Using a multi-sited ethnographic case study, this thesis examines the development of rural place brands in three towns in Scotland. Engaging with the literatures on place branding and entrepreneurial governance, and the theoretical work of Pierre Bourdieu, this thesis critically examines how and why the place brands in a rural context were developed; how the places were transformed (reconstructed) through branding; the struggles and contestations within the branding process; and the perceived audiences for such developments. It is argued that whilst there are numerous similarities in the developments of the brands, there are also significant differences to that of urban place branding. This thesis thus problematises the application of theories of branding developed in urban areas to rural contexts. It is also argued that, despite the branding literature suggesting that brands promote a clear, coherent and holistic identity for place (see Kavaratzis, 2005), the development of brands in the current research has been deeply contested, and fraught with various struggles over how the brand (and the place more broadly) should be represented. This thesis thus challenges the extent to which a clear, coherent and holistic identity of the brand (and place) can be established. Finally, whilst it has been argued that place marketing and branding strategies seek to target specific audiences (as was also the case in the current research) (see Gotham, 2002), this thesis argues that in practice, this is a deeply problematic process as the audience of place brands is actually rather diverse. In sum, this thesis makes a significant contribution to our knowledge on place branding by providing an in-depth critical examination of place branding processes in a rural context, which has been all too often neglected by a dominant focus on the urban.

This thesis describes an approach to the study of medieval rural settlement in Mid-Argyll which involved a combination of archaeological survey and historic geography. The techniques used included archaeological fieldwork, excavation, geophysical survey, and the consultation of historic maps, documentary evidence and aerial photographs. The area covered in this thesis includes the parishes of Kilmartin, Kilmichael Glassary and North Knapdale in Mid-Argyll, Scotland. Initial wide ranging fieldwork and consideration of the historical context was followed by more detailed investigations which are presented as four case studies, at Bàrr Mór, Glennan, Carnasserie and North Knapdale. This work has provided a greater understanding of the chronology, architecture, social organisation, economy and material culture of medieval rural settlement in Mid-Argyll. The thesis concludes that the current scarcity of the physical remains of medieval settlement may be a result of a combination of the use of perishable materials, subsequent cultivation of settlement sites, deliberate demolition and re-use of structures and the lack of dating material. Despite this, there is a potential for understanding how people utilised and moved through the landscape, through further examination of the physical remains of shielings, pre-Improvement farmsteads, castles as well as utilising other disciplines such as palynology and Gaelic literary sources.