Truly Global, Proudly Scandinavian: Exploring Swedish Nation Branding on Volvo’s International Instagram Channel

• Main Author: Benischke, Anne
• Format: Others
• Language: English
• Published: Örebro universitet, Institutionen för humaniora, utbildnings- och samhällsvetenskap 2019
• Subjects: Nation Branding; Sweden; Instagram; Volvo; Content Analysis; MCDA; Media and Communications; Medie- och kommunikationsvetenskap
• Online Access: http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:oru:diva-75156

This research investigates the interaction between corporate branding and nation branding using the case of Swedish nation branding on Volvo’s international Instagram channel. It aims to find out which topics of the Swedish nation brand are addressed by Volvo and where and how frequently the references are placed. Furthermore, the goal is to understand how the Swedish nation brand is communicated multimodally and how it is perceived. This research draws upon the concept of nation branding in general and the Swedish nation brand particularly. Upon the following examination of the interaction between companies and nation branding, the advantages become clear. However, it is also apparent that there is currently a lack of research on the usage of the Swedish nation brand by companies. Based on Mayring (1994), a content analysis of 164 posts from a one-year period was conducted to examine with which topics, where and how frequently the Swedish nation brand is communicated by Volvo. Multimodal critical discourse analysis based on Machin (2016) of three different posts gives examples of how the communication is implemented multimodally and how users react on it with comments. The findings show a clear focus on safety, sustainability, countryside and design with interesting results for the usage of niche categories in the automobile industry. The Swedish nation brand is often indirectly communicated, not pointing out the country itself but instead representing its values, culture and geography. The examples of the multimodal critical discourse analysis show that the Swedish national culture and the nation’s values are presented as more important than Volvo’s brand, while Swedish geography serves to highlight the car’s qualities and its heritage. The analysis of the comments show that the categories of the Swedish nation brand are recognized, but the posts are not associated with Sweden unless it is very obviously represented.