The city of innovation, tech, and business: How fifty U.S. capital cities use strategic tech rhetoric in their branding

The tech sector has become a central driver of urban economic development, prompting cities to adopt branding strategies that emphasize innovation and future-oriented growth. This study examines how fifty U.S. state capitals incorporate tech-innovation-business narratives into their official marketing to craft a progressive and competitive identity. Using a mixed-methods approach that combines quantitative content analysis with qualitative investigation, the research demonstrates how municipal governments strategically employ tech-oriented language and symbolism to position themselves as innovative, business-driven, and forward-looking. The findings reveal that these narratives are widespread across all capitals, and that the relationship between city size and narrative strength is partially mediated by actual tech-innovation-business activity. City branding thus emerges as a structured, message-driven strategy that integrates place branding with innovation framing while aligning closely with broader economic and policy objectives. The study also presents the ‘UPS’ framework (Using, Partnering, and Signaling) as a strategic model that explains how cities engage in tech-oriented urban marketing. • U.S. state capitals use tech, innovation, and business narratives in official communications to shape city identity. • Mixed-methods study, using quantitative and qualitative analysis, shows tech-innovation-business narratives are strong across U.S. capital cities. • Tech, innovation, and business activity partially mediates the link between city size and narrative strength. • City branding is a policy-aligned strategy combining place branding with innovation-focused framing. • The study introduces the UPS framework (Using, Partnering, and Signaling) to explain how cities engage in strategic tech-oriented branding.