Creating a Branding Process Model for Living Area Brands - Developing and managing a new living area brand

The objective of this thesis is to understand how to create and develop a successful place brand and how to manage it systematically. The thesis thoroughly explains the phenomenon of place brands and place branding and presents different sub-categories of place branding. The theoretical part of the thesis provides a wide overview on the prevailing literature of place branding, place brand development and place brand management, which form the basis of the thesis’ theoretical framework. The theoretical evidence is gathered from a case living area. The living area is developed by one construction company, which has a significant role in the construction industry in Finland. The empirical evidence is gathered through semi-structured in-depth interviews by interviewing the new living area’s carefully selected stakeholder groups. Afterwards the empirical data is analyzed and reflected to the theoretical findings. After examining the case living area, the thesis will present a new living area branding process model based on prevailing theories and empirical findings.