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SWEDISH INSTITUTE

‘Brand Sweden’ goes local

Nation-branding, though controversial in some quarters, is becoming ever more important and can be of great value to towns and regions wishing to reach out to the wider world, writes Joakim Norén of the Swedish Institute.

Nowadays, a place is also a brand. But branding a place is fairly different from branding a product. For Swedish regions and municipalities, the “Brand Sweden” platform may make the job easier.

In 2006 The Council for the Promotion of Sweden (NSU*) launched a brand platform for Sweden. The NSU is a cooperation between the Swedish Institute, VisitSweden, the Ministry for Foreign Affairs, Invest in Sweden Agency and the Trade Council. The platform describes the essence that is the foundation or starting point for all official communication of Sweden abroad.

It is quite unique that organisations with such diverse missions from the government share a brand platform, and similar organisations from around the world have shown interest in the platform. The Swedish Institute has also noticed a growing interest from Swedish regions and municipalities, both to learn from the process of developing a brand platform with a broad group of interested parties and to relate to “Brand Sweden” when they develop their own brands.

Branding is becoming ever more important. For companies targeting the consumer market it’s a prerequisite, and for most business-to-business companies as well. But many still think that branding of places is a little bit strange, sometimes even controversial. However, places have as much to gain from a strong brand as products and services. And quite often product brands and place brands interact; you all know which country builds the best quality luxury cars or where the most cutting edge consumer electronics come from.

Branding of places has some additional challenges compared with branding of commercial products. Products can often be changed to fit a brand platform, something which is very difficult or impossible when it comes to a place. There is also a broader range of interested parties involved, who will have to contribute to realising the brand but also have something to benefit from a successful brand. A brand platform for a place needs to be accessible to the public and is therefore more likely to be questioned and criticised.

The Swedish regions and municipalities have far less resources to allocate for branding than the NSU, so sharing the experience from developing “Brand Sweden” is a good way for the Swedish Institute to help them move forward in this process. In the spring of 2009, the Swedish Institute arranged a seminar together with Geobrands, where we presented the brand platform for Sweden together with some insights into how the national brand can be interpreted and used on a local or regional level.

For the regions and municipalities it is essential to know how Sweden is perceived abroad for their own branding efforts, and they wouldn’t be able to afford to carry out all the research that the Swedish Institute does. Sharing this information broadly is also a way for the Swedish Institute to reach its target of a stronger, clearer and more up-to-date image for Sweden abroad.

Brand Sweden is the sum of all encounters between people around the world and anything Swedish – products, people, culture or actual visits to Sweden. The key to a clear and strong national brand is not only in what message the Swedish institute or the rest of the NSU send out, but what all Swedish regions, product brands, people, etc do and say.

For example, companies like Volvo and Ikea have done a great job of positioning Sweden as a country that makes products where design and innovation is really used for the benefit of ordinary people. If we can get more Swedish organisations to share and use the Brand Sweden platform and communicate the unique values and the position that sets Sweden apart in the world, it will surely benefit both the image of Sweden in general and any brand associated with Sweden.

*Nämnden för Sverigefrämjande i utlandet

Joakim Norén, Brand Development Manager, Swedish Institute

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AHLFELDT

‘Stockholm has to fix its housing problem’

With the clock ticking on the lease for her current home in Stockholm, US-native and parent Rebecca Ahlfeldt reflects on how Sweden needs to improve the housing situation for visiting students, researchers and other skilled workers.

'Stockholm has to fix its housing problem'

I read a recent piece in the Dagens Nyheter newspaper (also run on The Local) arguing that the government bureaucracy plays a large role in discouraging foreign talent from moving to Sweden.

In this article, the Swedish Institute (SI) argues that students, researchers and other skilled workers are an important part of Sweden’s economy, innovation and future; however, they are being held up by the bureaucracy of visas, taxes and rules.

While bureaucracy is no doubt a significant hurdle, I can think of another problem here in Stockholm that causes frustration and panic once these foreigners cut through the red tape: housing.

The student housing crisis in Stockholm has made the news quite a lot lately, but the incredibly tight rental market reaches farther than just students. All of these visiting researchers and workers Sweden wants to attract also have to find rentals as they settle in.

So what does it take to rent a place in this city? I can tell you it takes more than time and patience. These past two months, we got our own taste of the housing shortage.

Again.

Two years ago we arrived in Sweden assuming we’d just rent a place for a few years before made our Big Decision. Actually, we didn’t have that much of a choice— without a few Swedish tax years under our belt, the banks we checked with were reluctant to loan us anything near what we’d need to buy something in Stockholm.

We just didn’t think renting in Stockholm would be dramatically harder than in other cities around the world.

We had been warned by other expats that the rental market would be tough, and it was. We signed up for a couple of the housing queues when we first arrived and still haven’t heard back.

But since we were open to living anywhere in the Stockholm area, we eventually found a house in a great little neighborhood and settled in.

Phew.

Just how lucky we were became much clearer when, this summer, just after signing onto another year in the house (and right in the middle of our vacation), we got an email: the family we are renting from wanted their house back.

Their overseas plans had fallen through, and they were coming back to Sweden. Now. How soon could we be out?

When we looked for housing two years ago, we were open to just about any neighborhood within a reasonable commuting distance to work. But now our family has settled in to this community. We have a school, daycare, friends and neighbours that we want to stay reasonably close to.

And to make the house hunt even more exciting, our move-out date is rapidly approaching. I love the fact that summer in Sweden is truly vacation time —generally speaking, things shut down, and many people get time off work. But this made finding a new place to live next to impossible.

After two months of replying to listings on Swedish buy-sell site Blocket and other rental sites, we have gotten only a handful of responses. One was from the owner of an absurdly expensive townhouse unable to get his asking price but unwilling to go down. Another response looked like this:

“I’ll only be in town for one day, so I want to make sure you’re serious about the place. If you want me to hold it for you, immediately deposit 7,500 kronor ($1,150) into my account.”

Hmm…We’re not that desperate. Yet.

I’ve heard friends blame the tight rental market on many things, including rent control, environmental concerns, geography and politics. But one thing they all agree on is this: the problem has been around for as long as they can remember. And it’s not likely to change any time soon.

Now, with the clock ticking on our current house and no prospects in sight, we’re suddenly faced with our Big Decision earlier than we were ready for: do we buy something here in Stockholm, or do we move back to California? Do we dare enter the notoriously difficult buyers’ market? I’m not even sure it’s possible to buy before our move-out date.

Every immigrant family we know has struggled with this same issue. If Stockholm wants to encourage the influx of visiting professors, students, researchers, and colleagues, these need a place to live.

Sorting out Stockholm’s housing problem is just as important as addressing the bureaucracy that the Swedish Institute criticizes.

Rebecca Ahlfeldt is an American ex-pat writer, translator and editor currently based in Stockholm.

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