Schyman’s legs in Let’s Dance as a communication strategy - a case study of “Feministiskt initiativ” in the election campaign 2010. (Schymans ben i Let’s Dance som kommunikationsstrategi, en fallstudie om Feministiskt initiativ i valkampanjen 2010). Author: Joanna Morell, Tutor: Ann-Marie Morhed 2009 was the first time where Swedish political parties were entitled to have TV- commercials, another sign of political communication taking one step closer to the strategic marketing communication. A type of communication that also is expensive. The Swedish political party Feministiskt initiativ (Fi) have existed since 2005 and is not yet a part of the Swedish parliament. They have not been entitled to the economic support that is given to Swedish parties with more than 2,5 percent of the votes in the last two elections. As a result Fi is completely dependent on economic contributions. Because of this it is crucial for them to get good value for the money they spend on communicating their brand. But how can then Fi, who have limited resources, make themselves heard? This question is what makes this study important. The purpose of this study was to investigate Fi and in which degree they made their brand visible to the public in the election campaign of 2010. I wanted to examine how efficiently they ran their election campaign, and by efficiently I mean to what degree the sender and receiver perception matched each other regarding the subjects: profile, communication and communication means. To examine if the sender and receivers perception matches each other; I’ve done a qualitative study, which includes a personal interview with the head of communication for Fi and four group interviews with people who voted for Fi, and people who didn’t. The result of these two will be reflected to theories that involve organizational identity and image, communication gaps and communication planning. The result of my study shows that Fi had small resources to communicate their profile through media. As a result Fi had limited access in media during the election campaign. The party used price efficiently strategies such as social media, network projects and the “brand Schyman” (living the brand). Because of the small resources communication gaps have evolved. Since Fi mainly use the strategy with the party as a network project there is a possibility that the wrong perception of their identity spread, which risks making existing communication gaps even bigger. This essay is 50 pages and is written in the autumn semester of 2010, for the course of Media and Communication Studies C. For the Division of Media and Communication, Department of Information Science, Uppsala University.

Background: When it comes to brand communication, gaps can arise. These occur when the brand management’s view of the brand does not match the customers’ Brand image. In order to prevent reputation crises brand managements need to monitor the Brand identity and Brand image and identify possible gaps. Purpose: To identify and analyse what communication gaps that can occur between a company’s Brand identity and customers’ Brand image. Research question: What communication gaps can occur between a company’s Brand identity and the customers’ Brand image? Theory: Marketing Communication, Sender-Receiver model, Brand image and Brand identity focusing on Personality, Positioning, Vision & Culture and Relationship. Method: A case study of the Swedish food company Coop was conducted to investigate the relationship between their Brand identity and the customers’ Brand image. The case study was conducted in two steps; firstly, information concerning Coop’s Brand identity was gathered through in-depth interviews. Secondly, a questionnaire was handed out to Coop’s customers to see whether their Brand image was consistent with Coop’s Brand identity. The aim was to find similarities and dissimilarities between data and thereby identify communication gaps. Results: Several communication gaps were identified between Coop’s Brand identity and the customers’ Brand image when it came to the concepts of Personality, Positioning, Vision & Culture and Relationship. Coop experiences most communication gaps in Relationship, they has not managed to create close relationships with their customers.

Drawing on experience as a communications consultant to the junior mining industry, this research emerged from my observations that anti-mining, non-governmental organization (NGO) campaigns are currently winning the public relations war against the mining industry. Increasing global awareness and anti-mining sentiment may be due in part to a lack of communication on behalf of mining companies with respect to corporate social responsibility (CSR) and specifically community investment activities in developing countries. I sought to investigate what community investment initiatives a sample of Canadian junior exploration companies are conducting and the root causes for a possible CSR communication gap or “reporting silence” in this regard, which, if remedied, could potentially help balance this negative publicity. Results from interviews with mining company executives, industry CSR practitioners, and investment fund managers identified a number of factors contributing to a community investment communication gap, and reflect upon the multiplicity of stakeholder audiences with complex and divergent information needs. My thesis concludes with recommendations as to how junior exploration companies and industry CSR practitioners might consider community investment in developing countries through a complexity science lens to explore collaborative solutions in addressing these communication gaps.