"A city by definition is a brand," said Tim Calkins, a marketing professor at the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University in Evanston, Ill. "Brands are the associations people have with a name, like Coke. The question is: How easy is it for a city to shape what people think about it? It can be done, but it can be difficult."

The importance of branding a city is simple. Americans are traveling more today than they have in years, and capturing their billions in tourist and convention dollars is imperative to the hospitality industry, whose recovery has lagged behind most other sectors of the economy.

Atlanta's predicament is shared by Toronto, Dallas, Jacksonville and a handful of others. These cities see themselves as tourist destinations but flounder in an environment where tourists demand to know how they will be dazzled before they arrive.

Or, perhaps worse, city leaders say, potential visitors do have an image that comes to mind, but it's sorely outdated.

The need to find one characteristic that will create a lasting impression is driving a growing movement among cities to brand themselves. In addition to Atlanta's effort, Toronto, Dallas, Philadelphia, Los Angeles and Jacksonville are either making active branding efforts, gearing up for campaigns or trying to reshape their image.

"We are rebranding our image, which was very dated and stale," said Phillip Jones, chief executive officer and president of the Dallas Convention and Visitors Bureau. "It was all Dallas Cowboys, big hair and J.R. Ewing. We had a strong brand, but it was from the '80s."

Atlanta officials know the feeling. Many people still associate the city with Margaret Mitchell's "Gone With the Wind." While city boosters capitalize on the connection --- the Margaret Mitchell House is a top visitor request --- they also want the city's image to move beyond the 19th century.

But changing people's attitudes about a brand can be tricky, Calkins said.

In the 1990s, gambling mecca Las Vegas went after family travelers by advertising roller coasters and water park offerings. The campaign was so successful that the city lost much of its core audience, which chose Las Vegas specifically for its adults-only atmosphere, he said.

The city has since returned to its roots with its "What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas" campaign.

"Las Vegas is one of the best in class because they have been very aggressive and, other than their family-friendly miscalculation, they know what they are about," Calkins said.

Attractions galore

Like many cities its size, Atlanta has a little something for everyone. There's a zoo, an amusement park, sports arenas, museums and historical sites.

This fall, city boosters hope to beef up that list with the new Georgia Aquarium --- one of the largest of its kind in the world --- as well as an expanded High Museum of Art, new shopping destination Atlantic Station and a reinvigorated CNN Center tour.

They aim to create a marketing campaign that reflects visitors' choices.

Toronto officials felt the same about their city and may have beat Atlanta to the "too much is good" punch. Their June-launched campaign --- Toronto Unlimited --- plays on that strength, said Elizabeth Gill, project leader of the Toronto Branding Project.

"Like Atlanta, Toronto doesn't have that one big thing," she said. "That's why we came up with Toronto Unlimited. There are ... unlimited things to do here."

Such branding is good in a general sense, Calkins said, but needs to be backed up by specifics that appeal to the market being sought. Trying to appeal to everybody makes a city OK for many but special to no one.

"People always hate to give up potential target groups," he said. "But that's the essence of branding. No branding can appeal to everyone."

Indeed. While Atlanta has had trouble branding itself to the general population, it has had success with niche groups. It is the No. 1 destination for African-American tourists and is fast becoming a hot spot for Hispanics and Asians.

Philadelphia officials say gay travelers are spending 30 percent more in the city than they did before they launched a campaign to attract same-sex couples more than a year ago. Gay tourists spent an average of $233 per day in the city last year, up from $179 per day in 2003, the Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corp. reported recently.

It's also important to keep a brand fresh, even when it's established and seems capable of running on autopilot, said Heywood Sanders, professor of public administration at the University of Texas at San Antonio.

Atlantic City, N.J., for example, was a storied vacation spot in its heyday. The well-heeled crowded the boardwalk, with gamblers looking to make it big.

But today, the city is considered so seedy that it makes Las Vegas seem reputable.

"Atlantic City was the place for years, even hosting a Democratic convention," he said. "You couldn't imagine that happening today."

Starting locally

One reason it may be hard to distinguish among the brands of some cities is that their marketing efforts are similar.

Many start campaigns locally, with the argument being that if the pitch doesn't sell at home, it definitely won't once it crosses borders.

Brand Atlanta, the group shaping Atlanta's campaign, will unveil its new image in dribbles, beginning Oct. 17 with the revelation of how the words "openness, opportunity and optimism" relate to the effort.

Various events will follow, including the debut of an anthem penned by super-producer and Atlanta resident Dallas Austin during Oct. 24's Atlanta Falcons-New York Jets "Monday Night Football" game. On Nov. 10, officials plan a "block party" concert at Centennial Olympic Park to release the city's new tagline.

Across the country, many campaigns have used homegrown and adopted celebrities to push their cities. There's been "My Atlanta" with Jimmy Carter, "My Philadelphia" with Kevin Bacon, "My Dallas" with Erykah Badu and "My L.A." with George Lopez.

In the "My Atlanta" campaign, the former president and Nobel Peace Prize winner shares some of his favorite spots in the city in 30-second commercials that end with the tagline "This is my Atlanta, go explore yours."

"I think it helps in image and in intangible ways, but I don't think that it brings people in droves," said Cara Schneider, a spokeswoman for the Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corp. "It's an irresistible method."

Realistic expectations

Creating a brand doesn't happen overnight, Calkins said. For every city branding success, there is a corresponding failure.

New York hit a home run when it rebranded itself in the '70s as the "Big Apple," and Seattle, Miami and Minneapolis have succeeded in positioning themselves as unique.

But Cleveland has had negligible success in re-imagining its Rust Belt persona with the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and new sports stadiums. Philadelphia has struggled to be seen outside the shadow of its neighbors in the Washington-Boston corridor.

And even the best branding will fail if it is overshadowed by negative news that contradicts the image being projected. Detroit, Calkins said, has worked to change its reputation after years of negative press, including being called the murder capital.

"I don't think it's the marketing, it's the economics," he said of Detroit. "When a city is having problems, it's hard to say a marketing effort is at fault."

Sanders sees this somewhat in Atlanta, too. He remembers a trip to Atlanta in which the concierge at a downtown hotel told him not to go out on Peachtree Street after 5 p.m. That impression, he said, will have a greater impact on a visitor than the slickness of branding campaign.

"The experience a visitor gets downtown on Peachtree Street around the Westin Peachtree or Hyatt Regency is going to be radically different than what you get around the same hotels in Buckhead," he said. "That in itself is interesting."