2010:016

M A S T E R ' S T H E S I S

Using place branding to attracttourists and residents to

Swedish regions

Joel Liljedahl

Luleå University of Technology

D Master thesis Marketing

Department of Business Administration and Social SciencesDivision of Industrial marketing and e-commerce

2010:016 - ISSN: 1402-1552 - ISRN: LTU-DUPP--10/016--SE

SummaryThepurposeof this thesiswas to investigatehowSwedishregionsobtainincreasedgrowthintourismandpopulationwiththeuseofplacebranding.The case studies were conducted with four organizations divided in twoSwedish regions; Norrbotten and Jämtland. The organizations inNorrbottenwereSwedishLaplandandRegionalDevelopmentNorrbotten.Theorganizations in Jämtlandwere JämtlandHärjedalenTourismandthecounty administrative board of Jämtland. The study found that havingidentified distinct target groups, a well‐constructed image and desirableattractions,iscrucialwhenattractingtouriststoaregion.Inordertoattractresidents, it turnedout tobe important tocreate jobs, touseambassadornetworksandmost importantly,havingeveryonewithinaregiontostrivetowardsthesamegoals;somethingthatwouldbeprovenratherdifficult.

Förord

JaghargenomdennauppsatsfördjupatmigiSvenskaregionersarbetemedatt attrahera turister och invånare med hjälp av place branding. Jag harävenförståttviktenavattsamverkainomregionenförattpåettbättresättnåuppsattamål.

Först och främst vill jag rikta ett stort tack tillmina informanter Jan‐ErikJaensson,KarinGydemoGrahnlöf,AnnaLindbergandSusanneKindströmsom tagit sig tid att besvaramina frågor samt bidragit tillmitt empiriskamaterial.EttstorttackriktasäventillMagnusAhlqvist(VinterReklambyrå)ochLarsWallrup(AttraktivRegionNorrbotten)sombidragitmedkunskapinomplacebrandingsamtifinnandetavkontakter.

JagvilläventackaminhandledareHåkanPerzonsamtminastudiekamratersompåettkonstruktivtsättochmedinsiktsfullaåsikterguidatmigigenomfärdigställandetavdennauppsats.

Luleå2009‐12‐30

JoelLiljedahl

Tableofcontents

1Introduction ..................................................................................................................................11.1Background ..........................................................................................................................................11.2Problemdiscussion............................................................................................................................21.3Limitations............................................................................................................................................51.4ThesisOutline......................................................................................................................................5

2TheoreticalFramework.............................................................................................................72.1HowdoSwedishregionsattracttouristswiththeuseofplacebranding? ...................................72.1.1Differentstrategiesofbrandingaplace ..............................................................................................72.1.2Imageandreputation ..................................................................................................................................82.1.3Attractionstoattracttourists ............................................................................................................... 10

2.2HowdoSwedishregionsattractresidentswiththeuseofplacebranding? ............................. 112.2.1Creatingjobsforthefuture .................................................................................................................... 112.2.2Ambassadorsasdrivers .......................................................................................................................... 122.2.3Ninefactorsforpresentorpotentialresidentsinaregion...................................................... 13

3Methodology............................................................................................................................... 143.1Researchapproach ......................................................................................................................... 143.2Literaturereview............................................................................................................................. 143.3Researchstrategy ............................................................................................................................ 143.4Choiceofcasestudyobjects ......................................................................................................... 153.4.1SwedishLapland......................................................................................................................................... 153.4.2RegionalDevelopmentNorrbotten(RDN) ...................................................................................... 153.4.3JämtlandHärjedalenTourism............................................................................................................... 163.4.4JämtlandandTheCountyAdministrativeBoardofJämtland................................................. 16

3.5Datacollection.................................................................................................................................. 173.6Methodologyproblems.................................................................................................................. 17

4EmpiricalData ........................................................................................................................... 184.1HowdoSwedishregionsattracttouristswiththeuseofplacebranding? ................................ 184.1.1Casestudy1:SwedishLapland............................................................................................................. 184.1.2Casestudy2:JämtlandHärjedalenTourism .................................................................................. 20

4.2HowdoSwedishregionsattractresidentswiththeuseofplacebranding? ............................. 214.2.1Casestudy3:RegionalDevelopmentNorrbotten ........................................................................ 214.2.2Casestudy4:TheCountyAdministrativeBoardofJämtland ................................................. 23

5Analysis ........................................................................................................................................ 255.1HowdoSwedishregionsattracttouristswiththeuseofplacebranding? ............................ 255.1.1Marketingstrategy..................................................................................................................................... 255.1.2Placeimage.................................................................................................................................................... 255.1.3Attractions..................................................................................................................................................... 26

5.2HowdoSwedishregionsattractresidentswiththeuseofplacebranding? ......................... 275.2.1Jobsforthefuture ...................................................................................................................................... 275.2.2Ambassadorsasdrivers .......................................................................................................................... 275.2.3”nine‐factors” ............................................................................................................................................... 28

6Discussion ................................................................................................................................... 296.1Researchquestion1 ........................................................................................................................................... 296.2Researchquestion2 ........................................................................................................................................... 306.3Concludingremarks ........................................................................................................................................... 306.4Suggestionsonfurtherresearch................................................................................................................... 31

Appendix

References

Figures

Figure1.1ThesisoutlineFigure2.1AlternativeperspectivesonmarketingandtheplacebrandTables

Table4.1:Lindberg’srankingof“nineimportantfactors”Table4.2:Kindströms’rankingof“nineimportantfactors”Table 5.1: Compilation of answers based on survey and repr. fromNorrbottenandJämtland.

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1IntroductionThe chapter begins with a background, followed by a problem discussionabout place branding and a declaration of the purpose and the researchquestionsofthisthesis.Finally,limitationswillbepresentedtogetherwithanoutlinedisplayingtheapproachofthisreport.

1.1BackgroundThedefinitionofabrandoftenbecomessubject todisagreementbetweenbrand experts as each expert comes up with his or her own definition(Kapferer, 2004, p 9). According to Stern (2006), the brand concept hasbecomeover‐defined,resultinginvariousanddifferentmeanings.Toavoidthe risk of having researchers studying the same concept under differentnamesordifferentconceptsunderthesamename,Sternsuggeststhattheword brand should be classified as both an entity (brand) and a process(branding)(ibid).

One definition of the brand as an entity that has endured contemporaryliterature despite being criticized for being too product oriented, is thedefinition from the American Marketing Association (AMA). The AMAdefinesthebrandasaname,term,sign,symbol‐ordesign,oracombinationoftheseintendedtoidentifythegoodsandservicesofoneseller‐oragroupofsellersandtodifferentiatethemfromthoseofcompetitors’(Kotleretal.,2002).

Ifwetakealookinthedictionaries,brandingisoftendefinedastheentireprocessinvolvedincreatingauniquenameandimageforagoodorservicein the consumers’mind, through advertising campaignswith a consistenttheme.Furthermore,Anholt(2007,s4)definesbrandingas“theprocessofdesigning,planningandcommunicatingthenameandtheidentity,inordertobuildormanagethereputation.

Place branding is a relatively new term encompassing branding of cities,regions and nations etc. The term “Place branding” is sometimes alsoknownasitssynonym“placemarketing”andreferstothecompetitionfortourists,visitors,investors,residentsandotherresourceswithinthesecities,regionsetc. (Avrahametal.,2008).Placebranding isbasedona strategicapproachtopublicrelations,stating thatachangeof image isanongoing,holistic, interactive and wide‐scale process, requiring much more than aquickchangeoflogoorsymbolasindealingwithproducts(Hospers,2004).

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Today there is a constant ongoing struggle between cities and regions incountries all over theworld. This struggle could be about inwhich city amultinationalcompanyshoulddecidetobuildafactoryinordertoexpand,or which region is best suited for hosting the upcoming worldchampionship in cross country skiing. The decisions will be based uponseveralfactorsandacityoraregionshouldconsideritsreputationratherthesameasthebrandimagesofcompaniesandequallyimportant(Anholt,2007).

AccordingtoKotleretal(1999,p33),placebranding‐relatedinterventionsin regions primarily focus on three target groups; visitors, residents andcompanies.Thefirsttargetgroup,Kotleretalchoosetodivideintobusinessvisitorsandprivatevisitors.Businessvisitors,theauthorsclassifyasthosewho participate in a business meeting or a conference, investigating aprospectduetodoapossiblepurchaseetc.Privatevisitorsaredescribedastourists or people on visit (ibid). However, Hankinson (2005) points outthat researchwithinplacebrandingconnected to thehospitality industry,inmostcasesareabouttheprivatehospitality industrywhichalsowillbeobjectofinvestigationinthisthesis.

1.2ProblemdiscussionLike mentioned earlier in the text, the world is one market. The rapidadvance of globalization means that every country, every city and everyregion must compete with every other for its share of the world’sconsumers, tourists, investors, residents andall other relatedof that area(Anholt,2007).Theimportanceforregions,citiesandnationsbeingabletomaster place branding is further enhanced by Spiekermann (2007) whoclaims that day by day, individualsmake decisions where to spend theirnextvacation,wheretoinvesttheirassets,orwheretosettledownforthefuture. Consciously or unconsciously, connotations attached to therespectivenationsorregionsinfluencethisdecision‐makingprocess(ibid).

Imageandreputationaretwocentralandimportanttermswhenbranding,whether it’s about a product (physical/non‐physical) or a place (Anholt,2007).Infact,Anholtclaimsthatimagevirtuallyisthesameasreputationand it includes a range of associations,memories, expectations and otherfeelingsthatareboundupwithaproductoraplace.Imageisthecontextinwhichmessagesarereceived,notthemessageitself(ibid).Aaker(1996,p69)enhancestheimportanceoftheimageasaproviderofusefulandevennecessarybackgroundinformationwhendevelopinganidentityforabrandoraplace.

The importance of a good image or reputation of a place becomes quitecrucial in person’s decision process whether or not to visit a region for

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vacationortosettledown(Anholt,1997).Havingambassadorsinformsofcontent residents or visitors can also have a positive effect in attractingtouristsandresidentstoaregion(Kotleretal,1999).

Tourismisinmostcasesthemostimportantandmostpowerfultoolwhenit comes tobrandinga countryorapartofa country (Anholt,1997).Thereasonforthat,Anholtclaims,isbecausetourismhaspermissiontobrandacountry (or region) directly. Publics are generally dismissive of directcommunications from national governments or their agencies, and – notsurprisingly, since they are never selling a specific product to a specificaudience–areunsurehowtoreactonthem(Ibid).Communications fromtourist organizations, on the other hand, Anholt claims are seen as alegitimaterepresentationofthecountry(region)totheglobalaudience.

AccordingtoWalsh(1994),amajorpartoftheeffortsinplacebrandinginregionsareonlydirectedtocurrentresidentsinacertainregionandKotleretal(1999,p25)highlighttheimportanceofalsoaimingtowardspotentialresidents.Walsh however, states that regions have started to realize theimportanceofmarketthemselvesandcreatethecorrectimage,bothlocally,nationally and in some cases even internationally, in order to attracttouristsandresidentstothatparticularregion.

Apre‐studyhasbeenconductedbeforeIchosethethemeofthisthesis.Nomatter how interesting things might appear in theory, I strongly believethatitisimportanttopayattentionwhentheoryisputintopractice.Afterhavinghaddiscussionswithalocalmarketingfirmandaprocessleaderofplace branding interventions in a Swedish region, the need of furtherresearchinplacebrandingappearedevenmoreobvious.

Going through the discussions and argumentations above, the purpose ofthisthesisappearsquitenaturally,whichisstatedasfollows;

Investigate how Swedish regions obtain increased growth intourismandpopulationwiththeuseofplacebranding

Kotler et al (1999, p 33‐34) emphasize that the hospitality industry inEurope aswell as globally, has expanded. The authors claim that visitorsare part of a target group that regions direct their place branding effortsagainst. Furthermore, Kotler et al enhance the importance of regionsinvestinginthehospitalityindustryinordertocreatejobsandtogenerateincome.MedwayandWarnaby(2008)claimthatregionsusedifferentplacebrandingstrategiestoattracttouristsandtheyhavealsodevelopedamodelthatshowsthedifferentstrategiesandwhateffecttheywillhaveoncetheygetapplied.

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According to Bennett and Koudelova (2001), a well‐constructed image iscrucialwhen it comes tobrandingaplacebecauseof the fact that a goodimageattractsnative and foreignvisitors andalsodifferentiates a certainarea from other places. Anholt (2007) argues that the reputation or theplace imagebecomes important, regardlesswhetherwe’re thinking aboutgoing somewhere on holiday, ormoving to a new town (ibid). As true asthismight be, it is still not enough according to Kotler et al (1999). Theauthors suggest more direct actionsmeaning that actors within a regionmust invest in specific attractions and events in order to attract tourists.Someplacesare fortunateenoughtohavenaturalattractions thatalreadyexist without being invested in. A great example of a place such asdescribedisVenicewithitschannelsystem(ibid).Otherexamplesofplacesthatareabletotakeadvantageof itshistoricalheritageareEgyptwith itspyramidsandAthenswith itsParthenon(ibid). Having thissaid, the firstresearchquestionisstatedasfollows;

RQ1:HowdoSwedishregionsattracttouristswiththeuseofplacebranding?

Regionsandcitieswithinregionstodayarehighlyinvolvedindevelopmentof a favorable future and environment for two target groups; existingresidentsandpotentialresidents(Kotleretal,1999,p101).Treshmanetal(2007)furtherarguethatbyfocusingonthefuture,citiesandregionswillincrease their attractiveness and is therefore an important part in placebranding.

Ward (1999) claims that there are great differences between the type ofplacebrandingbeingusedtoattractvisitorsandresidents,comparedtotheone being used to attract companies and investors. However, attractingmorejobswillofcoursehavepositiveeffectsonattractingmoreresidents(ibid).Kotleretal(1999)arguesthatmunicipalitieswithinaregionshouldhelp and encourage existing companies to expand, as that generates ahigheramountofincomeandconsequentlymoreresidentstothatregion.

Kotler et al (1999, p 64‐66) argue the importance of having goodambassadorswithincitiesandregions;peoplethataresatisfiedwithwherethey live and alsowilling to convey a positive image to others. Themaintask for the ambassadors is according toKotler et al, to inspire others tobecomeresidentsofthatsameplace.Thisphenomenonknownas“DowhatIdo” is an importantpartofplacebrandingand reachesahigher levelofcredibility amongpeople as locals and local enterprises become a part ofthemarketingeffort(EkandHultman,2007).

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Riecken and Yavas (2001) have identified nine factors that present andpotential residentsbear inmindwhen theychoosewhere to live.Allninefactorshavedifferentdegreeof importance and the result canhavegreatimportanceasthistypeofinformationiscriticalforgovernmentgroupsandorganswithactionability,astheyprioritizeanddesigncoursesofactionstomaintainorenhancevariousfactors.Thesecondresearchquestionisstatedasfollow;

RQ2:HowdoSwedishregionsattractresidentswiththeuseofplacebranding?

1.3LimitationsI have chosen to investigate how Swedish regions attract tourists andresidents with the use of place branding. Nothing about how thoseinterventionsareperceivedbythepublic.IhavenottakenanygeographicalfactorsintoaccountwhenIchosewhichregionstoinvestigate.Thechoiceofregionstoinvestigateisbaseduponaccessibility.

1.4ThesisOutline

Figure1.1:ThesisOutline

Chapter6Conclusions&Findings

Chapter5AnalysisofEmpiricalData

Chapter4GatheringofEmpiricalData

Chapter3Methodology

Chapter2LitteratureReview

Chapter1Introduction&Problemdiscussion

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2TheoreticalFrameworkIn this chapter, concepts, models and theories thatmake the foundation ofthisstudywillbepresented.Also,afurtherdiscussionoftheproblematicarearegardingplacebrandingandtheimportanceofthatwillbeheld.

2.Attractingtouristswiththeuseofplacebranding?

2.1.1DifferentstrategiesofbrandingaplaceMedway andWarnaby (2008) claim that regions use differentmarketingstrategieswhenbrandingplaces.Insomecases,marketingeffortsareusedforaspecificreason,nothavingpeoplevisitingacertainplace,alsoknowasde‐marketing.Inordertogiveabetterexplanationofthestrategies,figure2.1 illustrates a two‐dimensional matrix, comprising the nature ofmarketingeffort(highversuslow)andthenatureof“marketingemphasis”(negativeversuspositive).

Thevariousplacemarketingandde‐marketingactivitiesarerepresentedasbroad vectors, emphasizing flexibility of approach and the fact that suchactivitiesareoftenmoreaboutageneraldirectionorintent.

Figur 2.1: “Alternative perspectives onmarketing and the place brand” (Medway andWarnaby,2008,p648)

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Medway andWarnaby (2008) explain the followingmarketing strategies:(A)Conventionalplacemarketinginvolvesahighmarketingeffort,whichemphasizes positive place dimensions, often aimed at selected marketsegments.However,whatisattractivetoonepersonmaybedisincentivetoanother.Thustheplacedimensionsemphasizedinconventionalmarketingactivity, may in some cases be interpreted by other market segments as“not being for them”. This has been described as (B) Selective passiveplace marketing, where de‐marketing occurs by default, rather thanspecific intention in effort or emphasis. (C) General passive placemarketing invariably incorporates a low marketing effort, typically as ameasureformanagingdemandandensuringplacesustainabilityinthefaceof over‐popularity, where places do not have to overtly market theirpositive attributes. (D)Crisisplacede­marketing inevitably entailshighmarketing effort by virtue of the motivation to keep people away fromvenuesandplacesforveryspecificreasonsandforfinitetimeperiods.Theemphasisisalwaysnegativeandthepurposeistokeeppeopleawayfromaplacewhichisnotgoodforthem,diseasesetc.(E)Informationalplacede­marketing, often typified as impartial external agencies,warning againsttraveling to a particular place. The marketing effort is generally neutralwhere thepoint is largely to inform travelers in theirdecisionsabout therisk places engender rather than to unduly influence. However, if thereasonsfornottravelingtoparticularlocationsbecomeactuate,thelevelofmarketing effort may become greater, shifting towards the concept of“crisis place de‐marketing. (F) Perverse place marketing involvessignificant marketing effort. The emphasis is still on negativity, but in amorecomic/ironicway,thepsychologyofwhichistypicallytopromote(asopposed to de‐market) a particular place through celebration of all itsfaults.(G)Darkplacemarketingresemblesconventionalplacemarketingin that it involves a highmarketing effort, but this is typically applied toelementsoftheplaceproduct,whichtomany,willnothaveoverlypositiveconnotationsandemphasis,andtosomewillbeplaindepressing.ExamplesofplacesliketheseareAuschwitz‐BirkenauandGroundZero.

2.1.2ImageandreputationEveryplaceonearthhasareputation,justasproductsandcompanieshavebrandimages(Anholt,2007,p8).Thetraveler'schoiceofagivenvacationdestinationdependslargelyonthefavorablenessofhisorherimageofthatdestination (Baloglu and McCleary, 1999). Faced with a great variety ofcompetingdestinations,thetravelermusteliminatesomeoptionsowingtotime and money constraints. Among the narrowed set, however, thetraveler is likely to choose thedestinationwith themost favorable image(Leisen,2001).Anholt(2007)furtherclaimsthatreputationsofplacestendtocomeabout

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inamorecomplexandmorerandomwayandthatitcanberichorsimple,mainlypositiveormainlynegative.MiddletonandClarke (2001,p126‐7)stress the power of reputationwhen he claims that place images are notnecessarily grounded in experience or facts and that they are powerfulmotivatorsinleisuretravelandtourism.Placeimagesandtheexpectationsoftravelexperiencesarecloselylinkedinprospectivecustomers’mind,andhere, media often plays a big role. Many people have through media orhearsay already decided whether they are attracted or repelled by forexample,theimageofLasVegas(ibid).The traveler creates an image by processing information about aplace/destination from various sources over time and this information isorganized into amental construct that in someway ismeaningful to theindividual (Leisen, 2001). Gunn (1972) suggests that destination imagescan adopt the guise of three types of images, beginningwith the organicimagefollowedbytheinducedimageandendinginthecompleximage.Thestage of an individual's image depends on his or her experiencewith thedestination. The only type of image that can be controlled is the inducedimage,whichalsowillbegiventhemostattention.AccordingtoGunn(1972), theorganic imagearisesfroma longhistoryofnon‐tourism specific information, such as history and geography books,newspaperreports,magazinearticles,andtelevisionreportsthatwerenotintended as tourism‐specific. Thus, individuals who have never visited adestinationnorhavesoughtoutanytourism‐specificinformationwilllikelyhavesomekindofinformationstoredintheirmemory.Atthispointtheremight be an incomplete image, towhich the traveler adds other bits andpieces(ibid).The induced image, Gunn claims, is derived from a conscious effort oftourism promotion directed by tourism organizations. While the organicimage is beyond the control of thedestination area, the induced image isdirected by the place’s marketing efforts. It depends upon colorfulbrochuresdistributedatVisitorInformationCenters,informationavailablein travel agencies, travel articles in magazines, TV advertisements, andmanyotheractivitiesatourismorganizationmightchoosetopromotethedestination. Tourist boards are very good in sending out messages topeople about information, and most importantly, new images about acertain place (Anholt, 2007). They can tell people what places look like,whatsortofpeoplelivethere,whatsortofthingspeopledoandmake,theclimate,thefood,thecultureandthehistoryofthecountryorpartsofthecountry(ibid).Thecomplex image is a result of anactual visitationand incorporates the

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experience at the destination. Because of this direct experience with thedestination, the imagetendstobemorecomplexanddifferentiated(ibid).For instance, Baloglu and McCleary (1999) found significant differencesbetweenvisitorsandnon‐visitors.Whilenon‐visitorsperceivedforinstanceTurkey, Italy, and Greece as equally appealing, visitors found Greece lessappealingwhencomparedwithTurkeyandItaly.AccordingtoKotleretal(1999),itisdifficulttocreateandchangeanimageanditcouldmeanayearlongprocess.BennetandKoudelova(2001)arguethe goal with creating a place image is that it should convey a qualitydestinationmeantforleisureaswellascompanyrelatedactivitiesandthattheimageshouldconveytheidentityofaregion.Creating a place image usually includes a logotype, slogan and identity(Ward,1998).Wardfurtherarguesthattheformationofasloganisoneofthe key tasks for image formation in place branding. Walsh (1989)however,claimsthataslogancanhitbackinanegativewayifitpromisesmorethantheregionactuallycankeep.Wardfurtherarguesthatalogotypecouldbemoreefficientinimageformation,aswrittenwordsdon’thavethesame power and simplicity as a symbol. The author further states thatsymbolsinformsoflogotypesorbuildingsstronglycontributetotheimagethat the regions wish to convey (ibid). A close connection between aregion’simageandidentityisimportantbecauseanimagethatisnotbasedonfacts,mostlikelywillnotstayconsistent(BennettandKoudelova,2001).The authors claimhowever that the imagedoesn’t necessarily have to besynonymous to the region’s identity, as they describe the identity as theregion’snature,cultureandpersonality.

2.1.3AttractionstoattracttouristsMiddleton and Clarke (2001, p 348‐349) describe attractions as beingpolarized between a few large and thousands ofmicro‐sized enterprises,someownedandmanagedwithinthepublicsectororbytrustsandarenotoperatedasbusinessesforprofit,andsomeonlymeanttogeneratemoney.The authors further argue that visitor attractions have a particularlyimportant role to play in both representing and delivering the particularplacethatprovidesthebasisforcompetitionbetweenplaces.

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MiddletonandClarke(2001)have identified fourkindsofattractionsthatappealtovisitors:

Natural attractions: landscape, seascape, beaches, climate and othergeographicalfeaturesofthedestinationanditsnaturalresources.

Builtattractions:modernarchitecture,monuments,parksandgardens,skislopes,golfcoursesetc.

Cultural attractions: history and folklore, theatre, art, music, dance andotherentertainment.

Social attractions:way of life and customsof resident or host population,languageandopportunitiesforsocialencounters.

Combined, these aspects of a destination comprise what is generically, ifloosely,knownasitsenvironment.Thenumberofvisitorstheenvironmentcan accommodate in a typical range of activities on a typical busy daywithoutdamagetoitselementsandwithoutunderminingitsattractivenesstovisitorsisknownasitscapacity(MiddletonandClarke,2001,p125).

Kotleretal(1999)arguethatregionsandcitieswithinregionsmustinvestindevelopmentofnewattractions.MiddletonandClarke(2001)claimthatonly built‐ and cultural attractions are manageable by regions, however,marketing efforts can be used to highlight existing natural‐ and socialattractions(ibid).

2.2Attractingresidentswiththeuseofplacebranding?

2.2.1CreatingjobsforthefutureBy investing in business‐promoting activities, a region can strengthen itseconomicposition(Kotleretal,1999).Ward(1998)claimsthatonesinglesuccessfulandnewlyestablishedcompanycancreategrowthandbeliefinthe future. As a result from this, Matson (1994) states that there is anongoing competition between cities and regions to attract large companyinvestors. Kotler et al (1999) further argues the importance of havingfacilitatingactions for localentrepreneursas theymakeregionsattractiveand are able to attract potential residents at the same time as it createsmore jobs for present residents. Kotler et al mention three ways ofsupporting local entrepreneurs; having sponsored educational activities,stimulateentrepreneurialnetworksandofferingsofcounseling.Bybrandingaregion’sentrepreneurialprofile,itwillstrengthentheinternalidentityofaregion(ibid).

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Byinvestinginknowledge‐basedindustriesandnetworks,suchasresearchand education, a regionwillmaintain a high living standard (Kotler et al,1999, p 101). Treshman et al (2007) emphasize that efforts in educationcontribute tomore attractive regions for the future, by creating a higherlevelofknowledgeforfutureeducationandlabor.Accordingtotheauthors,aregionwillbecomemoreattractive foryoungpeople if it focuseson theinterestsofthattargetgroup.Anexampleofthisistoinvestinfuturejobstogiveyoungpeoplethepictureofabrightfuture.

2.2.2AmbassadorsasdriversAlthoughitisstillquiterare,thepracticeofusingambassadorsinbrandingof places is being increasingly employed (Andersson and Ekman, 2009).The purpose of having ambassadors, the authors claim, is to promote aplace’simageandattractiveness.Anambassadorisseenbycoordinatorsasconstituting a credible testimony of the distinctive character of the placeand its attractiveness, and can through the word‐of‐mouth effect haveinfluence on others through their networks and relationships.Communicationthroughtheword‐ofmoutheffect isnotonlyperceivedascost‐effective relative to otherpromotion tools such as advertising, but isalsoamuchmoreeffectivetoolwhenitcomestobuildingapositiveimage.Silverman (2001) argue that word‐of‐mouth is highly uncontested inmarketing research and that consumers in general, have far moreconfidenceintheviewsoffriendsandacquaintances,thaninamessagethatemanatesfromadvertisingorcorporatespokespeople.Oneeffectofhavingambassadors,AnderssonandEkman (2009) claim, isthattheycanbeconsideredasbothacommunicativeandadevelopmentaltool thathas todowith localprideandcommitmentof theresidents.TheAmbassadorsareseenasaresourceformobilizinglocalprideandboostingself‐confidencebymakingtheresidentsofthelocationmoreawareofwhatvaluesandachievementstheplacemightstandforandbeconnectedwith(ibid).There are various typesof ambassadornetworks andof one them,theauthorsdescribeas “Thecitizen‐focusednetwork” including residentsofaplaceorregion.AnderssonandEkmanclaimthatthemainpurposefortheambassadorsparticipatinginthosekindsofnetwork,istocreateproudandcommittedresidentsandtoattractotherstobecomeresidentsofthatplaceorregion.

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2.2.3NinefactorsforpresentorpotentialresidentsinaregionRiecken and Yavas (2001) have conducted a survey among 10,000randomlychosenresidentsinanumberofregions,inordertofindoutwhatis the most important factor for a present or potential resident. Therespondents found out that there are nine important factors, each withvariousdegreeofimportance(ibid).

Important:

• Health(Affordablehealthquality,goodairqualityetc.)• Crime(feelingofpersonalsafetyetc.)• Housing(Reasonablepropertytaxes,housingcostsetc.)• Education(Highqualityofeducationetc.)• Infrastructure(Availabilityofaffordablewater,electetc.)• Economy(Availabilityofgoodjobs,costoflivingetc.)

Lessimportant:

• Transportation(Pavedroads,commutingtoworketc.)• Artsandculture(libraryandmuseumfacilitiesetc.)• Leisureactivities(Golf,fishing,huntingetc.)

Accordingtotheauthors,theanalysisshowedsiximportantfactors(crime,economy,infrastructure,education,healthandhousing),wherehealthwasconsidered most important. The factors that were considered not soimportant were (leisure, transportation and arts/culture), where leisurewasplacedatthebottom.

RieckenandYavas (2001) found the results enlightening in severalways.Firstly,theyshowwhichmotivesareimportantandwhichareunimportanttopeoplewhentheychooseaplacetolive.Secondly,theyhighlightthefocalregion’s perceived performance in the terms of these motives. Thirdly,motive placements point out areas of strength and deficit for the focalregion. This type of information is critical for government groups andorganswithactionability,astheyprioritizeanddesigncoursesofactionstomaintainorenhancevariousfactors(ibid).

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3MethodologyThischapterwillreadupontheapproachofthisreport,explainandmotivatemy choice of research strategy and the objects of this study. It will also begiven information about gathering and analysis of data and also anexplanation of problems that have occurred during the completion of mythesis.

3.1ResearchapproachAspartofinvestigatingandclarifyingthepurposeofthisthesis,theinitialstage consisted of search and processing of literature in order to obtainknowledgeinwhatmakesthefoundationofthisproject;“placebranding”.Having started with background information and discussions around theproblematic area, itwas time to compile the theory thatwas going to besubjectfortheempiricaldatacollectedfromthetworegions.Basedonthetheoreticalframework,Ihavecompiledaninterview‐guidethathasformedtheinterviews,whichwereimplemented.

ArbnorandBjerke(1994)describethisasadeductiveapproach.Thechoiceof a deductive approach appeared even more natural as the idea of thisthesisistocreateaneffigyofthereality,whichinotherwordsmeansthatthecollectedempiricaldataisbasedonthetheoreticalframework(ibid).

3.2LiteraturereviewAtaninitialstage,theliteratureconsistedofeducativetextbooksinordertoobtain increased knowledge in the area of “place branding”. As the timewentonandIbegantofocusmoreonplacebrandingrelatedinterventions,suchasattractingtouristsandresidents,theliteraturecollectionsurpassedto scientific articles where Emerald Insight and Jstor composed thedatabases.Frequentlyoccurredkeywordswere:branding,placebranding,regions, image, place image, place marketing, tourism and population. Inorder to get more direct hits, these key words have been bent andformulated in different ways. I also would like to add, that other essayswithin the area of place branding have been to some help in terms ofstructureandliteraturecollection.

3.3ResearchstrategyThepurpose in this thesiswas to investigatehowSwedishregionsattractmore touristsandresidentswith theuseofplacebranding. Iconsider theinvestigationtodeeplydealwiththechosensubjectandhavingsaidthat,acase study is to be seen as the most appropriate research strategy(Denscombe,2000,p41).Becauseof the fact thatmy studyencompassesfourcasestudyobjects,Ihavecarefullymadesurethateachobjectisgiven

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an equal amount of room in this study. The choice of case study objectsappeared tobenaturalas I justwanted togetapicture from the regions’point of view and also because I wanted to go deep with the twoorganizations in each region, instead of conducting a survey. If I hadincluded the last mentioned, the study would have appeared far tooextensivefromthegiventimeframe.

Thestudyhasadoptedaqualitativenature,asthetaskdemandedadeeperinsight and understanding (Denscombe, 2000).What differs a qualitativestudyfromaquantitative,Denscombeexplainsasthequalitativemethodtobemorecharacterizedbyincludingwordsthannumbers,ascharacterizedbyaquantitativemethod.Typicalforaqualitativeresearchapproachisalsothatittendstobemoredescriptivewhereasaquantitativeapproachtendsto be more analytical (ibid). My study goes well in hand with the abovereasoningandthereforeadoptsaqualitativenature.

3.4ChoiceofcasestudyobjectsI have chosen to investigate four organizations in two Swedish regions,Norrbotten and Jämtland. The organizations in the region of Norrbottenare: “Swedish Lapland” and “Regional development Norrbotten”. Theorganizations in Jämtland are “Jämtland Härjedalen tourism and the“countyadministrativeboardofJämtland”.

3.4.1SwedishLaplandSwedishLapland is anassociationwith theoverallobjectiveof increasingtheattractiveness‐andthecompetitivenessofSwedishLaplandasatraveldestination.SwedishLapland ispartly financedby itsmembersandotherco‐financiers are the county administrative board, the county council andtheEU.

SwedishLaplandwishestoincreasetheprofitabilityforthecompaniesanddestinationswithinitsregion,creategrowthandincreasetheemploymentrate, but also increase the economic returns on joint ventures (SwedishLapland’shomepage,December2009).

3.4.2RegionalDevelopmentNorrbotten(RDN)“Regional development Norrbotten” is a part of the County Council ofNorrbotten,withthethreemajorgoals:

• Createattractivehabitats• Wellbeinganddynamicenterprisesinallpartsoftheregion• Haveanobviousregionalrepresentation

RegionaldevelopmentofNorrbottenisalsoaboutpeoples’valuesandtheirability to interact, in order tomake the region attractive tomore people.

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Keywords in this context are: openness, sustainability, young peoples’perspectives and gender equality (the County Council of Norrbotten’shomepage,December2009).

3.4.3JämtlandHärjedalenTourismJämtlandHärjedalen Turism, or JHT, is an economic association thatwasfounded in1995. Ithas steadilyexpandedsince then,bothas regards thenumberofmembersandthescopeofitsactivities.Theassociationnowhasalmost1300members,directlyandindirectly.Interestedparties

• Tradeand industry, representedby the Jämtland/Härjedalen touristassociation

• TheCountyAdministrativeBoardofJämtland• JämtlandCountyCouncil• TheSwedishAssociationofLocalAuthoritiesinJämtland

JHT'sobjectives

• To strengthen all tourism sectors in the county through increasedinflow

• Toincreasethenumberofavailablejobs• To increase business skills among the county's tourismentrepreneurs

• To disseminate skills and experience through seminars and viaprintedmaterialsandtheInternet

• Toreinforcethetourismnetwork

(JHT:shomepage,December2009)

3.4.4JämtlandandTheCountyAdministrativeBoardofJämtlandJämtlandCounty(Jämtlandslän)isacountyorläninthemiddleofSwedenconsisting of the provinces of Jämtland andHärjedalen, alongwithminorpartsofHälsinglandandÅngermanland,plustwotinyuninhabitedstripsofLaplandandDalarna. JämtlandCountyconstitutes12percentofSweden'stotal area, 49,443km2and is the third largest county in the country.Thecounty capital is Östersund and the county governor, appointed by theSwedishgovernment,isBrittBohlinOhlsson,wholeadstheadministrativeboard.

ThemainaimoftheCountyAdministrativeBoardistofulfillthegoalssetinnationalpoliticsby theParliamentandtheGovernment, tocoordinate the

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interestsandpromotethedevelopmentofthecounty,toestablishregionalgoalsandsafeguardthedueprocessoflawinthehandlingofeachcase.

(Wikipedia,December2009)

3.5DatacollectionInmypointofview,conducting interviewswas thebest‐suitedmethodofdata collection, bearing in mind the purpose, research questions andresearchapproachinthisthesis.Denscombe(2000)describesthismethodtobemostappropriateasthestudydemandsdetailedresponsesinordertomake it trustworthy. A semi‐structured interview based on an interviewguide,JohannessonandTufte(2003,s98)claimtobethebestapproachasthe interview guide is supposed to bring up the main themes for theconversations.Theauthorsalsoargue this tobe thebestapproach,as theprocess should stay within the frame of what is to be investigated.Denscombe (2000) supports this reasoning about semi‐structuredinterviews, as they according to him, provides the chosen informant’spossibility to talk freely about an area and also thepossibility to develophis/herideastogetresponsesthatarecharacterizedbyopenness.

Theinterviewswereconductedthroughpersonalmeetingsandphonecalls,where the conversations were recorded combined with field notes. Thedecision to have the interviews executed like this was only based upongeographical matters, as the long distance to the two organizations inJämtlandmadeitdifficulttohavepersonalmeetings.Afterhavingcollectedall the material that came from the interviews, it was time to compresseverything intoanempiricalcompilation.Becauseof the fact thatsomeofthe interviewswere conducted through phone callsmaking it difficult totakenotes,itprovedtobeveryuseful,havingrecordedtheconversations.Alotofwhatemergedfromthe interviewshadtobecomprisedandtoonlyusethematerialthathadatheoreticalconnection.

3.6MethodologyproblemsBefore the interviews were conducted, each informant had received thequestions in written form in advance. That I did for one reason inparticular; tomake iteasier for therespondentand toavoid longoutlays.I’mfullyawareofthatthiscouldhavehadsomeimpactontheanswers,astheyweregiventimetogothroughthequestionsinadvance,causinglossofspontaneityasaresult.

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4EmpiricalDataThischapterwillpresentthegatheredempiricalmaterialofthereport,inthiscasewhathasbeenemergedfromtheinterviews.Detailedinformationaboutwhat has appeared from the cases and the research questions will beemphasized.

4.1HowdoSwedishregionsattracttouristswiththeuseofplacebranding?

4.1.1Casestudy1:SwedishLaplandJan­ErikJaenssonistheCEOofSwedishLapland

JaenssondescribesthemarketingstrategyofSwedishLaplandasatypicalexampleof aconventionalplacemarketing strategywith clear segmentingand distinct target groups. Jaensson identifies two segments; Leisure andCorporate Meetings, where leisure aims towards “the global traveler”dividedintothreenamedtargetgroups;DINK,WHOPandActiveFamilies.DINK stands for “double incomeno kids”where traveling is a part of thelifestylewithhighexpectationsonthedestinationandthelivingstandard.WHOPstandsfor“wealthyhealthyolderpeople”whichischaracterizedbyvitalandhealthypeople(oftencouples)closetoretirement,withplentyoftimeandmoney considering traveling as anaturalpart of life. Prioritizedmarkets for “DINK” and “WHOP” are Sweden, Italy, France, England andGermany. “Active Families”, Jaensson identifies as familieswho like to dothings together with a certain fancy for culture, sport and nature.Prioritized markets for “Active Families” are Sweden and the northernpartsofNorway.“Corporate Meetings” comprises the target groups of national andinternational companies who seek exciting places for meetings,conferences,kick‐offsetc.Marketsinpriorityfor“CorporateMeetings”areSweden,Italy,France,EnglandandGermany.JaenssonemphasizesthebrandofSwedishLaplandtobesomethinguniqueandalsosomethingthattherestoftheSwedishtourismindustryisratherjealous about. Repeated brand measurements are typical signs of this,claims Jaensson. He also highlights exoticism, sincerity and nature asunique factors for theregionofNorrbotten.Bynature, Jaenssonmentionsthemidnightsunandthenordiclights.Swedish Lapland has developed three core values in order to create adesirableimage;sincerity,contrastsandhost.Bybeinghonest,onealludesto thesincerityof the landscapeandthenon‐hierarchicalmentalityof thepeople in the region of Norrbotten. Jaensson describes sincerity assomethingdeeplyrootedintheregionalcultureandtradition.

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Bycontrasts,Jaenssonreferstothevaryingcolorsofthenatureandofthechangingseasons,theextremevariationsofthewinter’sextremecoldnessandthecoastline’swarmtemperatures inthesummer. JaenssonmentionsnaturalhospitalityassomethingthatrunsinthebloodamongthepeopleofNorrbotten. Having satisfied guests spreading positive rumors make thisthebestmarketingmethodever,accordingtoJaenssonSwedish Lapland does not have a slogan but consider their symbol assomethingimportantandalsosomethingthatiscentralintheirmarketingefforts. It is also important in the image formation for Swedish Lapland.Jaensson mentions that the national knowledge about the logotype ofSwedishLaplandhasnearlydoubledinonlyoneyear,goingfromthreetoseven percent. Jaensson adds their communication concept as anotherimportant factor in the image formation, encompassing: the colors‐,adventures‐, tastes‐, sounds‐, and the meetings of Swedish Lapland. Theconcept is a visualization of the strategies that are developed in order tostressadesiredimageofSwedishLaplandasaplacebrand.Allthepartsinthe concept can be combined and Jaensson exemplifies one special eventwhere a cook was brought in to a meeting in a south part of Sweden,servinglocaldishes,inordertocombinemeetingsinSwedishLaplandwithtastesofSwedishLapland.Thiswasdoneinthetargetgroupof“corporatemeetings”.Swedish Lapland acts on 25 % of the total area of Sweden andaccommodates a lot of attractions. Jaensson, however had difficulties inplacingtheimportanceofthefourdifferenttypesofattractions,inaspecificorderbuthighlightsthreeattractionsthathavethegreatestimportancefortheregionofNorrbotten:“TheIcehotel”,whichisatypicalexampleofabuiltattraction.Theicehotelis locatedin“Jukkasjärvi”andtheentirehotel isbuilt in iceandattractsalotofvisitors,especiallyfromforeigncountries.“PiteHavsbad”,whichislocatedinPiteåalongthecoastline.“PiteHavsbad”isa largeseasideresortwithconferenceandleisureactivitiesandisoftenfully booked, especially in the summertime where a lot of Norwegiantourists visit. “Pite Havsbad” is a combination of a built attraction (thefacilities)andoneformedbynature(thecoastline).“TheworldHeritages”whichincludethenationalparkofLapponia,StruveGeodeticArcwhich is a chain of survey triangulations stretching throughten countries and finally the church located in Old‐town, Luleå. The firsttwoareformedbynatureandthelast,isbuiltbyman.

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All theseattractionsaremarketed throughwebsites, fairs,postersandTVwherethewebsitesareconsideredasprimarycommunicationchannels.

4.1.2Casestudy2:JämtlandHärjedalenTourismKarin Gydemo Grahnlöf is the project manager of Jämtland HärjedalenTourism(JHT)

AccordingtoGrahnlöf,themarketingeffortsinJHThaveinthepastcoupleofyearsbecomemoreandmoreintenseresultingindistinctselectedtargetgroups. The efforts that Grahnlöf describes, goes well in hand with aconventional place marketing strategy. The identified target groups areWHOP (wealthy, healthy, older people) and Active Families, where thecustomers have national as well as foreign origin. The internationalmarkets are foremost; Holland, Denmark, Russia and Norway, which isconsideredthemostimportant.GrahnlöfemphasizesJämtlandHärjedalenasthetopski‐andalpineareainnorthern Europe. The ski‐tourism wouldn’t exist if it weren’t for thelandscapeandthegreatvariationsofthenature,whichofcoursehastobeconsidered as something unique for the region. Themajor alpine resortsare Åre, Vemdalen and Funäsdalen and without them, the region wouldonlyattractafractionofthetouristsvisitingeveryyear.The pureness of the nature in Jämtand Härjedalen is what Grahnlöfidentifiesas thecore in the image formationprocessat JHT.The fact thatthe region doesn’t accommodate any industries holds up the region as aplacewithdeepforestsandpurerivers.Grahnlöfandherco‐workersatJHTarewell aware of thatmuch revolves around JämtlandHärjedalens as analpineareaandsomethingthatsometimestakeoverhand,however this isalso something that theyhavebeen reconciledwith since the ski tourismattractssomanyvisitorstotheregion.Grahnlöf is clear when she underlines to unimportance of slogans andsymbols in the image formation process at JHT. Grahnlöf mentionshowever, that this hasn’t always been the case. Over time, it has becomeevidentthattheuseofslogansandsymbolshaven’thadadesirableimpact,thus something that each destination within the region has to beresponsiblefor.JämtlandHärjedalenhasoftenbeenhost forbigwintereventssuchastheAlpine world ski‐ and the biathlon world championships, and this hasaccording toGrahnlöf beenof great importance in other image formationinterventionfortheregion.When Grahnlöf was asked to rank the importance of the four types ofattractionsfortheregion,shechosetoplace“builtbynature”ontopsince

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so much is revolving around the landscape and the great variations innature. As number two, Grahnlöf mentioned, “built by man” as she wasreferring to the ski resorts. On third placewere social attractions, as thearchetypeofa“Jämting”(ancientresidentfromtheregion)ismythicalwithaspokenlifestylethatcapturesinterestamongalotofvisitors.ThetypeofattractionwiththeleastimportancefortheregionofJämtlandHärjedalenis“cultural attractions”, where Grahnlöf had problems of giving concreteexamples.ThethreemostimportantattractionsintheregionofJämtlandHärjedalen,GrahnlöfidentifiedasÅre,FunäsdalenandthecityofÖstersund.Acommondenominator is that all these attractions are built by man, which mightappear contradictory to Grahnlöf’s previous ranking. However, none ofthese attractionswouldhavebeenbuilt if itweren’t for the conditions innatureenablingthem.JHTdoesn’thavethedirectmarketingresponsibilityfor any of these attractions, as that lies within the responsibility for therespectiveattraction.

4.2HowdoSwedishregionsattractresidentswiththeuseofplacebranding?

4.2.1Casestudy3:RegionalDevelopmentNorrbottenAnnaLindberg is responsible for thegrowthprogramon thedepartmentofregionaldevelopmentNorrbotten.

Lindbergpointsout thatRegionalDevelopmentNorrbotten (RDN) is onlyinvolved in the formation of the strategies to support and attract localentrepreneursandthattheyarenotinvolvedinanydirectactions.Lindbergmentions“ALMIföretagspartner”asanobviousexampleofanetworkthatis partly ownedbyRDN,with thedirect goal to support andhelp financenew,aswellasexistingcompaniesandinnovators.RDN’sroleinthismatteris that they injectmoney to “ALMI Företagspartner”which has themoredirect involvement when it comes to sponsored educational activities.According to Lindberg, the thorough approaches of stimulatingentrepreneurial networks consist of injecting money in order to helpfinancing the operation of those networks that are responsible for thedirectcontactwiththelocalentrepreneurs.SinceRDNisnotengagedinanydirect actions towards local entrepreneurs, nor are they involved inofferingsofcounseling.Otherorganizationstosupportlocalentrepreneursandinnovatorsare“BDpop”,“UpplevelsecentrumIPiteå”,“DesignLivland”and “Filmpool Nord”. These organizations are aimed towards selectedaudiences, in this case, musicians, designers, artists and upcomingfilmmakers.

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In order to attract new companies to Norrbotten, the county council haslaunched a project called “Invest in Norrbotten”. The project involveselevenmunicipalities within the region with the goal to turn Norrbottenintoanattractiveregionforcompaniesto invest in.Theproject isdividedon two levels, local and regional, and other regions in Sweden that havelaunchedsimilarprojectsshowsignsofsuccess,accordingtoLindberg.RDN isnot involveddirectly in themarketingofanyof theuniversities inNorrbotten. Lindberg briefly mentions that efforts are being made tosimplify the universities’ own marketing efforts if so is needed, whichmeansthatRDNhasanindirectmarketinginvolvement.Lindberg claims that ambassador networks are not a part of RDN’soperational plan. She mentions that lectures about Norrbotten are beingheldandthatnewslettersaresentouttopeopleinotherregionsinordertomarket Norrbotten, but she cannot identify any formed ambassadornetworks with any direct incentives such as attracting residents andcompaniesonaregionalbasis.Lindbergdoeshowevermentionthatthereare existing ambassador networks in some of the municipalities withinNorrbotten, designed for the purpose to attract new residents to thatspecifictown,whichinreturnwillresultinagreaternumberofresidentsintheregionofNorrbottenasawhole.Lindberg considered educational and economical factors, such as job‐accessibilityandeducativestandard,tohavethehighestpriorityinamountof investment of resources. Transportation and housing were alsoconsideredasimportantfactors,whereashealthandcrimepreventionistobefoundinthebottomintheorderofpriority.Thewholetablelookslikefollows:FactorRankHealthcare 5Crimeprev. 7Housing 3Education 1Infrastructure 8Economy 1Transportation 2Artsandculture 6Leisureactivities 4Table4.1:Lindberg’srankingof“nineimportantfactors”

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4.2.2Casestudy4:TheCountyAdministrativeBoardofJämtlandSusanneKindströmwastheformerprojectcoordinatorofJämtland.

Kindström mentions “ALMI företagspartner”, chamber of commerce andSwedish agency for economic and regional growth, as governmentalagencies in which the region of Jämtland has a partial involvement asassociates.Stimulativeactivitiesconsistofmonetarycontributionstowardsthese entrepreneurial networks, which have direct contact with theentrepreneurs. Local companies in Jämtland are also considered asimportant injectors to entrepreneurial networks, however, without anyinfluence from the region itself. Kindström could not come up with anydirectideasinofferingsofcounseling.Between 2002‐2006, there was a project launched, called“Jämtlandsbilden”, where municipalities and companies within these hadthe mutual goal to make Jämtland more attractive to residents and tostrengthen the business climate. During the period, a specially designedbooth was placed at the Stockholm central station where visitors couldcome in and become influenced of the positive sides of Jämtland. Theproject was a success with more than 40.000 visitors and considered asverycosteffective.Afterthisperiod,Kindströmbelievesthingswenttotheworse resulting in competition between the municipalities instead ofcooperation.Atthispoint,thesituationhasstillnotchangedandKindströmcallsforinterconnectiveforcesthatcanmaketheregionstrivetowardsthesamegoal.Kindströmcannotidentifyanydirectinvolvementinthemarketingoftheiruniversity“Mitt‐universitet”today,andsheexplainsthefactbyreferringtothe separation between the municipalities that has emerged in the pastyears.In the region of Jämtland, there is one large ambassador network called“The academy of Jämtland” that was founded by the former countygovernor Kristin Persson. The participants were selected through directenquiries consists foremost of successful business leaderswith a passionfor Jämtland, with the purpose to attract residents and stimulate theenterpriseinJämtland.When it came to “the nine factors” andwhich ones that should have thehighest priority in terms of resources, Kindström favored job access,education and public transportation, while healthcare, crime preventionandleisureactivitieshadlowerpriority.

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Thewholetablelookslikefollows:FactorRankHealthcare 6Crimeprev. 9Housing 5Education 2Infrastructure 4Economy 1Transportation 3Artsandculture 8Leisureactivities 7Table4.2:Kindströms’srankingof“nineimportantfactors”

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5AnalysisInthischapter,theanalysisandtheinterpretationofthegatheredempiricaldatawillbepresented.Theseanalysisandinterpretationswillbeobjectsforfeedbacktothetheoreticalframeworkthathasformedthefoundationofthisstudy.

5.1HowdoSwedishregionsattracttouristswiththeuseofplacebranding?

5.1.1MarketingstrategySwedish Lapland and Jämtland Härjedalen Tourism (JHT) have to beconsideredastypicalusersofconventionalmarketingstrategies.Marketingefforts are high and the segmenting is clear with well identifiable targetgroups.MedwayandWarnaby(2008)pointsoutthetypicalpractitionersasregionswhowishtocreateapositivemarketingemphasisfortheirplaces.This is crucial for regions and the authors are backed up by Kotler et al(1999),astheystresstheimportanceforregionstoinvestinthehospitalityindustry in order to attract visitors and to stimulate employment. Therewere similarities between Swedish Lapland and JHT when it came toselectedtargetgroups;however,alittlesurprisingwasthefactthatbusinessvisitorswasnot a prioritized group for JH.As gainful as this target groupmight be,Hankinsson (2005) is of the opinion that researchwithin placebrandingconnectedtothehospitalityindustryinmostcaseshastohaveitsfocusontheprivatehospitality.

5.1.2PlaceimageAccording to Bennett and Koudelova (2001), a well‐constructed image iscrucialwhen it comes to branding a place. Anholt (1997) is on the sametrackwhenhestresses the importanceofagood imageorreputationofaplace,astheyappearquitecrucialinaperson’sdecisionprocesswhetherornot tovisitaregion.BothSwedishLaplandandJHTshowsignsofputtinglarge amount of efforts in creating a desirable image for their regions.AmongstSwedishLapland,onehasdevelopedthreecorevalues;sincerity,contrastsandhosts.WithinJHT,thenature,thelandscapeandtheregionasanalpinearea,playthemajorrolesintheimageformationprocess.None of the regions recognize slogans as a tool in creating image; theimportance of symbols however, divided the two significantly. SwedishLaplandon the onehand, expressedpride over their symbol and the factthatthegeneralknowledgehaddoubledinonlyoneyear.JHTontheotherwasof thestrongopinionthattheuseofsymbolshadnothadadesirableimpact, based on previous experience. The fact that there are differencesbetweentheregionsdoesn’tnecessarilyhavetoappearalarming,asthereis disagreement between researchers. Ward (1998) argued that that the

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formationofa slogan isoneof thekey tasks for image formation inplacebranding,whileWalsh(1989)raisedanoteofcautionwhenhesaidthataslogancouldhitbackinanegativewayifitpromisesmorethantheregionactually can keep.What the two authors were in agreement of however,was that a logotype could be more efficient in the image formation, aswrittenwordsdon’thavethesamepowerandsimplicityasasymbol.Swedish Lapland’s development of its communication concept with thevisualization of its strategies, and the arrangements of thewinter eventsthat JHT is involved in are other typical examples of image formationinterventionsthatthetworegionsshowprideabout.JHT’sinvolvementinthearrangementsofwintereventsgoeswell inhandwiththewordsfromKotleretal(1999),astheypropagateformoredirectactionsmeaningthatactors within a region must invest in specific attractions and events inordertoattracttourists.

5.1.3AttractionsMiddleton and Clarke (2001) argue that visitor attractions have aparticularlyimportantroletoplayinbothrepresentinganddeliveringtheparticular place that provides the basis for competition between places.Representatives from both Swedish Lapland and JHT gave numerousexamplesofattractionsthatplayamajorroleforthehospitalityindustryintheparticularregion.MiddletonandClarkehaveidentifiedfourtypesofattractionsthatappealtovisitors; built by nature‐, built by man‐, cultural‐ and social attractions.Neither Swedish Lapland had any difficulties in the recognition in any ofthem,norhadJHT.SwedishLaplandhowever,hadproblemsindeterminingthe level of importance for the four, as they were considered equallyimportantcontributinginaspecialway.Whatwasinterestingwasthatthemajorityofthemostimportantattractionsinbothregionswasbuiltbymanincombinationwiththeconditionsinlandscape,createdbymothernature.Another thing thatwas interestingwas that themarketingmethodsbeingusedfortheseattractionwerewelldefinedbySwedishLapland,whileJHTdeclaredthattheoneswiththeoperationalresponsibleforeachattraction,alsohadethefullresponsibleforthemarketingwithoutgivinganyfurtherinformation.

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5.2HowdoSwedishregionsattractresidentswiththeuseofplacebranding?

5.2.1JobsforthefutureWard (1998) claims that one single successful and newly establishedcompany can create growth and belief in the future. This statementunderlineswhatKotleretal(1999)say,whentheyhighlightthreewaysofsupporting local entrepreneurs; having sponsored educational activities,stimulateentrepreneurialnetworksandofferingsofcounseling.Twoofthesestimultative activities are well recognized in Norrbotten as well as inJämtland,whereasofferingsofcounselingissomethingthattheregionsarenot that familiar with. The level and type of involvement towardsentrepreneurialnetworks looksprettymuch the same in the tworegions,wheremoneyisdonatedtothenetworks,whohavethedirectcontactwitheachentrepreneur.Theactivitiesbeingheldtoattractnewcompaniestotherespectiveregion,differs quite radically betweenNorrbotten and Jämtland. InNorrbotten, Igot the impression that themunicipalities are working together towardsmutual goals, whereas Jämtland is more characterized by competitionbetween each municipality. In Norrbotten, there is an ongoing projectcalled “invest inNorrbotten”,with the only purpose to attract companiesandinvestorstotheregion.AccordingtoKotleretal(1999),byinvestinginbusiness‐promoting activities, a region can strengthen its economicposition.Havingthissaid,anoteofcautionisheldregardingthesituationinJämtland,however,itappearsasifthoughoneisawareoftheproblemandthatthingsareunderimprovement.None of the regions have any direct marketing involvement with eachuniversities,astheyhavetheirowndepartmentsinmarketing.Treshmanetal(2007)emphasizethateffortsineducationcontributetomoreattractiveregions for the future, by creating a higher level of knowledge for futureeducation.Inordertodoso,eachuniversityneedsmarketingskills,whichI’msurecouldbeimprovedbyclosercooperationwiththeregions.

5.2.2AmbassadorsasdriversKotler et al (1999) argue the importance of having good ambassadorswithincitiesandregions.Thephenomenonknownas“DowhatIdo”isanimportant part of place branding and reaches a higher level of credibilityamong people as locals and local enterprises become a part of themarketingeffort(EkandHultman,2007).Norrbottenasaregiondoesnotarrangeanypronouncedambassadornetworksinordertoattractresidentsor companies, this is however something that takes place within themunicipalities.InJämtland,thesituationisdifferentwherethereisalargeambassadornetworkcalled“Theacademyof Jämtland”.Theacademywas

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foundedseveralyearsagoandisstillupandrunning.Theambassadorsarecharacterized as business people being selected through direct enquirieswithacertainpassionfortheregion.Becauseof thefact thatthenetworkmainly exist in order to attract jobs to have more people moving toJämtland,thenetworkiswhatAnderssonandEkman(2009)liketocallit,a“itizen‐focusednetwork”.

5.2.3”nine‐factors”In 2001, Riecken and Yavas conducted a survey among 10,000 randomlychosenresidentsinanumberofregions,inordertofindoutwhatwasthemost important factor for a present or potential resident. Eachrepresentative fromNorrbottenand Jämtlandwasaskedtoplace theninefactorsinanorder,whichtheythoughtwouldbeinthebestinterestoftheresidentsintheirregion.Thesurveythatwasbeingmadeisinnowaytobeconsidered as something widely accepted in all regions, however I dobelievethatthereshouldbeacertainlevelofconsistencyinordertofulfilltheneedsofpresentandpotentialresidents’.Theanswersweresurprising,notonlybecausetheydifferedfromtheonesin thesurvey,butalsobecauseof thedifferencebetweenthe tworegions.The table below illustrates the outcome of responses. The only factorswhere there was some level of consistency was Housing, and Arts andCulture.

SurveyNorrbottenJämtlandHealthcare 1 Healthcare 5 Healthcare 6Crimeprev. 2 Crimeprev. 7 Crimeprev. 9Housing 3 Housing 3 Housing 5Education 4 Education 1 Education 2Infrastructure 5 Infrastructure 8 Infrastructure 4Economy 6 Economy 1 Economy 1Transportation 7 Transportation 2 Transportation 3Artsandculture 8 Arts and

culture6 Arts and

culture8

Leisureactivities 9 Leisureactivities

4 Leisureactivities

7

Table5.1:Compilationofanswersbasedonsurveyandrepr.FromNorrbottenandJämtland.

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6DiscussionThis final stage of the thesiswill be to present the answers to the researchquestionstogetherwithathrowbackofthepurposewiththisstudy.Iwillalsogiveideasandsuggestionsonfutureresearchintheareaofplacebranding.

6.1Researchquestion1

HowdoSwedishregionsattracttouristswiththeuseofplacebranding?

ThisstudyhasshownthatregionsinSwedenarewellawareofthefactthattheyneed tomarketanddifferentiate themselves fromothers, inorder toattract tourists. Prior studies describe the marketing strategies that theregions use, as rather conventional. Interviewswith representatives fromSwedishregions,accordinglywithpriorresearch,showthatitisimportanttogatherall stakeholders fromeverydestinationwithin the regionunderone roof andwork towards the samegoal in order to successfully attractvisitorstotheregion.Earlier research shows that it is crucial to have a clear segmenting anddistinct targetgroups inorder tobecomesuccessful inattracting tourists.My study shows that Swedish regions have good knowledge about thisalthoughthesegmentingslightlydiffersbetweentheregions,dependingontheambitionsofthetouristfacilitiesthatareoperativeineachregion.

Developmentandformationofaregion’simageisbyresearchersdescribedasaconstantongoingprocessandsomethingthatisdifficultandtakestimetoaccomplishinordertoattracttherightvisitors.Mystudyhasshownthattheregionsareveryconcernedaboutholdingupadesirable image to thesurrounding world. By doing so, Swedish regions tend to allude totraditions,landscapeandsocialbehaviorthatcategorizesthepeopleofthatregion.Onefindingthatdiffersfrompreviousresearchisthatthechangeofanimageinmostcasesincludesaslogan,asymbolandanidentity.Thelasttwoareidentifiablewhereasasloganisnothingthatneitheroftheregionsinthisstudyuse.Hence,onetheoreticalcontributionofthisthesiscouldbethat it is possible to create a desirable imagewithout theuse of all threefactors.

Earlierresearchhasestablishedthatattractionscanbeofvarioustypesbutwiththecommondenominatorthattheyarenecessaryinordertomakeadestinationappeartobeappealingtovisitors.Mystudygoeswell inhandwithpreviousstudiesandoneconclusionisthatnoneoftheregionsinmyinvestigationcouldattract thesameamountof touristswithoutnumerousattractionsandregardlessofwhattypethoseattractionsmightbe.

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6.2Researchquestion2

HowdoSwedishregionsattractresidentswiththeuseofplacebranding?

Earlierresearchalongwithexperienceestablishesthefactthattherehastobejobsinordertoattractresidents.Earlierresearchalsogivessuggestionsonhowtocreatejobsandhowtomakecompaniesinvestinacertainplaceinordertoattractpeopletoacityoraregion.Mystudyhasshowntherearedistinctions in howSwedish regions are doing this. In one of the regions,projectshavebeenlaunchedwheremunicipalitiesstrivetowardsthesamegoal,whereas inanother, allmunicipalities areworkingon theirown.Mystudyalsoshowsthattherearegreatdifferencesbetweenregions, inhowambassadors are being used. In one region, they exist only within eachmunicipalitywiththepurposetobenefitthatspecifictownandinanotherregion;ambassadorsarebeingusedtobenefittheregionasawhole.

ThegististhatitappearsasifSwedishregionsknowwhathastobedonetoattractresidents,butnothow todoit.Onofthemostspectacularfindingsthat my study has discovered in this matter, is that what obviously isimportanttopresentandpotentialresidentsofaregion, issoinconsistentwith the oneswho have the action ability. Factors that are considered ashighlyimportantforthepeoplelivinginaregion,areprovedtohavelittleimportanceintheeyesofthosewithpowertocontrol.

6.3ConcludingremarksThepurposeof this thesiswas to investigatehowSwedishregionsobtainincreasedgrowthintourismandpopulationwiththeuseofplacebranding.Bystudyingearlierresearchandconductinginterviewsintheareaofplacebranding, this studyhas contributedwithadeeperunderstandingofhowmunicipalities and companies within Swedish regions deal with placebrandinginterventions,inordertoimprovetheirregionasadestinationaswellasaplacetosettledownforthefuture.

Throughthisstudy,IhaveconcludedthatthewaySwedishregionsattracttouristsandresidentswiththeuseofplacebranding,insomewaysdiffersfrompreviousresearch,hencetheycouldbeseenasthisthesis’theoreticalcontribution.

AsImentionedinthebeginningofthisthesis,placebrandingisarelativelynew concept, which to a certain degree explains the differences instrategiestheregionsheldup,especiallyhowtheyattractresidents.Duringthe interviews, this appeared extra obvious as the informants declared

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ongoingreformationswithintheareaofplacebrandingwithtimeplansthatdidn’tlietoocloseintime.

AbovementionedtogetherwiththefactthatI’veonlybeenincontactwithtworegions,makesmeconsiderthegeneralizationofthisthesis’resultsinsome ways limited. Companies, and other interested parties shouldthereforetakethisintoconsiderationandbecautious.

6.4SuggestionsonfurtherresearchI have found it interesting to investigate how Swedish regions are usingplace branding and to what extent theory matches practice. During thecompletion of this thesis, some thoughts have occurred regarding futureresearchwithin theareaofplacebranding.As Imentioned in section1.3,nothing about how the public interpret the actions from the ones withpower, is put into consideration. That, together with a more detailedinvestigation(moreregions)couldbeofinterest.

Since place branding is so new, I welcome all types of further researchwithinthesubject.Ihaveonlyfocusedonregionsandtosomeextentevencities, therefore I also welcome research regarding place brandingconnectedtonationsandlargercities.

AsImentionedinchapterfive,thelevelofconsistencyconcerningthenineimportant factors for residentswas very low. Consequently, factors suchas; causes and potential preventive actions appear as natural objects forfurther research. Is it failing communication between the residents andpeoplewithactionabilityordoesitsimplydependonignoranceamongthelastmentionedgroup?Withouthavinganydetailedinformationregardingthestudythatwasmade, Istill think itwouldbe importanttodigdeeperwithinthisareaandmaybeconductsimilarsurveysinSweden.

References

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Denscombe, M. (2000). Forskningshandboken­för småskaligaforskningsprojektinomsamhällsvetenskaperna.Lund:Studentlitteratur.

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Kapferer, J‐N. (2004).TheNewStrategicBrandManagement:CreatingandSustainingBrandEquityLongTerm.London:KoganPageUKLtd.

Kotler,P.,Asplund,C.,Rein,I.,&Haider,D.(1999).MarketingPlacesEurope:attracting investments, industries,residentsandvisitorstoEuropeansCities,Communities,RegionsandNation.London:PearsonEducationLtd.

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Warnaby,G.,&Medway,D. (2008).Alternativeperspectivesonmarketingandtheplacebrand.EuropeanJournalofMarketing42(5),641‐653.

Elektroniskakällor:

www.businessdictionary.com(Retrieved2009‐11‐16)

www.swedishlapland.com(Retrieved2009‐12‐03)

www.jht.se(Retrieved2009‐12‐03)

www.nll.se(Retrieved2009‐12‐04)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jämtland_County(Retrieved2009‐12‐30)

Intervjuer:

MagnusAhlqvist2009‐11‐02,1000‐1100(pre‐study)

LarsWallrup2009‐11‐04,1400‐1500(pre‐study)

Jan‐ErikJaensson2009‐12‐02,1530‐1600

KarinGydemoGrahnlöf2009‐12‐22,1530‐1600

AnnaLindberg2009‐12‐04,1000‐1030

SusanneKindström2009‐12‐30,0920‐0950

Appendix

Interviewguide

RQ1: How do Swedish regions attract tourists with the use of placebranding?

Marketingstrategy:

• Howdoestheregionyourepresent,markettowardstourists?• Towardswhattypeoftourists,doestheregionyourepresentmarketthemselves?

• What do you consider as unique in your region that helps attracttourists?

Placeimage:

• Whatimagewouldtheregionyourepresent,liketoproduce?‐Giveexamples!

• Do you consider logotype or slogan to be most important in thecreationofyou’retheimageofyourregion?‐Why?

• Whatotherimage‐creatingeffortsforyourregiondoyourecognize?

Attractions:

• Ranktheimportanceofthefollowingattractionsinyourregion;builtby nature‐, built attractions‐, cultural (history, art) and socialattractions(wayofliving,languageetc.)(1‐4).

• What are the three most important attractions in order to attracttouriststotheregionyourepresent?‐Howarethosemarketed?

RQ2: How do Swedish regions attract residents with the use of placebranding?

Jobsforthefuture:

• Which of the following does the region you represent dealwith, inordertosupportlocalentrepreneurs:‐ Sponsorededucationalactivities‐ Stimulationofentrepreneurialnetworks‐ Offeringsofcounseling

• Whatelseisdonetosupportlocalentrepreneurs?

• How is your region involved in the promotion of the university inyourregion?

Ambassadorsasdrivers:

• Doestheregionyourepresent,dealwithambassadornetworks?‐ Ifyes,whatistheirfocus?

• Howaretheyselected(Voluntarilyorhandpicked)?• Whodotheyconsistof(citizens,companypeople,politiciansetc.)?

Nineimportantfactors:

• Mark the importance of the following factors in a falling order(1=mostimportant/9=leastimportant).‐Healthcare(Affordablehealthquality,goodairqualityetc.)‐Crimeprevention(feelingofpersonalsafetyetc.)‐Housing(Reasonablepropertytaxes,housingcostsetc.)‐Education(Highqualityofeducationetc.)‐Infrastructure(Availabilityofaffordablewater,electetc.)‐Economy(Availabilityofgoodjobs,costoflivingetc.)‐Transportation(Pavedroads,commutingtoworketc.)‐Artsandculture(Availabilityoflibraryandmuseumfacilitiesetc.)‐Leisureactivities(Golf,fishing,huntingetc.)

Intervjuguide

FF1:Hurattraherarerregionturistermedhjälpav”placebranding”?

Marknadsföringsstrategi:

• HurmarknadsförsigErregionmotturister?• Mot vilka särskilda målgrupper marknadsför sig den region Nirepresenterar?

• Vad anser Ni vara unikt för just er region som också attraherarturister?

Plats­image:

• VilkenimageönskarErregionförmedla?‐Geexempel!

• Anser ni att logotyp eller slogan bidrar mest till skapandet av Erregionsimage?‐Varför?

• GeexempelpåandraimageskapandeåtgärderiErregion.

Attraktioner:

• RangordnabetydelsenavföljandetyperavattraktionerförErregion;Skapade av naturen ‐, byggda attraktioner ‐, kulturella (historia,konst)–samtsocialaattraktioner(levnadsätt,språketc.)(1‐4).

• VilkatreattraktioneranserNivaradeviktigasteförErregionisyfteattlockaturister?‐Hurmarknadsförsdessa?

FF2.Hurattraherarerregioninvånaremedhjälpav”placebranding”?

Jobbförframtiden:

• Vilka av följande stöttande åtgärder mot lokala entreprenörergenomfördenregionNirepresenterar?‐ Sponsradeentreprenörs‐aktiviteter‐ Stimuleringsåtgärdergentemotentreprenörs–nätverk‐ Rådgivningserbjudanden

• VadgörsförattattraheranyaföretagtillErregion?• HurärErregioninvolveradimarknadsföringenavertuniversitet?

Ambassadörersompådrivare:

• AnvändersigErregionavambassadörer?‐ Omja,vadärderashuvudsakligauppgift?

• Hurvalsdessa(frivillighetellerhandplockade)?• Vilkabestårdeav(medborgare,företagspersoner,politikeretc.)?

Nioviktigafaktorer:

• Markera betydelsen av följande nio faktorer i Er region, i fallandeordningdär(1=mestbetydelsefull/9=minstbetydelsefull);‐ Hälsaochsjukvård(Överkomlighälsokvalitet,godluftkvalitetetc.)‐ Brottsförebyggandeåtgärder(Känslaavpersonligtrygghetetc.)‐ Boendeochhushåll(Resonlighustaxa,hushållskostnaderetc.)‐ Utbildning(Högkvalitetpåeftergymnasialautbildningaretc.)‐ Infrastruktur(vattenkvalitet,tillgångpåelektricitetetc.)‐ Ekonomi(Tillgångpåjobb,socialaavgifter,trygghetssystemetc.)‐ Transport(Vägunderhåll,allmännatransportmedeletc.)‐ Konstochkultur(Tillgångtillkonsthallarochmuseumetc.)‐ Fritidsaktiviteter(Golf,fiske,jaktetc.)