The emerging Shanghai city brand: A netnographic study of image perception among foreigners

•This study analyzed two online communities for foreigners living in or visiting Shanghai.•Through a thematic categorization and ranking analysis the dominant category of discussion threads was identified.•63% of all evaluative statements were identified, as negative.•These negative evaluations were focused on pollution, congestion and behaviors of the local population.•These findings are in sharp contrast to the city brand personality communicated in connection with the 2010 World Expo.

The World Expo 2010 was a pivotal event aimed at demonstrating that Shanghai is an attractive, modern and comfortable city, infused with traditional Chinese values and ready to compete for talent and investments with other global cities. Through a netnographic analysis of online discussion forums for foreigners residing in, or visiting Shanghai, this study documents the attitudes of these online community members towards life in this city. These attitudes are identified as predominantly negative with an emphasis on pollution, congestion and rudeness of the local population. This study thus identifies a dissonance between the officially communicated brand identity and the word-of-mouth communication on social media. This paper proceeds to recommend leveraging the identified positive aspects of Shanghai's image such as excitement, affordability and safety for future branding efforts.