What are public relations doing in a ‘place’ like place marketing? a proposed public relations plan (PRP) for the region of Kainuu, Finland

Abstract

Public relations constitute one of the core tools of place marketing. The aim of this paper is to analyse a proposed Public Relations Plan (PRP) for the region of Kainuu, Finland. This plan is strategic and focuses on effective communication with all the actors that are active in Kainuu, also aiming to contribute to its sustainable tourism development. The PRP is separated in two sub-PRPs. The first one is related to the internal environment of Kainuu, focusing on the planning and implementation of particular actions that strengthen the active participation of the internal groups (enterprises, public organisations, citizens, etc.) in the promotion of the region’s image and, consequently, in the region’s tourism marketing. The second one has the same logic but is more complicated, since it is related to the external environment of Kainuu. The data are derived from the INTERREG IIIC project CultMark (Cultural Heritage, Local Identity and Place Marketing for Sustainable Development) that was in operation in five European places (Nea Ionia, Magnesia-Greece – which was the lead partner – Chester-UK, Rostock/TLM-Germany, Kainuu-Finland, Pafos-Cyprus) from the beginning of 2004 till the end of 2006