This study is devoted to the analysis strategies and mechanisms for managing the image of the region as a factor in increasing the competitiveness of a modern state. The article analyzes the specifics of optimizing regional investment policy by using the territorial branding technologies and the formation of a political image of the region, taking into account the need to manage political and economic risks. In the previous study were systematized the most relevant concepts of the formation of the political image of the region in the context of the formation of the information society. The political image of the region, as a result of the implementation of branding policies and the use of strategic management technologies, is a «consensus system» of numerous participants in the socio-economic process. This system determines the presence of political competitiveness of the subject relative to external actors (large cities, regions). In this context, it is particularly important to manage the political situation in the region using mechanisms of preventive influence and stabilization of the political situation by searching for common guidelines and tasks of participants in socio-political relations. In the framework of this study, the authors use the concept of “region” at the local level, due to the analysis of a number of aspects of the formation of the political image of a certain region (St. Petersburg, the city of federal significance). The authors note that brand development alone cannot change the city, but can serve as a catalyst for the processes of promoting the city in a global competitive and conflict environment. The authors come to the following conclusion: systematic management of the city’s advantages at the stages of development and implementation of state policy will increase the efficiency, rationality and optimality of the city’s investment policy. Image optimization of investment policy should reflect the competitive advantages and transform them into opportunities to make timely decisions in the context of the formation of the information society, which necessitates the leveling of global risks.