A gentler structure to life: co-creation in branding a cultural route

The study explores how a cultural route supports the identity of a place. The study applies co-creative and identity-based place-branding theory and advances research on the significant role of culture when various actors identify with the brand of a place. Moreover, cultural sustainability is seen as a form of meta-narrative that frames the symbiosis of a place brand and its cultural values. Contributing to the previous research on branding a cultural route, this study discusses the value of a person (an architect) to the branding of a cultural route. The study also contributes to place-branding theory by linking the discourse on architectural heritage and branding an emerging cultural route. We used a single and critical case approach focusing on one of the sites representing a group of cities involved in the branding of the Alvar Aalto cultural route. Various qualitative research methods including interviews and publicly available material were utilized. The study presents empirical findings on branding an emergent cultural route. As a key theoretical contribution, the study shows how the culture and image of an individual site are expressed in the cohesive brand identity of that cultural route. Communication and co-creation are revealed to be prerequisites of efficient collaboration.