Branding Kristianstad: a case of rebranding and stakeholder engagement

Kristianstad is today in the process of implementing its third place brand in less than 20 years. The purpose of this case study is to describe Kristianstad’s place branding journey with a special focus on the place stakeholders and their involvement and engagement—a case of both rebranding and participatory place branding. The case study describes Kristianstad’s three distinct branding initiatives, with focus on their initiators, engagement and implementation. It is based on a collaboration with Kristianstad municipality and a descriptive approach was employed. Empirical materials were collected through interviews and active participation in workshops and meetings. The case describes Kristianstad’s place branding journey and illustrates how place stakeholders’ previous involvement and experiences influence their behaviours and perceptions of the current place brand as well as the continuing place branding process. The three main takeaways are: past experiences matter; it matters where the place brand initiative comes from; and engagement matters more than profile. Kristianstad municipality’s place branding journey shows the difficulties with rebranding a place, more specifically highlighting place stakeholders’ engagement over time.