THE PRISON – From liability to asset in branding of the Danish city Horsens

THE PRISON, a dominant element of the brand of Horsens, Denmark, has been changed from a brand liability into a brand asset. The change has been activity driven, brought about by “Nordic-style” consensual governance by the city council, a “pre-branding” iterative process to build local support, explorative skunk work on new content, timing, systematic documentation – and time. Serial international music events, the annual Medieval Festival and the permanent Prison Museum have been crucial elements in the process. Solicited and unsolicited information from friends who have visited THE PRISON, printed media and TV about the new activities have been equally important sources of people’s knowledge about THE PRISON. The case illustrates the importance of a careful “pre-branding” process and a holistic approach to communication, and indicates that theories about stakeholder involvement are more dependent upon different national local governance than hitherto anticipated