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

The battery industry is crucial for decarbonization, accelerating renewable energy adoption in electric mobility (vehicles, aviation, maritime). However, concerns remain regarding environmental impacts of extraction and economic motivations. This paper focuses on how regional actors can promote the decarbonization benefits of battery production, particularly within the Nordic Battery Belt (NBB) – a region encompassing parts of Finland, Sweden, and Norway. The NBB presents a developing green path. Regional branding is vital to attract investment and skilled labor, given increasing demand for battery technologies and the need to reduce reliance on Asian imports. Existing research highlights regional branding's importance, yet tools to enhance actors' agency in implementing strategic branding plans remain under-researched. This paper addresses this gap by developing a toolkit to enhance actors' strategic branding action plans, aiming to solidify the region's economic strengths and boost visibility of the NBB's emerging battery industry. The central research question is: How can a pyramidic toolkit enhance actors' agency in regional energy transitions through NBB branding? A multidisciplinary approach combines insights from branding literature and energy transitions literature to answer this question, aiming to provide a practical guide for regional actors like development agencies.

The literature review examines existing research on branding and its application to regional development. Studies show the importance of branding for increasing regional visibility and communicating sustainability strides. Regional branding is highlighted as a way to attract business and investment in a competitive international market. The literature also emphasizes the role of regional actors as change agents in energy transitions, influencing policy and shaping narratives. While the importance of regional branding and promoting the NBB is established, the lack of a structured toolkit for implementing strategic branding plans is identified as a gap in the existing research. This gap is addressed by the present study through the development of a practical toolkit and conceptual framework.

This paper employs a qualitative directed content analysis (DCA) approach. DCA is chosen for its flexibility and suitability for cross-pollinating knowledge from branding and regional energy transition literature. Three phases of DCA are followed: preparation, organization, and result-reporting. The preparation phase involves reviewing literature on qualitative content analysis, branding, and regional energy transitions, with a focus on themes related to battery industry development and regional branding. The organization phase involves scrutinizing literature on branding to extract themes and categories, particularly using the branding pyramid model. The works of Lerman et al. (2017) on branding pyramids are key, providing a framework for the toolkit's development. The role of regional actors as change agents is also examined, integrating perspectives from energy transition literature. The result-reporting phase uses the extracted themes and categories to develop the branding toolkit.

The study develops a branding toolkit based on the branding pyramid model, including five stages: attention, awareness, associations, attitudes, and relationships. **Attention:** Emphasizes using both local Nordic languages and English to maximize reach and impact. **Awareness:** Recommends utilizing marketing materials, events, cross-border discussions, and conventional and social media to raise awareness about the NBB and its battery industry. **Associations:** Focuses on highlighting the region's favorable conditions for battery production, such as raw materials availability and strong institutional cooperation. It also emphasizes the role of batteries in decarbonization efforts. **Attitudes:** Stresses the importance of meeting consumer expectations, managing communication around potential challenges, and fostering transparency to build trust. **Relationships:** Advocates for continuous and dynamic promotion of the region's economic activities, incentives, and subsidies to build long-term loyalty and emotional connection among stakeholders. The toolkit is designed to be an intentional tool, responding to contextual needs and high stakeholder expectations. The multidisciplinary approach strengthens actors’ agency by providing clarity and conciseness to the branding message, reducing oversight and improving coordination among diverse stakeholders. The analysis emphasizes the contextual nature of actors' agency, acknowledging the interplay between branding and regional energy transitions. The toolkit aims to build confidence by providing a framework for addressing key elements of the branding process.

The pyramidic toolkit directly addresses the research question by providing a practical and intentional approach to enhancing actors' agency in NBB branding. The toolkit's design considers the specific contextual factors within the Nordic region, reflecting the need for a tailored approach to multi-country collaboration. The inclusion of stakeholder expectations underscores the importance of aligning branding efforts with the goals and aspirations of the region's actors. The toolkit's structure facilitates harmonization and reduces the likelihood of conflicting narratives from diverse stakeholders. The discussion highlights the toolkit's contribution to both practical implementation and theoretical advancement, bridging the gap between branding theory and regional energy transitions.

This paper offers a novel branding toolkit using a branding pyramid framework to empower actors in the NBB's energy transition. The toolkit's structure, informed by a multidisciplinary approach, enhances agency by promoting clarity, reducing oversight, and coordinating efforts. Future research could investigate the toolkit's real-world application through case studies involving relevant actors in the NBB. Furthermore, exploring the toolkit's adaptability to other regional contexts would broaden its impact and applicability.

This study is based on a qualitative analysis of secondary data, limiting its ability to make definitive causal claims. The toolkit's effectiveness relies on the active participation and commitment of regional actors. Future research could validate the toolkit's efficacy through empirical testing and quantitative analysis.