AUTHOR COPY Case Study Managing destination brand architecture – The case of Cascais Municipality Received (in revised form): 26th November 2015 João R Freire is a professor at Ipam, Universidade Europeia in Lisbon, Portugal. His background in economics initially led him to work in the fields of finance and then marketing for several multinational companies in Brazil, Portugal and the United Kingdom. He is also the co-founder of two companies specialized in branding food and drink products. His greatest research interest is in branding and, more specifically, Place Branding. He worked in several projects in the area of Place Branding. ABSTRACT Branding is a complex concept to apply to a destination. One of the main challenges is the functional definition of the brand. Which area does the destination brand cover? It is relevant to acknowledge that political borders of a destination are not necessarily the same as the destination brand borders. The present article is a case study, which was a result of a consulting project requested by the Municipality of Cascais. Cascais is located in the Lisbon metropolitan area of Portugal. Described are the challenges faced by the Cascais Municipality in adapting its brand portfolio to a new context and different environment. Quantitative methodology was applied to understand the relevance of four destination brands for the tourism industry in the Cascais Municipality. A questionnaire was developed and applied in Spain and Britain, the two main tourist markets for the Cascais Municipality. From the research, it could be concluded that nationality influences the evaluation of destinations. It was also concluded that the environment where a brand exists is dynamic, not static. Therefore, the strategy developed for a brand has to be adaptable. This means that the brand role and mission might change over the years. Future investments and support for certain destination brands must be constantly questioned. Place Branding and Public Diplomacy advance online publication, 20 January 2016; doi:10.1057/pb.2015.23 Keywords: brand architecture; destination branding; brand attributes; brand name; place branding; target segments INTRODUCTION Place branding is now a well-established concept and part of the political agenda in most cities, regions and countries. It can be said that politicians in charge of a location are now sensitive to the issue of branding and are actively trying to apply the concept to their places. In fact, politicians are now expected to invest and to develop strategies that increase the attractiveness of their places (Braun, 2012; Zenker et al, 2013a; Anholt, 2014) The relevance of having a place branding strategy is even more evident in the tourism industry. Tourism is a highly competitive and global industry. It is an important industry for almost any country because it contributes to exports, generates taxes and is relevant in the creation of new jobs (Blanke and Chiesa, 2013). Correspondence: João R. Freire, IPAM – The Marketing School, Laureate International Universities, Quinta do Bom Nome, Estrada da Correia, no.53, Lisbon 1500-210, Portugal E-mail: jrmfreire@gmail.com © 2016 Macmillan Publishers Ltd. 1751-8040 Place Branding and Public Diplomacy 1–13 www.palgrave-journals.com/pb/