Branding at Nation: The student and volunteers´ perceptions of image/identity in the Swedish student Nations

Abstract: The purpose of this study is to analyze and understand how branding, image and identity play a role for Nations both to attract and maintain student, customers and motivate volunteers. This will be analyzed by means of the following research questions: “how do the Nations brand themselves?” and “how do members and volunteers of nations understand the Nation’s image and how do they respond to it?” This study strives to contribute to the theoretical area that deals with branding in non-profit organizations. Particularly, this research aspires to analyze how these specific nonprofit organizations brand themselves and how students´ perceive their brand. An interpretative interview approach was used to conduct this study. It is a qualitative study, which analyzes interviews with participants, who are active members in Nations. In addition to interviews, also observations and documents are utilized for analysis. The findings suggest that Nations, which consider branding positive, are those which utilize branding activities the most. Moreover, the study points at the dilemma of exclusivity and inclusivity branding. The implication suggests that further research should be elaborated on the matter of inclusivity and branding. Keywords: branding, image, identity, volunteering, Nations