<p>Thesis Purpose: The purpose of this study is to develop an increased knowledge of place branding, study the perception of inhabitants’ regarding Alvesta as a place and to explore an extended relationship between Alvesta and Växjö municipality.</p><p>Methodology: The methodology of the study is conducted with qualitative and quantitative approach. There were two interviews in Alvesta and Växjö municipality office. A total number of 216 questionnaires were gathered in three urban areas in Alvesta municipality.</p><p>Theoretical Framework: For this study place branding theory has been used as a guideline and SWOT, Gap analysis and Co-opetition theory were used to analyze Alvesta municipality as a place and its inhabitant’s perception.</p><p>Empirical Finding: A total of 210 questionnaires were analyzed statistically through SPSS with functions such as cross tabulation, compare means, and scale reliability analysis. Also the results of two interviews with the Alvesta and Växjö municipality are written in this chapter regarding the theories used in this thesis.</p><p>Analysis: The analysis chapter integrates the theory and the results of the empirical findings. Alvesta’s brand and service were evaluated based on SWOT and gap analysis. A co-opetition relationship was suggested between Växjö and Alvesta municipality in different issues such as branding, infrastructure and education.</p><p>Conclusion: From this study we have attained insight that Alvesta municipality is in the initial stage in branding and there is a service gap in the inhabitants’ perception. Finally this study contributes how Alvesta municipality can create mutual value by cooperating and competing with Växjö municipality.</p>

<p>Syftet med denna uppsats är att analysera en enkät som Expansiva Växjö genomfört för att få en bild av Växjös image och undersöka hur nära denna ligger den önskade profilen. Därefter jämförs den strategi som valts för platsvarumärket Växjö med teorier om place branding och i vilken grad dessa tillämpas. Utifrån vår analys av Växjös image och strategi, samt med hjälp varumärkesteori, undersöks också om skapandet av varumärket har potential att bli framgångsrikt eller ej.</p>

Sverige är idag det EU-land som urbaniseras allra snabbast och mer än var femte svensk lever nu i en storstad. Utvecklingen kan delvis härledas till en strukturomvandling i ekonomin, från en industriell till en post-industriell ekonomi, med stark tillväxt i branscher som driver den urbana utvecklingen. Befolkningsutvecklingen och urbaniseringen sker dock på bekostnad av en folkminskning i många lands- och glesbygdskommuner. Människor och företag lämnar orter i brist på arbete och kvar lämnas en försvagad skattebas som ska finansiera skolor, vård och andra offentliga tjänster.Genom platsmarknadsföring; ett långsiktigt och strategiskt arbete som syftar till att förändra, förbättra eller förstärka bilden av en plats, lyckas dock många genomgå framgångsrika transformationer i kombination med rätt investeringar vilket skapar nya villkor och förstärkt attraktivitet. I Sverige finns idag 290 kommuner som i många fall samarbetar men som också konkurrerar om invånare, investeringar och turism. Frågan om platsers varumärken har under det senaste decenniet utvecklats från att primärt handla om insatser för att locka turister till att i många fall bli en del av en sammanhängande strategi för att utveckla en plats i en viss riktning. Det beror bland annat på att städers och regioners ekonomiska utveckling inte sällan påstås vara beroende av att platsen uppfattas som attraktiv, dynamisk och därmed värd att besöka, flytta till eller investera i.Speciellt landsbygdskommuner har stora möjligheter att fokusera på dess fysiska miljö, rekreationsmöjligheter och kvaliteten på de tjänster som kommunen erbjuder i sina marknadsföringskampanjer i syfte att locka nya invånare. Urbanisering, teknisk utveckling och globalisering skapar inte bara utmaningar, de genererar också stora potentiella motkrafter och möjligheter som landsbygdskommuner kan dra nytta av. Med gemensamma satsningar kan en kommun lyckas lyfta fram områdets kvaliteter och förstärka dess erbjudande gentemot potentiella målgrupper. De kan locka till sig företag och utveckla ett näringsliv som skapar nya arbetstillfällen som kan få folk att stanna kvar och skapa en flyttström till dessa orter.I denna studie kartläggs därför hur svenska landsbygdskommuner med negativ befolkningsutveckling arbetar med platsmarknadsföring och varumärkesbyggande insatser i syfte att locka nya invånare. Kartläggningen görs genom sju semi-strukturerade intervjuer i fem utvalda kommuner och syftar till att identifiera orsakerna till de eventuella problem och brister som finns i landsbygdskommunernas arbete med frågorna. Genom att undersöka hur integrerade de varumärkesbyggande insatserna är i arbetet med platsmarknadsföring syftar studien även till att skapa förståelse för vilken roll en kommuns varumärkesarbete har i arbetet med att vända en negativ befolkningsutveckling. / Sweden has the fastest growing urbanization of all the EU countries, with more than a fifth of the population now living in urban areas. A development driven by a restructuring of the economy from an industrial to a post-industrial economy, with a rapid growth in sectors that drive urban development. Population growth and urbanization takes place at the expense of a population decline in many rural municipalities where people and business leave due to lack of work, leaving a weakened tax base meant to fund schools, health care and other public services.By place marketing; a long-term and strategic work that strives to change, improve or enhance the image of a place, places can achieve successful transformations, combined with the right investments, creating new conditions and enhanced attractiveness. There are currently 290 municipalities in Sweden. Municipalities that in many cases cooperate but also compete for residents, investment and tourism. The question of place brands has in the past decade evolved from being primarily about efforts to attract tourists to - in many cases - become part of a coherent strategy for developing a place in a certain direction. It is partly due to urban and regional economic development often claimed to be addicted to the place perceived as an attractive, dynamic and therefore worth visiting, moving to or investing in.Especially rural municipalities have plentiful opportunities to emphasize its physical environment, recreational opportunities and the quality of services offered by the municipality in their marketing campaigns to attract new residents. Urbanization, technological development and globalization does not only creates challenges, they also generate great potential counter-forces and opportunities that rural communities can benefit from. With joint ventures municipalities can manage to highlight the area's qualities and reinforce the offer in terms of service and welfare services offered. It can attract companies and develop an economy that creates new jobs and get people to stay in the municipality and create a migratory stream to these locations.This study, written in Swedish, identifies how rural municipalities with a population decline in Sweden are working with place marketing and brand-building efforts in order to attract new residents. The survey is done through seven semi-structured interviews in five selected municipalities and aims to identify possible problems and shortcomings in rural municipalities' work on these issues and what its causes are. By examining how integrated the brand-building efforts is in the place marketing, this study also aims to create an understanding of the role that a municipality's branding has in the strive for reversing negative population growth.

Syfte – Vårt syfte är att skapa en förståelse för hur professionella konsultföretags varumärkesprocesser går till, när de jobbar för att skapa en attraktiv image för potentiella besökare på platser och destinationer. Vi har vidare undersökt vad konsulterna anser vara viktigt i platsvarumärkesprocessen. Metod – Studien har haft en kvalitativ metod, med en induktiv förklarings- och förståelseansats. Vi har genomfört öppet riktade intervjuer med sex platsvarumärkeskonsulter där respondenterna fick svara fritt utifrån en bred fråga. Teori – Teorikapitlet grundar sig på en modell framtagen av Moilainen och Rainisto som beskriver platsvarumärkesprocessen i fem steg. Modellen beskriver hur en arbetsgång kan se ut när en plats eller destination vill förändra sitt varumärke. Vi använder oss också av en mängd andra referenser i teorikapitlet. Resultat – Resultaten av studien pekar på att arbetsgången konsulterna sinsemellan och gentemot teorin liknar varandra. Respondenterna identifierar intressenterna, gör en omfattande analys och utifrån detta så skapas en varumärkesidentitet, precis som teorin pekar på. De betonar att ingen äger platsvarumärket och att det gör platsen speciell ur en varumärkesaspekt. Utifrån studien ser vi att det finns åtminstone tre gemensamma nämnare som respondenterna tar hänsyn till: Platsvarumärkets komplexitet, identifiera destinationens intressenter och slutligen att skapa engagemang.

In the presence of globalization countries increasingly implement various initiatives associated to branding to effectively compete in the global market of capital, labour and knowledge. Most of these initiatives are focused on external markets – they are designed to attract foreign investors, tourists, talented people, etc. However, scientists increasingly emphasize the internal audiences’ importance, efforts to involve internal audiences in the process of country branding has recently emerged also in practice. Nevertheless, it was noted that the concept of internal country branding has not yet been established, its logic has not yet been explained, inconsistent use of definitions has been dominated and therefore it is suggested that the conceptualization and modelling of internal country branding is a relevant research problem. In this dissertation the internal country branding was approached from different perspectives. Results of the analysis of scientific literature on the country and internal branding allowed formulating an initial understanding about the concept of internal country branding. In order to provide solid empirical backgrounds for the conceptualisation and modelling expert and internal audiences’ opinion survey as well as analysis of the context related to internal branding created by the countries and spread in the internet were implemented. Summarizing the results a conceptual model of internal country branding was constructed. The model explains the... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / Globalizacijos akivaizdoje vis daugiau valstybių imasi su ženklodara susijusių iniciatyvų siekdamos efektyviau konkuruoti pasaulinėje kapitalo, darbo ir žinių rinkoje. Dauguma tokių iniciatyvų yra orientuotos į išorines rinkas – jos skirtos pritraukti užsienio investuotojus, turistus, talentingus darbuotojus ir pan. Vis dėlto, įvairius valstybės ženklodaros klausimus nagrinėjantys mokslininkai vis dažniau akcentuoja ir vidinių auditorijų svarbą, pastangos vidines auditorijas įtraukti į vietovės ženklodaros procesą pastaruoju metu ryškėja ir praktikoje. Nepaisant to, pastebima, jog valstybės vidinės ženklodaros samprata dar nėra nusistovėjusi, nepaaiškinta jos logika, nenuosekliai vartojamos sąvokos, todėl teigiama, jog valstybės vidinės ženklodaros konceptualizavimas ir modeliavimas yra aktuali mokslinė problema. Šiame disertaciniame darbe valstybės vidinės ženklodara nagrinėjama iš keleto perspektyvų. Išanalizavus mokslinę literatūrą valstybės ir vidinės ženklodaros tematika suformuluota pradinė valstybės vidinės ženklodaros samprata. Konceptualiajam modeliavimui tvirtesnius pagrindus suteikė atlikti empiriniai ekspertų ir valstybių vidinių auditorijų nuomonės bei valstybių kuriamo su vidine ženklodara susijusio konteksto virtualiojoje erdvėje tyrimai. Apibendrinus tyrimų rezultatus sudarytas konceptualusis modelis, aiškinantis valstybės vidinės ženklodaros logiką ir pagrindinius elementus. Remiantis sudarytu modeliu atliktas Lietuvos Respublikos vidinės ženklodaros... [to full text]

Place branding is commonly understood as the application of marketing and commercial ideas, strategies, measurements and logic to the realm of places such as cities, regions and nations. Nevertheless, place branding is also understood as the locus where political activities – imbued with political impact and political effects – appear and affect the soft and hard infrastructures of urban agglomeration and other spatial environments. In this regard, by performing an analysis that helps unpack the multiple characters and impacts of political structures and processes in relation to place branding activities, the present dissertation aims to offer a conceptualization of the political dimension of place branding. By drawing on the critical assessment of the academic literature on place branding and on a series of studies about the branding processes in the region of Romagna and in the Greater Stockholm, the present dissertation further specifies an alternative conceptual framework (i.e. ecological politics) that suggests how place branding should be seen an empirical and theoretical political apparatus that acts, in praxis, based on an emerging, multifaceted and spatio-temporal enfolding of politics. More specifically, the ecological politics of place branding is characterized by four main aspects: the unfolding of a biopolitical ecology around place-branding practices; the ideological appropriation of place-branding processes; the positioning through politicized actions between the interest groups; and finally place-branding as a process of policy-intervention. Finally, on more general level, the present dissertation, by recognizing the political activities and efforts of place branding as crucial elements to be analyzed, makes the case for a more explicit, complex and manifold political analysis of the political dimension of place branding, which allows attention to be given to the impact that branding processes, practices and activities have on cities, regions and nations / <p>At the time of the doctoral defense, the following paper was unpublished and had a status as follows: Paper 4: Manuscript.</p><p> </p>

Abstract The purpose of this study is to explore how place marketing manifests within foreign direct investment (FDI) in the new era of information and communications technology. The study reviews the literature on place marketing that emphasises FDI and defines place marketing as a tool to pursue FDI more systematically and efficiently in order to increase the value of a place. The study shows that place marketing can be used in multiple ways to pursue inward FDI activities and that it is multifaceted, not just a service offered by investment promotion agencies. This empirical study of place marketing within FDI follows a multiple case study method. The data are drawn from interviews with nine FDI case companies and their respective investment promotion agency representatives and facilitating research, business and funding actors. The study approaches place marketing within FDI from an explorative perspective, studying how place marketing can improve FDI by interpreting investment decisions through the lenses of place marketing and place branding elements, management and assessment. The analysis identifies the place marketing factors that impact the FDI process from the preparation phase through the post-investment phase. Through the FDI process, a regional image is generated, and the place becomes visible. This study develops a conceptual model that proposes that place marketing manifests within FDI through goals, networks, individuals and regional competences. The goals are set to develop the framework for place marketing within FDI. Stakeholders’ engagement forms a strong ecosystem network that can be a major regional asset to attract and sustain investments. Each FDI case creates, develops and sustains its own network, within which the contributions of individuals with technical and managerial skills are key to successful place promotion. The competence of the regional ecosystem sets the scene for the investment opportunity. Regarding managerial implications, this study proves that strategic, inward FDI activity requires long-term regional commitment from stakeholders and an allocation of resources during not only the pre-investment phase, but also the post-investment phase. / Tiivistelmä Tämän tutkimuksen tarkoituksena on selvittää, miten paikanmarkkinointi edistää suoria ulkomaisia investointeja ICT-teknologian uudella aikakaudella. Tutkimuksessa tarkastellaan paikanmarkkinointia koskevaa kirjallisuutta, jossa käsitellään ulkomaisia suoria sijoituksia ja määritellään paikanmarkkinointi keinona hankkia sijoituksia järjestelmällisemmin ja tehokkaammin paikan arvon kasvattamiseksi. Tutkimus osoittaa, että paikanmarkkinointia voidaan käyttää monin tavoin ulkomaisten investointien houkuttelussa ja että se on monipuolinen kokonaisuus eikä pelkkä investointien edistämispalvelu. Tässä empiirisessä paikanmarkkinoinnin tutkimuksessa käytetään usean tapaustutkimuksen menetelmää. Tiedot perustuvat yhdeksän ulkomaisen kohdeyrityksen ja heidän edustajiensa sekä alueellisten tutkimus-, yritys- ja rahoitusalan toimijoiden haastatteluun. Tutkimus lähestyy ulkomaisiin sijoituksiin kohdistettua paikanmarkkinointia eksploratiivisesta näkökulmasta selvittämällä, miten paikanmarkkinointi voi edistää investointeja paikanmarkkinoinnin ja brändäyksen elementtien, johtamisen ja arvioinnin kautta. Analyysissä yksilöidään ne paikanmarkkinoinnintekijät, jotka vaikuttavat suorien ulkomaisten investointien prosessiin valmisteluvaiheesta investointivaiheeseen ja sen jälkeen. Investointiprosessin kautta alueellinen kuva vahvistuu ja paikka tulee esille. Tässä tutkimuksessa kehitetään käsitteellinen malli, jonka mukaan suorien ulkomaisten investointien houkutteluun suunnattu paikanmarkkinointi ilmenee toiminnan tavoitteiden, verkostojen, yksilöiden ja alueellisten valmiuksien kautta. Tavoitteet luovat viitekehyksen ulkomaisten suorien sijoitusten paikanmarkkinointiin. Sidosryhmien sitoutuminen muodostaa vahvan ekosysteemiverkoston, joka voi olla merkittävä alueellinen voimavara houkutella ja ylläpitää investointeja. Jokainen investointitapaus luo, kehittää ja ylläpitää omaa verkostoaan, jossa teknisten ja johtamiseen erikoistuneiden yksilöiden osallistuminen prosessiin on keskeistä. Alueen ekosysteemissä osaaminen luo mahdollisuuden investointiin. Johtamisen vaikutusten osalta tämä tutkimus osoittaa sen, että strateginen, suorien ulkomaisten investointien houkuttelu edellyttää sidosryhmien pitkäaikaista sitoutumista ja resurssiallokaatiota paitsi investoinnin esivaiheessa myös niiden myöhemmässä vaiheessa.

abstract: Place branding by its very nature is a highly selective endeavor. Typically, place branding focuses on highlighting positive aspects of place while discounting others that are deemed less appealing. Whether it pertains to attracting tourism, investment or people, or whether it concerns achieving a level of cultural significance, ultimately place branding impacts physical planning decisions and consequently the built environment. The selectivity entailed in projecting a sellable place image, together with the presence of different interests among the particular place stakeholders, may lead to a divergent dialectic of assertion and resistance over which brand ought to be projected and how it ultimately should be represented. This dynamic, I argue, will have impact on equity, on the issue of authenticity and on representation. Through a historical analysis approach and a case study, this dissertation examines how such a dynamic plays out in the built environment and how it evolves and shapes it over time. Downtown Scottsdale is chosen as a case because it offers an example of a small city downtown in the US West that experienced significant place branding activity in the 1950s and the 1960s. In the 1950s, the City of Scottsdale branded itself as a Western town and the built environment of the downtown area was themed to reflect this image; in the 1960s, the Western brand was challenged and calls for change emerged. Stakeholders and supporters of the Western image and those of the call for change are identified, and the dialectic that ensued is examined and discussed in relation to its impact on the built environment. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Built Environment 2014

Preventing the environmental impacts of economic growth is an important goal in today’s marketplace. This concern for a sustainable future incentivises marketing based around sustainability. The food and beverage industry had its fair share of criticism as its production uses more natural resources than most industries. One industry that has been ahead of other food processors in adopting environmental practices is the wine industry. The close relationship between wine and places is undisputable and so strong that people frequently visit places of wine production in the form of wine tourism contributing significantly to regional economies. For wine to be associated with sustainability, regional stakeholders would be required to represent similar values. The branding of places is far more intricate than branding of products and needs the support of those stakeholders involved. Such support is often discussed as a shared place identity. Only limited previous research has addressed whether the communication of sustainability enhances business performance. No research to date has empirically tested whether a shared stakeholder identity influences the relationship between sustainability branding and business success. To close this gap, a sequential mixed methods procedure was specified using quantitative questionnaires with 420 subjects and 20 qualitative interviews. A model with consequences of sustainability branding and a shared place identity was established using extant research. Mostly existing scales were adapted to fit this research context and tested with a structural modelling approach among Australian and German wineries. It was found that practicing and communicating sustainability significantly influences performance on an individual winery and regional destination level. Furthermore, a shared place identity has been established as a critical success factor in the relationship between sustainability branding and place performance. Both theoretical and practical implications can be drawn from this research. The results have provided empirical evidence on the direct relationship between sustainability and performance, in addition to the moderating role of a shared place identity. These findings extend the tourism literature which states that businesses practicing sustainably, enhance their own performance as well as the overall regional performance. It also extends stakeholder theory by establishing that a shared place identity strengthens this relationship even further, highlighting the need for regional management to initiate a shared sense of identification. Practically, regional managers who are eager to enhance economic performance should be actively involved in developing relationships between the individual wineries and the regional management in order to foster a shared place identity. Furthermore, it is of major importance to establish positive attitudes toward sustainability among winery owners. This can be done by building the confidence of winery owners by offering infrastructures for learning and support about sustainability.

The purpose of this study has been to examine how Swedish municipalities use place marketing and what place-specific qualities municipalities choose to highlight in their place marketing. The study also aims to describe how municipalities involve the inhabitants in their place marketing. The study is based out of a geographical perspective with ”place” as the fundamental approach, the study has focused on how place marketing is used in practice, its emergance as well as its effects on a place and the people who live there. This has been examined by studying place marketing in Northern Sweden's three largest university municipalities.The purpose of the study is not to prove the positive or negative effects of placemarketing and from that conclude if place marketing as a "good" or "bad" strategy. Rather, this study aims to create an understanding of municipal place marketing as a phenomenon with a perspective from the place and its inhabitants. The study shows that the municipalities describe place marketing as very important for economic growth and further development. The study's results also show that there are several similarities regarding what qualities the municipalities choose to highlight and how they position themselves in their place marketing. The study explains how municipalities mainly describe themselves based on the characteristics of the people who live there. The study also shows that the interest in involving the inhabitants in placemarketing varies and that some municipalities focus on that more than others. Involving citizens is highlighted as important in research, but nevertheless, they are primarily ”used” to legitimize the placebrand and give it credibility.