The branding pyramidical tool kit for enhancing actors' agency in regional energy transitions within the Nordic Battery Belt

The paper addresses how regional actors can enhance their agency in branding the emerging Nordic Battery Belt (NBB) to attract talent, investment, markets, and public awareness for decarbonization. Context: Battery technologies are central to energy transition across mobility and other sectors, with the Nordic region developing domestic battery clusters in Central Ostrobothnia and Ostrobothnia (Finland), Västerbotten (Sweden), and Nordland (Norway). Despite benefits, concerns persist about environmental and geopolitical issues. Purpose: To propose a practical, theory-informed branding tool kit that operationalizes national battery strategies’ branding objectives and strengthens regional actors’ capacity to implement strategic branding action plans. Research question: How can a pyramidic tool kit enhance actors’ agency in regional energy transitions through branding the NBB? Importance: Branding can increase visibility and competitiveness of the regional cluster, support socio-economic development, and inform public understanding of the battery industry’s role in decarbonization.

The paper builds a conceptual framework by integrating branding literature with agency perspectives from energy transition studies. Branding: A brand differentiates offerings and communicates functional, economic, and psychological value; regional branding supports socio-economic development and is context-sensitive, leveraging language, symbols, and multi-actor collaboration. The branding pyramid (Lerman et al., 2017) provides five components—attention, awareness, associations, attitudes, relationships—used to structure the tool kit. Agency and regional change agents: Regional actors (place-based leaders) shape trajectories of energy transitions, construct discourses and imaginaries, coordinate heterogeneous stakeholders, and create opportunity spaces for new green paths. The ICE conceptual lens—Intentionality, Contextuality, Expectation—frames branding and agency: actions are purposive, grounded in regional contexts and needs, and shaped by and shaping stakeholder expectations. Nordic policy context: Recent national battery strategies in Finland, Norway, and Sweden emphasize branding needs (visibility, positive perception, sustainable positioning) and coordinated actions, reinforcing the need for a practical tool kit for implementation.

Qualitative study using Directed Content Analysis (DCA) to cross-pollinate branding theory with regional energy transition scholarship and apply it to the NBB context. Preparation phase: Reviewed highly cited qualitative content analysis works and relevant scientific articles, official reports, and policy documents. Organization phase: Derived themes from the branding pyramid (attention, awareness, associations, attitudes, relationships) and incorporated insights on regional branding and actor agency to model a pyramidic tool kit tailored to the battery industry and NBB context. Reporting phase: Developed a staircase-shaped branding tool kit with actionable guidance for each pyramid level and presented a conceptual ICE framework to explain why the tool kit enhances actor agency. Sources inspected included reports on Nordic battery logistics and value chains, national battery strategies (Finland 2021, Norway 2022, Sweden 2020), regional energy transition literature on agency and change agents, and branding scholarship.

• Developed a pyramidic branding tool kit tailored to the Nordic Battery Belt with five stages and indicative strategies: 1) Attention: Use local Nordic languages complemented by English to reach natives and international audiences; craft enticing, concise, memorable messages to stand out amid growing global battery clusters. 2) Awareness: Deploy logos, marketing materials, events, cross-border forums, and conventional/social media; examples include Society Expo 2026 (Skellefteå) and regional agency websites highlighting logistics and supply-chain developments. 3) Associations: Build clear brand identity and symbols; communicate favorable regional conditions (raw materials, renewable energy mix, institutional cooperation, strategic location) and link batteries to decarbonization across sectors; leverage platforms like Kokkola Material Week to signal innovation capacity and strengthen the region’s image. 4) Attitudes: Align brand promises with real outcomes (jobs, renewable adoption); communicate transparently about challenges (e.g., connectivity, supply chains) to build trust; encourage word-of-mouth and ambassador roles for individuals. 5) Relationships: Sustain dynamic, long-term communication; highlight incentives (subsidies, tax measures, affordability/accessibility information) to foster loyalty and emotional connection to the NBB brand.
• Conceptual contribution: Introduced the ICE framework (Intentionality, Contextuality, Expectation) to clarify how the tool kit operationalizes agency in branding—purpose-driven actions, context-fit messaging, and management of stakeholder expectations.
• Policy alignment: The tool kit supports implementation of national battery strategies in Finland (international visibility, targeted communication), Norway (positive perception, “Made in Norway”), and Sweden (sustainable battery value chain, stakeholder collaboration).
• Contextual data points illustrating the region’s scale and potential: GigaVaasa site allocation of 318 hectares; proposed anode plant cost ~€1.3 billion, ~100,000 tons/year, ~1,200 jobs; Northvolt’s Skellefteå factory >3500 employees and ~360 MW renewable power (~1.5% of Sweden’s total production); reports of a “Northvolt effect” with plans to reach ~3000 workforce by 2025 and population projection of ~90,000 by 2030 in Skellefteå; Freyr’s facilities in Mo i Rana, Norway (Giga Arctic and CQP).

The tool kit operationalizes the research question by translating branding theory into a phased, context-specific guide that strengthens regional actors’ agency to promote the NBB and align with national strategies. By emphasizing multilingual attention strategies, broad-based awareness mechanisms, context-grounded associations, credibility in shaping attitudes, and enduring relationship-building, the tool kit offers a coherent path from message design to stakeholder loyalty. Its ICE framing underscores that effective branding is purposive, rooted in regional realities (resources, governance, culture), and responsive to stakeholder expectations—key to influencing public perceptions and investment decisions in an emergent green-path industry. The discussion highlights the complexity of energy transitions and branding as multi-actor processes, calling for stronger institutional coordination (e.g., Swedish Battery Arena) and harmonized narratives to avoid fragmented messaging. The tool kit is presented as timely, given ongoing strategy implementation, and as a means to reduce oversight, increase clarity, and boost confidence among actors embarking on regional branding for decarbonization.

The study contributes a practical, pyramid-based branding tool kit (attention, awareness, associations, attitudes, relationships) and an ICE conceptual framework (intentionality, contextuality, expectation) to enhance regional actors’ agency in branding the Nordic Battery Belt and its battery industry. The tool kit aims to improve clarity, conciseness, and effectiveness of brand messaging, strengthen visibility, attract talent and investment, and foster public understanding of the industry’s role in decarbonization. It serves as a catalyst for institutions to design tailored variants aligned with national strategies and regional conditions, and calls for intensified, targeted, and collaborative branding efforts, including leveraging large public events. Future research should engage the institutions responsible for NBB branding to assess perceived usefulness, refine the tool kit, and evaluate impacts on stakeholder attitudes and relationships.

The paper is a qualitative, secondary-source study; it does not include primary data or stakeholder evaluations of the tool kit. The proposed tool kit is conceptual and illustrative rather than empirically validated, and its effectiveness may vary across contexts. The author notes it is not final and should be refined through engagement with relevant institutions and actors responsible for NBB branding.