THE man who led Liverpool's triumphant bid to become European Capital of Culture last night threw his weight behind the idea of using the city's name to market the region to the world.

Sir Bob Scott saluted the name Liverpool as "a world brand, that means something to everyone."

He told the Daily Post: "The word Merseyside feels like a compromise created to endorse the new county when it was created in the seventies rather than a place.

"The city region of Liverpool says everything.

"Winning Capital of Culture has made Scousers out of people from Wirral and Cheshire again.

"The victory has re-established Liverpool as a world brand name."

His comments follow yesterday's revelation by the Daily Post that business and political leaders are considering using the name Liverpool to promote our region's interests abroad.

Marketing experts are giving their support to plans to advertise Merseyside as Greater Liverpool or Liverpool City Region.

It is thought the surrounding local authorities would benefit from its associations with the city which already has a strong international profile.

Linda Buckle, a former marketing guru for Bromborough-based cosmetics giant Unilever, has studied whether Liverpool is a world brand name.

She said: "I found that Liverpool is a world city. You don't need to say 'Liverpool in the UK'

"You just need to say 'Liverpool'." Ms Buckle, organiser of the Liverpool Food and Drink Festival, said a new Greater Liverpool brand needed to heavily stress the importance of the Merseyside people.

She said: "The brand needs a context - at the moment it is free floating. The Capital of Culture campaign tied Liverpool very closely with its people. This is what a new Greater Liverpool brand needs to do." However, she added there could be a downside to having such a strong reputation.

She said: "Because it is a strong brand people remember negative facts for a lot longer. People still remember the race riots in Liverpool but have forgotten the race riots in London or Bristol."

Research by Liverpool John Moores University confirmed her findings. A study carried out this year revealed that having the city in its name helps to attract applicants.

This year it changed its logo to give the word Liverpool a more prominent position in the design.

Michele Ibbs, marketing director, said: "We looked at a 50-mile radius from JMU because most universities find that half their students come from this distance.

"We found that being associated with Liverpool was really important and not only as a locator, because students like to feel linked to a city, but also because of what it stands for.

"Liverpool has important brand value as a lively city with an edge.

"For international students the link is even more important because they know about the city's history and the Beatles."

Liverpool's strength as a brand name has already helped it clinch several high-profile events and accolades. It was a key factor in the city winning the Capital of Culture bid. The judging panel acknowledged that the city has a reputation for vibrancy and originality when it awarded the title in June.

Liverpool's international appeal also led to it winning the role of host city for the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race.

A spokeswoman for Clipper Ventures said: "Previously the race has started in Plymouth and Portsmouth so it was a bold move for us to move it from the south coast.

"Being associated with Liverpool has gained the race a lot of interest from cities the yachts have visited.

"Our next stopover is in New York, which is linked with Liverpool, and people there are very interested in the Liverpool Clipper arriving there."

Paver Downes, the marketing organisation responsible for the relaunch of the city's airport as Liverpool John Lennon Airport in 2001 said Merseyside would not have been an appropriate part of the new name.

Merseyside politicians are divided over whether Merseyside or Liverpool should be used to market the region to tourists and inward investors.

Former defence minister and Walton MP Peter Kilfoyle said the region should model itself on the German Lander system which uses city regions.

He said: "The facts are that Liverpool is a better known brand than Merseyside. That may ruffle a few feathers in places like Southport and Wirral but that is the harsh reality.

"If you look at Germany, places like Brehmen and Hamburg operate as city regions. Liverpool could operate as a city region within the North West region."

However, St Helens North MP Dave Watts has warned a move to a Greater Liverpool brand may ruin co-operation between the region's councils and other public bodies.

He said: "Any suggestion of a creation of an expanded Liverpool City Region would put at risk the partner-ship that has produced so much success over the last few years.

"I would remind everyone that structural changes to the region cannot be imposed on the people of Merseyside and that any change would require the consent of all parties and the Government.

"Clearly there is no chance that we could create a Greater Liverpool or that it would offer an effective alternative to regional government which is on offer."