academician, SME practitioner, and book writer who not receive any news about KRIYA (craft) at all; this
also lives in Manado, poses a strong opinion when confirms the statement from the Head of the Manado
asked about smart city branding in Manado city:
Tourism Office that no Manado city craft is superior.
As a lecturer, of course, I will also explain to my So, neither news nor the welfare of MSMEs in Manado
students to research this, because if we make is visible online. One business has emerged, namely
the programme, I believe and believe it is ex- Woloan’s house (the location is not in Manado, and
pensive, so do not let the change of leadership, the item is not a souvenir that tourists can take home
for example, then this good thing is not contin- as a keepsake. It is a weakness, where the handicrafts of
ued or not realised, it is a shame for us as aca- the community and improving the city’s economy are

Proceedings of the 7th UNESCO UNITWIN Conference | 73