Today more people choose to travel, both for business and leisure, which have resulted in that tourism gradually are considered to be an important industry for different places. The increased possibility to travel and globalization is the main reason why destinations more often tend to use place branding and place marketing as a strategy to differentiate themselves against their competitors. This paper aims to study the phenomenon place marketing from a producer perspective on the destination High Coast, Sweden. Interviews was conducted with both the destination-organization and various tourism company within the region. The study aims to answer following questions: In which way do the destination developers at the High Coast work with place branding and place marketing? Perceive tourism companies in the High Coast area any benefit of and do they share the image that the destination developers want to convey? This paper shows how a destination actively work with packaging and communicating the core values of the destination. The developers work includes for instance a brand analysis where the involvement of companies and local people is one of the main points. The majority of the tourism business companies within the destination High Coast also feel that they can take advantage of the destination developers branding and that they, as individual companies, can help promote the destination.

Background: In an increasingly globalised world, municipalities more than ever have to compete with each other. Thus, the need to create a brand image has become vital for municipalities. Place branding is the tool that has enabled municipalities to create a brand image in order to attract stakeholders such as potential visitors, residents and businesses. The sustainability phenomenon Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) has recently become an attractive factor within place branding. Although, the concept of CSR is most commonly implemented within the private sector, CSR initiatives within the public sector are recognised as an integral part. Therefore, the issue of how municipalities can market and communicate their CSR-actives has arisen.  Purpose: The aim of this research is to explore how Swedish municipalities can market their CSR-activities, in order to gain competitive advantages as attractive cities. In further details, this research focuses on how municipalities can use place branding to market their CSR-activities and how they can communicate this to current and potential stakeholders. Method: In order to fulfil this purpose, an interpretivist methodology was adopted with an abductive approach. In regard to this, an exploratory design was developed. More specifically, it was conducted with a mixed method, using a quantitative content analysis and qualitative indepth interviews with knowledgeable experts within CSR from the most relevant departments in the municipalities. Conclusion: The findings indicate that the use of place branding can help municipalities with a sustainable profile to gain competitive advantages. Furthermore, it became apparent that the use of place branding strategies, such as slogan, logotypes, events and cooperation with stakeholders, could enhance the brand image of municipalities and enable them to attract potential stakeholders. In regards to the communication channels, the findings suggest municipalities to communicate their CSR-activities through websites, social media, press conferences, seminars and events.

<p>Svenska högskolor spenderar allt mer pengar på marknadsföring som används i arbetet med att attrahera studenter. Konkurrensen om studenterna är hård högskolorna emellan och resurser satsas på marknadsföring för att överleva i kampen om studenterna. Som i all marknadsföring bör den egna produkten särskiljas från konkurrenter och numera är det inte endast program och kurser som ägnas uppmärksamhet. Staden och dess attraktioner där den aktuella högskolan är belägen får idag en plats i den marknadsföring som sker.</p><p>Högskolan i Jönköping presenterar Jönköping som stad i sin programkatalog med presumtiva studenter som målgrupp. Det förefaller oss som studenter vid Högskolan i Jönköping intressant att undersöka den bild som sprids av vår stad i programkatalogen. Vårt syfte är därmed att konkretisera en profil utifrån programkatalogens innehåll samt att undersöka huruvida denna profil överensstämmer med inflyttade studenters bild av Jönköping, det vill säga stadens image.</p><p>Då det fokuseras på tolkning för att nå en ökad förståelse inom området utgår vi från en kvalitativ ansats och använder en sympatisk tolkningsstrategi samt arbetar i samklang med den hermeneutiska cirkeln. Syftet kräver en process av analyser och undersökningar som bryts ned i fyra frågeställningar. Genom dessa når vi följande: en konkretisering av en profil utifrån det innehåll som Högskolan i Jönköping använder i sin programkatalog 08/09, en konkretisering av Jönköpings image, en avstämning av profil och image med den faktiska verkligheten samt förhållandet mellan profil och image. Någon liknande undersökning har tidigare inte genomförts vilket gör vår undersökning relevant för att nå en förståelse för hur profilen förhåller sig till imagen.</p><p>Resultatet ger en klar och aktuell bild av hur profil och image förhåller sig till varandra. Det framträder att Högskolan i Jönköping presenterar relevanta områden för studenten om Jönköping. Framträdande i undersökningen är att de konkreta exempel som ges i profilen till stor del är irrelevanta för studenten. Exemplen är formade efter en alltför vid målgrupp och stämmer inte överens med studentens bild av vad de olika områdena innefattar. Detta framträdande resultat bidrar till rekommendationer om hur innehållet i programkatalogen kan förbättras. Undersökningen är till nytta för informations- och marknadsföringsavdelningen vid Högskolan i Jönköping att ta del av i arbetet med sin marknadsföring för att sprida en sanningsenlig profil som överensstämmer med studenters bild av Jönköping.</p>

<p>Bakgrund:</p><p>Senaste tiden har konkurrensen hårdnat för att locka invånare, företag och investerare till städerna. Detta har gjort det allt viktigare att utmärka sig som en attraktiv plats att bo på och leva i. Städer profilerar sig alltmer genom platsmarknadsföring. Däremot skiljer sig tillvägagångssättet och samarbetet inom planeringsgrupperna av det strategiska marknadsföringsarbetet.</p><p>Syfte:</p><p>Med studien vill författarna studera FMJ:s samarbete mellan privat och offentlig sektor samt om de enskilda intressenternas verksamhet påverkar det gemensamma arbetet inom FMJ. Författarna kommer samtidigt att undersöka om intressenterna anser att FMJ har uppnått de riktlinjer och mål som har tagits fram.</p><p>Metod:</p><p>Författarna har valt att genomföra en kvalitativ fallstudie i form av samtalsintervjuer. Samtalsintervjuer har genomförts med representanter från Jönköpings näringsliv och kommun.</p><p>Slutsatser:</p><p>Studien visar att ett samarbete vid platsmarknadsföring har i Jönköping varit ett lyckat koncept. Både den privata och den offentliga sektorn är överens om att ett samarbete måste finnas men att finansieringen för detta samarbete måste lösas inför framtiden. Vidare ser författarna också att en utvidgning av den styrelse som idag driver projektet tillsammans med verksamhetschefen bör genomföras för att få en större legitimitet i staden.</p>

<p>Kultur som en strategi för tillväxt i en stad blir således allt mer vanlig, dock saknas en mer ingående studie kring Jönköping som stad.</p>

Contemporarily, the hosting of mega-events (MEs) is one of several strategies used by cities and governments to bring about improvements in a place s image and recognition. While London, host of the 2012 Olympic Games, is already considered to be a leading global city (e.g. Anholt & GfK Roper, 2011), the potential image benefits to be accrued from hosting the Games may in fact impact more upon internal, domestic perceptions rather than on external, international perceptions (Anholt, Oon, Masure et al., 2008). A key objective, therefore, for those involved in the development and delivery of the 2012 Olympic Games is to further enhance the image of the city (both domestically and internationally) and to minimise the risk of negative image formation (DCMS, 2008). However, image, in the context of MEs, is not an easy component to control, as previous Olympic Games have demonstrated (Shoval, 2002; Smith, 2005). The main purpose of this critical-realism-informed project, underpinned by theoretical-methodological social representation theory (SRT) (Moscovici, 1961, 1984), was to evaluate the domestic image impact of hosting the 2012 Olympics, pre- and post- Games, for the city of London. Based then on social representation theory, and a combination of abductive and retroductive research strategies, a survey was carried out among British citizens to identify their opinions concerning London as a city (or place brand), the Olympics as a ME, and the 2012 Games as a one-off event. Exponential non-discriminative snowball sampling was used to recruit participants (UK citizens, pre-event, n=561, post-event n=215) who completed a mixed-methods questionnaire both before and after the 2012 Olympics were held. The main part of this questionnaire was comprised of randomised free word-association tasks (qualitative) using London, the Olympics and 2012 London Olympics as inductor terms; i.e., Please give the first 10 words that come to mind when you hear the term . Data analysis involved collating the responses of the free word-association tasks into semantic word clusters, with one word (or phrase) representing each theme be that an object, emotion, an opinion, etc. Only words or phrases cited by 15% of participants were used to construct the image of each entity. The next level of analysis involved producing a similarity index and subsequent dendrogram, based on Kendal s correlation coefficient, that established the strength of the connections between the various elements of each social representation. The content and the structure of these pre- and post-event social representations were analysed and then compared to determine whether a.) hosting the 2012 Olympic Games represents an appropriate strategy to develop the city s domestic brand; b.) a co-branding process occurred, expressed by an image transfer, from the event to the place, or vice-versa; and c.) the major differences between the images generated by those living closest to London, compared to those living elsewhere in the UK. While London s overall image does not go through any significant changes pre-to-post event, the results of this study corroborate the value of sporting events in place branding strategies from a domestic perspective, but highlights some limitations, such as the exacerbation of London s pre-existing negative associations. In terms of co-branding, the results do not reveal a co-branding process to have occurred between London and the overall image of the Olympics, but there is some movement of elements from London to the 2012 event (related mainly to pre-Games anticipation) and between the 2012 event and the overall Olympics (related to the latter s unique defining associations). Finally, in terms of the differences between the images generated by those living closest to London, compared to those living elsewhere in the UK, there is a difference which appears to have been facilitated, at least in part, by a 2012-effect, with the event seemingly contributing to London being perceived as generally busier, more expensive and more congested by those living closest to the city, but more vibrant and more multicultural by those living elsewhere in the UK.

This qualitative study aims to examine how Tillväxt Motala AB are working strategically to market Motala, a middle-sized city in Sweden. The study is implemented through qualitative semi-structured interviews with employees at Tillväxt Motala AB. The theories on which this study is built are strategic communication, place branding and marketing communication, and a few concepts regarding propaganda. The results show an integration of marketing and communication work roles at the organisation of interest. A deficiency concerning internal communication at Tillväxt Motala AB, due to lack of time, was found. Furthermore, Tillväxt Motala AB has a unique contact with both local and external networks from which employees benefit in their work regarding the place branding. Consensus in the interpretation of place branding as a definition was found among the employees - to highlight a place's positive qualities through communication to meet the needs of the business sector, visitors and residents and to differentiate themselves.

Doctor of Philosophy / Abstract There has been a significant change in Australian consumer behaviour with an increase in time and money spent, in suburban ethnic business districts (named in this study as ethniehubs). But little attention has been paid to the role of ethnically owned stores in generating income within ethniehubs. In fact, there is still a lack of research conducted by architects and planners about the way in which the physical environment of ethnic stores in ethniehubs attract consumers, and the way in which the physical environment affect consumers’ behaviour. Therefore, the study is important in filling the current gap in literature. For this Sydney-based study, two separate ethniehubs are used for data collection - Leichhardt with a strong Italian character, and Cabramatta with identifiably Vietnamese attributes. The goal of this study is to find out how the ethniehubs have developed and how consumers behave in ethniehubs. The present study derived from architecture and planning, also addresses the effect of the physical environment of ethnic stores on consumers behaviour at both store and ethniehub level. The research has several questions to answer. How have Sydney’s ethniehubs developed? How do ethniehubs influence consumer behaviour? More specifically: What attracts consumers to ethniehubs? Who are these consumers? What do they purchase? Does the ethnic background of consumers influence their behaviour in ethniehubs? The data are collected through observation, survey and focus group discussions of consumers at both Leichhardt and Cabramatta. The findings of this research have a number of implications for urban planning, i.e tourism, place branding and place marketing. By understanding the importance of the physical environment of ethnic stores, more considered architectural design and interior decoration will ensure that their most highly valued aspects are reinforced. This study also contributes to the knowledge of urban planning of ethniehub shopping precincts and ethnic stores decorations each of which has important social and economic consequences.

<p>It has become increasingly common for cities and municipalities to take greater account of the place marketing, and to see the physical location as a brand. An early step in this process is to make the image measurements of the place, in order to develop better marketing strategies. A method often used in tourism research for this type of measurements is Etchner and Ritchie's theoretical framework. The framework is initially designed to measure visitor's image of a tourist destination.</p><p>Almost all previous research in this area is based on the visitor's perspective, but Olofsson and Skredsvik have used this framework to measure a location's image among the residents. They feel that the residents of a place can be seen as ambassadors of the place because they know the site well. To be aware about the image among the residents makes it possible to improve the things that the residents are unhappy with, but also enhance the images of the place which is positive.</p><p>The purpose of this paper is to evaluate whether Etchner and Ritchie's framework can be adapted to measure a location's image among its inhabitants, from the viewpoint of Olofsson and Skredsvik's adaptation of this particular framework. In order to generate data to answer the purpose of this paper, an image study among the residents in Botkyrka was carried out according to the method used by Olofsson and Skredsvik.</p><p>In addition to the results from the image study of Botkyrka, the paper has contributed methodological expertise in destination image research. Some of the main conclusions obtained in this paper is that the adaptation of Etchner and Ritchie's framework overall has worked well to measure a location's image among the residents. The original framework is of such a general nature which makes it possible to make adjustments to it, as long as the essential components of the framework remain. Another contribution from this study is that the material collected by this method can be used to statistically test the differences between various groups within the sample.</p> / <p>Det har blivit allt vanligare att städer och kommuner tar större hänsyn till platsmarknadsföring, och att se den fysiska platsen som ett varumärke. Ett tidigt led i denna process är att göra imagemätningar av platsen, för att bättre kunna utforma marknadsföringsstrategier. En metod som ofta används inom turismforskningen för denna typ av mätningar är Etchner och Ritchies teoretiska ramverk. Ramverket är ursprungligen utformat för att mäta besökares bild av en turistdestination.</p><p>Nästan all tidigare forskning på detta område utgår från besökarens perspektiv, men Olofsson och Skredsvik har använt detta ramverk för att mäta en plats image bland de boende. De menar att de boende på en plats kan ses som platsens ambassadörer då de känner till platsen väl. Att känna till platsens image bland de boende gör att man kan förbättra saker som de boende är missnöjda med, men även förstärka de bilder av platsen som är positiva.</p><p>Syftet med denna uppsats är att utvärdera om Etchner och Ritchies ramverk går att anpassa för att mäta en plats image bland dess invånare, vilket gjorts med utgångspunkt från Olofsson och Skredsviks anpassning av detta ramverk. För att generera underlag till att kunna uppnå syftet så har en imagemätning bland de boende i Botkyrka genomförts utifrån den metod som Olofsson och Skredsvik använt i en studie av Vara kommun.</p><p>Förutom de resultat som kommit fram om Botkyrka kommuns image så har uppsatsen bidragit med metodologisk kunskap inom destinationsimageforskningen. Några av de viktigaste slutsatserna som framkommer i detta arbete är att anpassningen av Etchner och Ritchies ramverk överlag har fungerat väl för att mäta en plats image bland de boende. Det ursprungliga ramverket är av så pass generell natur vilket gör att det går att göra anpassningar av det, så länge som de väsentligaste komponenterna av ramverket återstår. Ett annat bidrag som studien kommit fram till är att materialet som samlas in med denna metod går att använda för att statistiskt testa skillnader mellan olika grupper inom urvalet.</p>

<p>Städer blir i dagsläget mer och mer konkurrensutsatta och trenden är att samhället förändrasfrån ett industrisamhälle till att vara mer upplevelseorienterat där framför allt turistnäringen blir allt viktigare. Genom strategiskt varumärkesbyggande har städer möjlighet att skapa sig ett starkt varumärke som kan frambringa en konkurrensfördel.</p><p>En svensk stad som har arbetat framgångsrikt inom detta område, som i teorin kallas city branding, är Göteborg genom sitt bolag Göteborg & Co som aktivt jobbar med marknadsföring och destinationsutveckling. I denna studie undersöks hur Göteborg & Co har arbetat med att utveckla Göteborg till en framgångsrik destination.</p><p>Undersökningen har genomförts genom en kvalitativ studie med respondenter från samtliga affärsområden inom Göteborg & Co. Resultatet visar på att varumärket Göteborg har skaffat sig en styrka genom Göteborg & Co:s arbete med faktorer som långsiktighet, helhetstänk, framtidsvisioner och framförallt; samverkan.</p> / <p>Today cities are getting more and more exposed to competition from other cities around the world. The community is changing from an industrial community towards a community focused on experiences where the tourism industry is more important to cities to survive the competition. Through strategic branding cities have the opportunity to create a competitive advantage.</p><p>A Swedish city that has been successful in this subject area, theoretical called city branding, is Gothenburg. They have through their company Göteborg & Co been taking an active part in the work of marketing and destination development regarding the city of Gothenburg. This paper survey how Göteborg & Co through development has been working to make Gothenburg become a preferred destination for tourists, meetings and events.</p><p>The survey has been carried out through a qualitative method with respondents working in all different business areas within Göteborg & Co. The result shows that the strength in the brand Göteborg have been created through Göteborg & Co:s long-term work which is symbolized by factors like overall thinking, future perspective and most important;</p><p>cooperation.</p>