Peculiarities of Branding as an Instrument of Strategizing the Socio-Economic Development of Territories

The article is concerned with features of branding in strategizing of the socio-economic development of territories. The essence and features of using the basic elements of branding in the semantic field of strategizing the socio-economic development of territories are disclosed; an analysis of use of elements of branding in strategies of the socio-economic development of cities and regions of different world countries is carried out; a logical scheme of adaptation of branding to the needs of strategizing the socio-economic development of territories is proposed; a focus-group interview with the inhabitants of Kharkiv is conducted; the potential content («key vocabulary») for strategizing the development priorities of Kharkiv is suggested. The «key vocabulary», according to the results of the survey of residents of Kharkiv, include: active lifestyle, innovativeness; pride, care, confidence, purposefulness, joy, serenity, brightness, hope; development, dynamism, professional and personal self-realization; developed infrastructure, history and culture, architectural monuments, parks, wide streets.