Title: To sell the country of Lagom: a study of the Swedish Institute’s re-branding of Sweden and impact on the swedish citizens Authors: Rebecca Dahl & Ellinor Thungren Aim: The purpose of this thesis is to study the Swedish Institute’s branding of Sweden. We have explored if the branding is consistent with the picture that Swedes generally have of themselves and Sweden, and also looked at which consequences differences in this picture may have. Method/Material: Semiotic analysis and interview Main Results: The results of the thesis shows that SI’s branded image of Sweden agree with the picture that Swedes have of themselves and Sweden. However, there are some points where these two images differ, which may have impact on the population's self-image. Number of pages: 55 Course: Media and Communication studies C Department: Department of Informatics and Media University: Uppsala University Period: Autumn semester 14 Tutor: Anne-Marie Morhed

Globalization has significantly reshaped communication trends that influence nation branding practices. Many studies examine the development of a nation and destination branding; however, little has been done to examining the planning processes and the selection of representative messages that nations choose to communicate through their individual brands. Therefore, the aim of this study is to identify the key concepts that are used to build Brand Singapore. Singapore is a small, diverse country that attracts attention both as a tourism destination and political and economic entity. Hence, the study examines its branding materials and messages chosen in order to stand out from the competition, as well as the rationale behind these choices. For those purposes, the process of multimodal critical discourse analysis (MCDA) was used on text and visual based messages present in the “Singapore – Where Passion is Made Possible” nation branding video of Singapore. In order to break down and identify the core messages that Brand Singapore communicates, results were subjected to contexts of safety and diversity in Singapore along with theories of re-orientalism and competitive identity. The examination revealed that Singapore is persistently showcasing itself as a multi-ethnical country, but it is rather understanding and tolerant. The presence of the social and economic hierarchy is present, and the Chinese ethnicity is granted the highest status in the messages. Communication practitioners and marketing organizations will find this study helpful in developing branding strategy planning for the most demanding countries.

Dans la mondialisation d’aujourd’hui et dans un monde plus démocratique et ouvert, la diplomatie publique est devenue un sujet qui suscite de plus en plus d’intérêt. Selon Anholt, un analyste de société anglais, tous les gouvernements doivent, pour le compte du peuple, des institutions et des entreprises, développer une stratégie pour améliorer et fortifier la perception du pays. La théorie utilisée est celle d’Anholt appelée Nation branding où il applique une théorie commerciale dans le monde des sciences politiques et sociales en comparant les pays aux marques commerciales. Dans ce mémoire, en utilisant les méthodes de l’étude du corpus et l’entretien, je compare les stratégies et les objectifs de la diplomatie publique de la France et de la Suède. Après avoir fait un inventaire des cinq grandes voies de promouvoir un pays à l’extérieur et après avoir regardé les stratégies actuelles des deux pays, on trouve de nombreuses similarités, surtout dans les stratégies des cinq voies de promouvoir un pays. Les différences se trouvent ailleurs. Par exemple la Suède n’hésite pas à comparer l’image du pays avec une marque commerciale selon la théorie de Nation branding tandis que la France est plus hésitante, mais le nouveau ministre des Affaires étrangères et européennes en France est favorable à la notion. D’autre part, j’ai pu constater que l’optique suédoise de la diplomatie publique correspond plutôt à une volonté de placer la Suède sur la scène mondiale et d’instaurer un sentiment de good will tandis que la France souhaite avant tout sauvegarder son rang de puissance mondiale et considère la position forte de sa langue comme une condition nécessaire pour ce faire. L’action culturelle extérieure suédoise s’organise surtout depuis la Suède, parce que la Suède n’a pas de réseau culturel comparable à celui de la France. La mise en place du Conseil de la promotion de l’image de la Suède dans le monde permet partiellement de contrer la grandeur de la France. / In the globalization of today, in a more democratic and open world, public diplomacy has become a subject that gets more and more attention. According to Anholt, a British social analyst, all governments should, on behalf of the people, the institutions and the companies, develop a strategy to improve and strengthen the perception of the country. The theory applied is Anholt’s Nation Branding where he uses the ideas of branding for the public diplomacy of a country. He likes to compare countries to commercial brands. The aim of this minor thesis is to compare the strategies and objectives of the public diplomacy of today in France and Sweden. To reach my conclusions I have collected information from Anholt’s books of Nation branding and from the official websites of the different national administrations. I also made interviews with people involved in the matter. There are five ways to communicate the image of a country abroad. France and Sweden have similar strategies within these fields. The differences are to be found, foremost in the way of talking about the country as a brand and the value of Nation Branding. It’s a part of the Swedish strategy while the French are more reluctant. At the same time, the French minister of foreign and European affairs, Kouchner, seems to be influenced by the ideas behind Nation Branding. I have also come to the conclusion that the aim of the Swedish public diplomacy regards primary to place Sweden on the world map and to create a sense of good will while the main priority of France is to stay a leading world nation and considers the language aspect very important to do so. The Swedish cultural diplomacy is organized at the head office in Stockholm while the French have an immense network of cultural institutes. As Sweden is not represented worldwide, the Swedish solution is a national council of international representations that work together to form a strategy to promote Sweden.

Syftet med denna fallstudie är att undersöka på vilket sätt VisitSweden arbetar med Sveriges varu­märke mot internationella turister och besökare, samt hur de samarbetar med besöksnäringen för att stärka varumärket Sverige. Metodmässigt har vi genomfört en fallstudie på VisitSweden vars uppdrag är att marknadsföra Sverige till internationella turister och besökare. Vi har genom­fört kvalitativa intervjuer med marknadschefen på VisitSweden och aktörer i besöksnäringen. Fallstudien visar att VisitSweden i samarbete med NSU (Nämnden för Sverigefrämjande i Utlandet) arbetar med en strategi för Nation branding. Detta för att stärka Sverigebilden. Målet är att skapa en positiv bild av Sverige som lockar till intresse som ska gynna alla näringar. Medlemmarna i NSU har kommit fram till en gemensam målgrupp. Utifrån denna målgrupp har VisitSweden tagit fram två egna målgrupper. En i NSU gemensamt framtagen kommunikations­plattform ligger till grund för att alla ska kommunicera samma enade bild av Sverige. VisitSweden arbetar med integrerad kommunikation i arbetet att stärka varumärket Sverige. De arbetar tillsammans med besöksnäringen för att stärka Sverigebilden och öka turismexporten. / The purpose with this case study is to examine in what ways VisitSweden works with the brand of Sweden towards international tourists and visitors and how they cooperate with the tourism industry to strengthen the brand of Sweden. We have done a case study at VisitSweden whos mission is to market Sweden to international tourists and visitors. We have done qualitative interviews with the Head of Marketing at VisitSweden and organisations in the tourism industry in Sweden. The case study shows that VisitSweden togheter with NSU (The board for promoting Sweden abroad) are working with a strategy for Nation branding to strengthen the image of Sweden. The goal is to create a positive image of Sweden that shall benefit all industries in Sweden. The members in NSU have agreed upon a mutual target group. From that target group VisitSweden have formed two target groups for themselves. The communication platform that NSU has created is the foundation for communicating a consistent image of Sweden. VisitSweden works with integrated communication in the process of strengthening the brand of Sweden. They work togheter with the tourism industry to strengthen the image of Sweden and to increase the tourism export.

Syftet med uppsatsen är att undersöka de attityder som svenska och finländska konsumenter har beträffande ursprungslandsinformation, i synnerhet bilden av PIIGS-länderna. Teorierna i uppsatsen utgår ifrån Country of origin och dess effekter samt från tidigare forskning.Uppsatsen har en kvantitativ ansats där en enkätundersökning och statistiska beräkningar utförts. Slutsatserna i denna uppsats är att de svenska och finländska konsumenterna generellt inte tar hänsyn till ursprungslandsinformation. De påvisar även negativa attityder gentemotPIIGS-länderna gällande tillförlitlighet och produktkvalité i jämförelse med deras hemländer. / The purpose of this paper is to examine the attitudes that Swedish and Finnish consumers have regarding Country of origin information, in particular the image of the PIIGS countries.The theories in this essay are based on Country of origin and its effects as well as from previous conducted research. The essay has a quantitative approach in which a questionnaire and statistical calculations have been performed. The conclusions of this paper are that the Swedish and Finnish consumers generally do not take Country of origin information into account.They also show negative attitudes towards the PIIGS countries regarding reliability and product quality in comparison to their home countries.

Syfte: Syftet med denna undersökning är att bidra med ökad kunskap om forskningsfälten kriskommunikation och nation branding. Vi intresserar oss för att undersöka mottagarens upplevelse av Sveriges hantering av covid-19 och om det kan komma att förändra människors uppfattningar om Sverige som nation och varumärke.  Frågeställningar: För att uppnå studiens syfte kommer vi arbeta utifrån följande frågeställningar:  ●  Hur uppfattar norrmännen som urvalet består av, att Sveriges krishantering vid covid-19 skötts?  ●  Vilka mediekanaler har varit viktiga för att forma bilden av Sveriges krishantering?  ●  Har urvalets bild av krishanteringen förändrat hur de uppfattar Sverige som nation och varumärke? I sådana fall, på vilket sätt?  ●  Går det att hitta skillnader hos dessa personer som gör att det går att urskilja idealtyper? Vilka egenskaper kännetecknas de i sådana fall av?  Teori: De teorier uppsatsen grundar sig i är: nation branding, public diplomacy, kriskommunikation, the situational crisis communication theory, tvåstegshypotesen, det hybrida mediesystemet och receptionsanalys.  Metod: Undersökningen är baserad på kvalitativ metod då dess tillvägagångssätt för datainsamling är kvalitativa semistrukturerade intervjuer. Vi ville nå respondenternas livsvärld för att få en djupare inblick i deras resonemang, erfarenheter och upplevelser kring Sveriges krishantering vid covid-19. Vi var även intresserade att få veta mer om deras generella uppfattningar om Sverige som nation och varumärke, och om den bilden av Sverige har förändrats med anledning av Sveriges krishantering av covid-19.  Urval: Undersökningen har avgränsats till att urvalet består av norrmän, som tillhör generation Y och Z. Då vi ville åt utomståendes uppfattningar om Sveriges krishantering av covid-19, valdes norrmän ut utifrån dess tillgänglighet sett till språk och närhet, men även eftersom Norge hanterat denna pandemi annorlunda jämfört med Sverige.  Resultat: Undersökningens resultat och analys resulterade i att två idealtyper identifierades i urvalet. Vi kallar dem för Sverige-skeptiker och Sverige-optimister. Sverige-skeptikerna präglas av en kritisk inställning till Sveriges hantering av covid-19 och Sverige-optimisterna är i många fall Sverige-skeptikernas motsats. Sverige- optimisterna präglas av en positiv inställning till Sveriges hantering av covid-19. Gemensamt för de två idealtyperna är att deras uppfattningar om Sverige inte har förändrats med anledning av covid-19, deras tidigare uppfattningar har därmed förstärkts. / Purpose: The aim of this study is to contribute with increased knowledge about the research field crisis communication and nation branding. We are interested in studying the recipients' experience of Sweden ́s management of covid-19 and whether it may change people's perceptions of Sweden as a nation and brand.  Research issues: To achieve the purpose of the study, we will work on the basis of the following issues:  ●  How does the norwegians that the selection consist of, perceive that Sweden ́s crisis management of covid-19 has been handled?  ●  Which media channels have been important in shaping the image of Sweden's crisis management?  ●  Has the selections image of crisis management changed how they perceive Sweden as a nation and a brand? If so, in what way?  ●  Is it possible to find differences in these people that makes it possible to pick out ideal types, which attributes are they characterized by?  Theory: The theories that the study will be based on is: nation branding, public diplomacy, crisis communication, the situational crisis communication theory, the two-step hypothesis, the hybrid media system and reception analysis  Method: The survey is based on a qualitative method as its data collection approach is qualitative semi- structured interviews. We wanted to reach the respondent ́s reality to get a deeper insight into their reasoning, experiences and events around Sweden's crisis management at covid-19. We were also interested in learning more about their general perceptions of Sweden as a nation and brand, and whether that image of Sweden has changed due to Sweden's crisis management of covid-19.  Selection: We have limited the selection to consist of norwegians who belong to generation Y and Z. We wanted to obtain outsiders' perceptions of Sweden ́s crisis management of covid-19, norwegians were selected based on their accessibility in terms of language and closeness, but also because Norway has handled this pandemic differently compared to Sweden.  Results: The results and analysis of the survey resulted in two ideal types being identified in the sample. We call them Sweden skeptics and Sweden optimists. The Sweden skeptics are characterized by a critical attitude to Sweden's handling of covid-19 and the Sweden optimists are in many cases the opposite of the Sweden skeptics. The Sweden optimists are characterized by a positive attitude towards Sweden's handling of covid- 19. Common to the two ideal types is that their perceptions of Sweden have not changed due to covid-19, however, their existing perceptions have therefore been strengthened.

This study aims to create a greater understanding of how mega-sports events can be used as a means of nation branding to influence the destination image and travel intention of the host nation. In this thesis, the authors, through a deductive approach and a quantitative research strategy, conducted a survey of Swedish people interested in sports. The Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) program was used to process the collected quantitative data from the questionnaire. The empirical results of the thesis were analyzed with previous research to strengthen the study. The result of the study shows that mega-sports events can be a pull-factor for tourist’s travel intentions and mega-sports events can also be used as a means for nation branding. Furthermore, the study shows that interest in sports functions as a push-factor when traveling, for Swedish people interested in sports. However, the effects of nation branding on the destination image and travel intentions vary, and largely depend on whether people have visited the event or not. Media surrounding a mega-sport event also has an impact, as do the host countries' geographical and cultural differences to the targeted market. Differences in the empirical result mean that it is not possible to draw conclusions about how mega-sports events affect the destination picture.

One of the most interesting approaches on how we perceive nations today is the idea of imagining nations as brands. Nation branding is used by many governments as a tool for the dissemination of a certain nation imagery. From a media approach, this thesis explores the notion of nation branding as ideologically loaded in media discourse, and the official web discourse on Spain serves as a case. Specifically, the thesis reveals the media construction of Spain on the official website marcaespaña.es, exploring its relation to national identities and the underlying ideologies behind the online selfrepresentation. The thesis draws on the concepts of nation, national identities, ideology and discourse, relating them to nation branding from a critical perspective. To do so, the thesis employs Critical Discourse Analysis as method for analyzing national narratives, where nation branding discourse is seen as a social practice that legitimizes certain ideologies and power relations. The study concludes that the Spanish construction, portraying Spain as unique and united, reduces its national identity to an excellence and elite discourse, ignoring the complex reality of the nation. The thesis shows how this way of constructing the nation serves, through a website, to legitimize the current economical and political system, including the current government and the Spanish nationalism.

Design is an aspect that can potentially enhance a nations brand, Swedish design is highly regarded in the rest of the world and that is something that the Swedish government happy highlights. Despite this, the government has significantly reduced the grant to Svensk Form, which is the organization with the main task to promote Swedish design internationally. This paper aims to investigate and analyze how Svensk Forms efforts to promote Swedish design internationally affects the Swedish nation brand. Furthermore, the study investigates whether there are cultural differences that affect the communication of the Swedish nation brand. The study has been carried out by applying the theories of nation branding, interculturalcommunication and neoclassical perspective to the collected empirical data which consisted of interviews, two key articles and four documents from the government. The authors of the study therefore use the method of triangulation with a deductive approach.

<p><strong>Title:</strong> Images of Sweden in Italy</p><p><strong>Number of pages:</strong> 5252 (589 including enclosures)</p><p><strong>Author:</strong> Oskar Gustafsson</p><p><strong>Tutor: </strong>Martin Nilsson</p><p><strong>Course:</strong> Political Science C level – Bachelor’s Thesis</p><p><strong>Period: </strong>Spring term 2010</p><p><strong>University: </strong>School of Social Sciences</p><p>Linnaeus University</p><p><strong>Purpose/Aim:</strong> The purpose of my research study is to, through the use of political science theories on soft power and marketing theories about nation branding and in comparison to previous studies on the image of Sweden in Italy, gains a better understanding of the image of Sweden in Italy, with special focus on national political institutions and young Italians.</p><p><strong>Method: </strong>The method of analysis is a combination of qualitative methods: interviews where information about the image of Sweden amongst national political institutions were gathered and a survey where information was gathered about the image of Sweden amongst young Italians.</p><p><strong>Main results: </strong>On the basis of the results I have gained it can be concluded that a positive and well informed image of Sweden emerges when it comes to cultural and social factors but a more restricted and somewhat negative image come to light when asking national political institutions and young citizens in Italy about their views and knowledge on Swedish domestic and international politics and economics.</p><p><strong>Keywords: </strong>Soft power, Public Diplomacy, Nation Branding, Images of Sweden, Italy.</p>