Abstract: Territory branding strategy recently is adopted to intensify urban competition for resources, markets, opportunities and attention. The main objective of the presented work is to examine the new strategy for territory management through branding for a low GDP territory but with remarkable natural resources. In this case, the environment preservation and the sustainability should be two main focuses for the territory development. The territorial diagnosis will be started by SWOT tools to define vision and mission. Then priority and drivers are formulated to be achieved in the future. Branding, placement and benchmarking are considered as the marketing process which will be followed by strategy implementation in some projects and do it as actions. As the results, the strong territory branding based on its identity can be formulated.
“Spice Islands” is a phrase that associates with spices producer territories. One of them is North Maluku Islands, Indonesia. Almost 57% of its economic backbone is from agriculture, especially in spices. However, unclear territory policy brought North Maluku into static economic growth by running out of natural resources. Spices as the everlasting most valuable commodity in the world markedly by its high price supposed to help people welfare but it does not happen. In order to help this territory to have a new planning point of view, this presentation will address to analyse North Maluku potencies and its territory branding process. Afterword, precise projects and actions will be recommended to realize them. The branding process components allow the territory to build a monitoring and evaluation system.
North Maluku is rich territory with natural resources. In the other hand, static economic growth happened by running out natural resources to be exported as low price products with low quality. To stimulate economic growth, in term of urban planning, brand strategy is an innovative way to drive territory development. By applying “Critical City: Core & Drivers Methodology”, North Maluku can be formulated its territory brand:
• Vision: “The spices victory” in the past will be “the greatest factory” in the future;
• Brand: “Ternate-Tidore: The Spice Islands”;
• Respected Impacts: developed agriculture investment & management by local farmers and developed agro industry investment & management by local entrepreneurs, good public services by local government, supported infrastructures for people living & industry, natural & cultural events, strong brand & image.
The territory branding process will push the territory North Maluku Islands to be stronger in economic (at the 1st time) by doing actions consistently.

Brief Biography of the Speaker:
Rui Ramos is an associate professor of Civil Engineering Department, Engineering School, University of Minho, Portugal. His area of expertise is Urban and Regional Planning and he is a PhD Researcher at Territory, Environment and Construction Centre from University of Minho. In 1993, at University of Minho, he started his regular work as a lecturer and researcher. Since then he published as author or co-author over 60 scientific papers in reviewed journals or presented at international conferences, and 6 PhD and 18 MSc students were graduated under his technical supervision. Moreover, since 2000, he had the opportunity to be an invited Professor at the Department of Transportation of the School of Engineering of Sao Carlos, University of Sao Paulo, Brazil.