The main goal of this research is to analyze and propose a different overview to see and feel the city and its brand, from the point of view of visitors and residents, focused on a better and more sustainable management standard for local governments. This study is based on the theories embraced by Kotler et al. (1993), and Zenker and Bechmann (2013). We led a joint study in which we’ve analyzed five indicators: attractiveness of the city, associations to the city, featuring the city brand, recognition /city brand identification and brand customization - through exploratory interviews and a questionnaire survey in four Portuguese cities in the Central Region of Portugal, with a sample of 400 respondents. These results point to a clear and significant difference in various factors of the perception concerning both groups of stakeholders, visitors and residents, leading to the conclusion that the city’s management standards should take good note of different perceptions. In conclusion, city management teams should develop a strategic work according these to core filters and they should be applied to differentiate different perceptions, as a technical meaning to promote sustainability growth, quality of life for residents, attracting new ones and investments.