Place and city branding in Danish municipalities with focus on political involvement and leadership

Place branding is increasingly used by cities and municipalities worldwide. This article seeks to give a descriptive status quo of this current development in Danish municipalities in 2014. In doing so, the article describes the national status on city branding in Denmark with a particular focus on political involvement and leadership. From a dialog with 72 municipalities (out of a total of 98), 38 site interviews were performed with CEOs and/or brand managers and 25 brand projects isolated. In this regard, four questions were in the focus: (i) reasons for the branding initiative; (ii) the underlying place development strategy; (iii) the issue of project ownership; and (iv) project funding. A special emphasis was given on the political leadership of those projects. Data indicates that most projects were developed in narrow political circles including mayors, councils, municipal CEOs and semi-public organizations. This is because of the reason, that Danish mayors have the political as well as the formal administrative responsibility for the municipality. Thus, the data supports the view that local mayors and politicians in a Danish context act from a shareholder’s perspective. Differences and implications of those findings are discussed.