Conclusion

In Section 3, the attempt to brand the town of Løgstør by using the mussel festivals as a

signature event was classified as “a typical case” (Teddlie & Yu, 2007; Seawright &

Gerring, 2008) that represents other place-branding initiatives in rural areas revolving

around food festivals. The Løgstør case is both clearly and explicitly positioned within

the group of festivals, the purpose of which is to “do” place branding whereas it is

not-nor was it ever intended to be-a means for community self-celebration. On the con-

trary, as one of the organizers pointed out, Løgstør has a town fair that serves that purpose.

The success (or not) of a festival, the aim of which is to celebrate community identity is

likely to be measured by the extent to which local residents define this festival as a cele-

bration and/or the extent to which it enhances community identity. In the same vein, a fes-

tival with a destination-branding background is mostly measured by the number of tourists

it pulls in, the money spent by these tourists, the actual experience or satisfaction that these

tourists have, etc. The mussel festivals are successful insofar as they enhance brand equity

for the town of Løgstør, i.e. if they create awareness of, and visits to, Løgstør and if the end

result of these visits is that guests form favourable, strong and unique associations to the

Løgstør brand; associations that may spur positive word-of-mouth communication and

increase guest re-visits as well as settlement in the longer run.