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The role of artists in place branding: A case study

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Abstract

Rural tourism has a pivotal role in keeping the countryside alive in the changing industrial and technological urbanized world. Constructing a rural place identity, the starting point of marketing, is the focus of this article. The authors studied the role of one stakeholder group, namely artists, in the context of place identity construction of an old rural Finnish ironworks village. The results indicate that artists are extremely important to the construction of the identity of a place. Their roles unfold as stories, artifacts and atmosphere as well as entrepreneurs. In the future, these direct and indirect roles should better be taken into consideration in the process of identity construction of a place.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Turku School of Economics at the University of Turku, Pori Unit, Pohjoisranta 11A, Pori, 28100, Finland

    Tuula Mittilä

Authors
  1. Tuula Mittilä
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  2. Tanja Lepistö
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Appendices

APPENDIX A

Interview guide for the ironworks village

Questions for different stakeholders (for example, artists and artisans, representatives of associations and representatives of the City)

Name

Occupation

Place of residence

Please describe your connection to the village (resident, entrepreneur, working in the village, some kind of kinship to the residents and so on) and the age of the connection.

Do you actively participate in the development and activities of the village? How do you participate?

How is the village represented in your business, marketing or promotion? (ask the question, if the interviewee acts as an entrepreneur or an artist in the village)

How would you describe the village

  • as a place to live in (strengths, possible weaknesses)?

  • as a place to make your living/to make art?

  • as a place to visit?

In your opinion, who is responsible for developing well-being in the village?How should well-being be developed?

How would you describe the identity of the village? What is it made of?What do you see as characteristic for the village? What kind of images does it evoke in you? What about in tourists and other visitors? Why?

How do you see the role of artists and artisans in the identity construction of the village and the village brand?

How are the artists and artisans treated (a) by the villagers and (b) by the City? Please give some examples.

Do you think that the brand identity construction of the village has been intentional?How has it been constructed?Whom do you think the village brand is targeted to?

In your opinion, who has the main responsibility for the marketing of the village to different potential target groups? (residents, entrepreneurs, wide audience and so on)Who has the main responsibility for the marketing of the village as a tourist attraction?What can you tell us about the nationwide project for developing rural tourism, that is, tourism in the villages?

Questions for the visitors

Could you, please, tell us why you are here in the village today?What is your connection to the village?

How often do you visit this village? Why?How would you describe this place to your acquaintances who don’t know the village?

What kind of a role do you think the artists and artisans play in the image of this village?

Where do you put the greatest emphasis in your image of this village?

How important do you see the presence of artist and artisans when you visit events in the village? Why?

Thank you to interviewees

Thank you for responding to our interview!

APPENDIX B

Figure B

Figure B
figure 1

SWOT analysis of Leineperi village.

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Mittilä, T., Lepistö, T. The role of artists in place branding: A case study. Place Brand Public Dipl 9, 143–153 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1057/pb.2013.15

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