Place Branding in Finland : A Discourse Analysis of Municipal Slogans




Hakala Ulla, Sjöblom Paula, Ainiala Terhi

PublisherGulf College

Muscat

2024

Journal of Business, Communication & Technology

BCT Journal

3

1

1

13

2791-3775

DOIhttps://doi.org/10.56632/bct.2024.3101(external)

http://doi.org/10.56632/bct.2024.3101(external)

https://research.utu.fi/converis/portal/detail/Publication/181571906(external)



The purpose of this multidisciplinary study is to investigate how municipalities position themselves in their slogans as unique places among competitors, namely other municipalities in their region or country. Empirically, discourse analysis was used to investigate the semantic features of municipal slogans in the context of place branding in Finland. The major findings demonstrate similarity in commonness rather than uniqueness: the slogans resembled each other thematically and did not distinctively differentiate places from one another. Academic research on slogans and their relation to linguistics and place branding is scarce. This study aims to narrow this gap. Nevertheless, further research is needed on slogans from different countries and languages. The study recommends that place managers should invest time and thought in the creation of slogans based on the factual attributes and values of the place as well as its strategies.


Last updated on 2025-30-01 at 10:07