Starting the branding process with mapping the strengths of the area provides several advantages. Most importantly, it insures a genuine result, which is not only critical in regards to outsiders considering relocating to the region, but also for the people of Egedal, a municipality north of Copenhagen. Everyone can brainstorm on a wild and ambitious slogan or a funny campaign idea, but if it doesn’t resonate with reality it probably won’t make any real difference. Building on the authentic strengths, we’re able to shape a strategy and purpose, which you can truly live out and pursue.
A scalable method
Compared to similar mappings we’ve performed in places like Kolding and Varde, the mapping of Egedal was performed in a somewhat smaller scale. This meant less involvement of the citizens of Egedal, while (instead) focusing more on desk research and interviews with people ranging from experts on local history to urban planning and local high school students. However, we believe that we found something very valuable in Egedal and look forward to molding it further into a branding strategy that drives meaningful change for the community in the region.
Getting to know the area
What we found, based on both interviews and the many documents, texts, pictures, videos, articles, and statistics we looked through, was five primary patterns or local strengths. In the more out-there and observable end of the spectrum, was an interesting historic landscape and a sustainability effort focused specifically on city planning. More tacit and implied was the distinct entrepreneurial optimism and “do it yourself”-mentality, that became evident through the interviews. The five identified authentic strengths were:
- Sustainable city development
- Nature and landscape
- Frontier optimism
- A safe home base
- A network of local communities
A young municipality
Egedal has undergone heavy development in the last few decades. The areas housing the majority of the local population have only really existed for half a century. Being a short drive from Copenhagen, the area has grown along with the capital and expect to keep doing so in the coming years. The branding process plays an important part in shaping the future Egedal and what both locals and outsiders will know it for.
Next, we build the brand
The next step concerns selecting individual strengths and combining them into more concrete scenarios. These scenarios are then utilized as the foundation for the coming branding strategy for Egedal. Being a new, growing and less defined community, like Egedal, is but one occasion where (re)discovering the inherent strengths of an area or organization makes a lot of sense. In the face of change — or the lack thereof —it pays to look inwards, as it can help you keep eyes on the prize. If you don’t know why you’re here, then how do you know where to go or how to get anyone else to follow you? Mapping your authentic strengths is the first step in a process of defining what’s important for you, so you can start acting on it.
No matter if your situation is due to success or tough challenges, it pays to make sure your brand identity is coherent and built upon intrinsic values. Otherwise you might end up with a brand that doesn’t feel real to anyone and stagnation due to lack of direction.
