Branding Various-Sized Destinations
Place branding has focused on larger cities with an inherent attractiveness and a strong appeal to various stakeholders, or destinations that have undergone a transition. This development is strongly intertwined with urbanization. Drawing upon a rich qualitative and quantitative data set, our research attempts to relate inhabitant preferences to the stream of research that deals with branding to create growth in eight various-sized Swedish municipalities. When inhabitants don't agree with place branding efforts confusion emerges rather than, as intended, brand enforcement. Rural areas may have a clear advantage since there are fewer competing ideas on the place identity but have too little activity to arouse interest among a broader audience. Our research questions economic growth to be the key driver of place success. Politicians and policy-makers should consider trying to find a balance between ambitions to grow and making sure that the local community supports the efforts. Branding efforts that lack anchorage among inhabitants are unlikely to take effect.