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A Sense of Kyoto Through Advertising: A Case Study on How Outdoor Advertising Can Support Local Identity

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Perspectives on Design and Digital Communication III

Abstract

Throughout its history, Kyoto has been considered a well-designed city, with drawings of its natural and urban landscape reproduced in a myriad of everyday objects. To protect this panorama amid the modernization of the city and the growing number of disruptive outdoor advertisements, brought about by globalization and economic progress, policies of landscape preservation and city planning have developed severe restrictions, holding much higher standards than any other city in Japan. Using Kyoto as a model city, this study explores the benefits of a greater contribution from brands in the dissemination of the intrinsic values held by a given place through its outdoor advertising. To establish a basis capable of assessing the importance of quantitative and qualitative variations in advertising, the current Japanese sociological, cultural, and aesthetic situation was analyzed. Through a field study based on visual research, a sample composed of 180 advertising objects was collected in Kyoto and examined in three sequential phases: descriptive analysis, content analysis, and interpretive analysis. The results show a cultural and aesthetic preference in the outdoor advertising of Kyoto which could be explored by brands to support local identity, as well as establish a more effective, meaningful relationship with the city’s inhabitants.

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Correspondence to Ana Seixosa .

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Seixosa, A., Cadarso, M. (2023). A Sense of Kyoto Through Advertising: A Case Study on How Outdoor Advertising Can Support Local Identity. In: Martins, N., Brandão, D., Paiva, F. (eds) Perspectives on Design and Digital Communication III. Springer Series in Design and Innovation , vol 24. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-06809-6_17

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-06809-6_17

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

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