About twelve years ago, Tim Foster, assistant professor focusing on place branding, was contacted by the municipality of Luleå. Luleå Municipality wanted to investigate what people think of Luleå and whether they were planning on staying here. This was the start of a project in which Luleå resident’s feelings towards Luleå were investigated. The conclusion to the project were that Luleå was not considered a charming, sophisticated or friendly place. Twelve years later, Tim Foster and his research colleagues will once again carry out this survey to see how the image of Luleå has changed.
– It will be interesting to see how the view of Luleå has changed over the past decade, especially since a lot has happened in Luleå regarding the city’s size, urban planning, but also the city’s look ans feel, says Tim Foster.
In addition to him, the research group consists of Maria Ek Styvén, professor of marketing focusing on place branding, and Jeandri Robertson, assistant professor focusing on brands.
A collaboration between the university and the municipality
Just like twelve ears ago, the project is a collaboration between Luleå University of Technology and Luleå Municipality.
– In research, it is important to collaborate with external actors, since this allows us to spread our research more easily and our research is more useful if its used outside the walls of the university. As researchers, we must produce relevant and useful results that can be used by organisations. In this case, the biggest gain for Luleå municipality will be that they get a picture of what the residents actually think of Luleå in terms of the emotional factors. It is important to know how these emotional factors are connected with their intention to stay in Luleå, says Maria Ek Styvén.
The results from the previous study were presented to Luleå municipality, the media and companies. Tim Foster spent eight months traveling around presenting the study and was out almost every week. The results were a contributing factor on the city’s development, he believes.
– I absolute believe that the data from the study helped to influence the development projects in Luleå. If we were not seen as charming or sophisticated but though and rugged, what would we have to do to become more charming and sophisticated? The survey was not the only reason why project such as the development of Norra hamn were carried out, but the survey was an influencing factor. These projects have made the city more sophisticated and more appealing, which has changed the city’s image, he says.
A chance to make your voice heard
This time the survey will be digital and Tim Foster, Maria Ek Styvén and Jeandri Robertson hope that as many people as possible will participate.
– Luleå Municipality will make better decisions if they give the citizens a voice in what happens with the development of Luleå. It is the people who work, live, go to school, raise their children and who invest their time in the place that creates Luleå. The know Luleå’s brand best. We want everyone, regardless of background, to have the opportunity to have their voice heard. Everyone is important and your voice affects what happens in Luleå. In the previous survey, 1,800 respondent answered, which was 26 percent of those who hade received the survey. We hope that as many people as possible respond to the survey this time as well, says Tim Foster.
