Branded Spaces

The Conference
The phenomenon „brand“ is a big social and economic issue in society and economy – both in theory and practice. Brands have become an indispensable part of social life. It can be observed that brands have changed extremely and have occupied new fields.
Space is becoming more and more important in this context. While brands could primarily
be experienced in two dimensions in the past, they are now pushing into three-dimensionality. Even in the emerging virtual spaces brands have become indispensable.
Brands must be considered with space in mind. Here, both sciences and practice are just in their early stages. This is mainly because branded spaces can be shaped very differently, be it as brand lands (e.g. company museums, permanent exhibitions or theme parks), place brands (e.g. tourist destinations, cities or regions), store brands (e.g. flagship stores, concept stores or outlets) or themed and specialised branded spaces (e.g. virtual and temporary branded spaces or 3-D branding).
In this context, vital questions arise: How are brands staged in space? How are different forms of branded spaces designed? How do real space and virtual space influence brand perception of stakeholders? How are branded spaces managed? What are the risks and opportunities of brands in space?

Accordingly, the individual lectures are assigned to the
following five tracks at the conference:

Architecture & Design
Management & Process
Place & Destination
Culture & Society
Virtuality & Beyond

The speakers at the conference are mainly scientists, but also practitioners from over 15 different countries. The main objective of the conference (Pre-Conference Day, two-day Conference with Open Space, an innovative method for the moderation of large groups) is to illuminate the explorative and applied status quo of brand and space, to discuss the latest findings of research and practice and to provide the participants from home and abroad with a platform for interdisciplinary exchange. Especially the Open Space workshop is intended to interactively and cooperatively develop new
ideas concerning the view on brands and brand management in space. The Open Space is accompanied by moderators with relevant experience and their respective teams, who
also ensure the infrastructural prerequisites, in particular the documentation.

Submission Information:

Please send a one-page abstract to papers@branded-spaces.de.
An abstract should clearly state the purpose, results and conclusions of the work. Keywords (3-5) should be enclosed. Please provide full name, affiliations and up-to-date contact details.
Submission of abstracts is possible between 1st of December, 2010 and 15th of March, 2011.

The presenting authors will be notified by 1st of April, 2011.
The registration of these authors is required no later than 15th of April, 2011 in order to limit the number of cancelled papers.
The conference languages are English and German. All keynote speeches will be held in English, other contributions can be in either language. Lectures should be prepared to last no more than 45 minutes including discussion. The presenting authors don’t have to pay the registration fee.


We are looking forward to seeing you in Karlsruhe for a pleasant conference!