Abstract: Like many industrial cities, Newcastle confronted significant economic challenges in the late 20th century, culminating in the BHP steelworks closure in 1999. While some feared the closure would mean the demise of Australia’s ‘steel city’, Newcastle has instead seen its economy diversify, its industrial waterfront redeveloped and its unemployment rates decline. Accompanying these economic, social and physical changes have been various attempts to reshape Newcastle’s image, to overcome the city’s lingering association with crisis and decay. This paper provides a case study of two key players in this process, the official Brand Newcastle rebranding campaign and the unofficial revitalisation project Renew Newcastle, drawing on interviews conducted in Newcastle during 2012-2013. Looking at these two projects, it is evident that both seek to promote Newcastle to the outside world, but also to promote their vision of Newcastle to Newcastle itself. As such, although Renew Newcastle functions primarily as a physical revitalisation project, it can also be understood as a participant in the rebranding of Newcastle, and one that has arguably been more effective than the official campaign. Given this conclusion, the case study highlights the need for the urban branding literature to incorporate broader perspectives on who participates in urban branding and how.