Brand personality is a humanistic value that is imbibed in a brand. To identify the brand personality of any place, actual perception and experience play a vital role. The basic objective of this paper is to know the brand personality of two major cities of Gujarat—Surat and Ahmedabad. A questionnaire was prepared on the basis of different parameters like—people, place, infrastructure, etc. Separate samples were taken from both the cities using convenience sampling. Content analysis and David Aaker's five dimensions of brand personality were used to know the personality of these two cities. From the perception of the people, we tried to find out the keywords (good, modern, cool, helpful, honest, friendly, developing, etc.) and correlate it with Aaker's five dimensions—Sincerity, Excitement, Competence, Sophistication and Ruggedness to determine the personality. Different statistical tools were used to know whether the perception of people with respect to their cities differ significantly or not.

Cities in Gujarat are gaining importance due to social, economical and industrial developments. Surat and Ahmedabad are two such rapidly developing cities. Surat is very dynamic and one of the fastest growing cities in India. It is located in South Gujarat. It is also known by other names like `The silk city', `The diamond city', `The green city', etc. The rapid growth is due to migration from various parts of Gujarat and India for business and employment, in addition to its intrinsic entrepreneurial spirit. Besides business and job opportunities, it is also known for its food loving people. Ahmedabad, formerly known as—`Manchester of India' for its textile industry, is considered as the Karmabhumi of Mahatma Gandhi, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, Vikram Sarabhai and Abdul Kalam. The city is home to some globally renowned iconic institutions like the Indian Institute of Management, National Institute of Design; Ahmedabad Management Association, Gandhi Ashram, Indian Space Research Organization, Ahmedabad Textile Industry's Research Association (ATIRA), Sardar Patel Smarak Bhavan, to name a few.

Besides looking for only product branding, the time has now arrived for city branding. As we brand a product for identification and differentiation from the other products, a city also differentiates itself from others on different parameters like social, economic, cultural, political, technological, etc. Due to the growing competition, it is required to promote and market the cities/places for their growth and development. Cities itself have their own identity, position, personality and image in people's minds.

Brand Management Journal, Brand Personality, Perception Measures, Ahmedabad Textile Industry's Research Association, ATIRA, Indian Institute of Management, National Institute of Design, The silk city, The diamond city, The green city, American Marketing Association, AMA, Ruggedness, Sophistication.