Abstract Title: To Market a Company with the Help of Nationality – A study in how marketing and branding works and is being perceived when it focuses on nationality Author: Frida Hansson Subject: Media and Communication Studies C Period: Fall semester 2010 Length: 38 pages Tutor: Else Nygren Aim: Companies and various corporations are always on the hunt for the next big thing in marketing. One idea to market themselves and give them a chance to separate themselves from the cluster of companies aspiring to take your costumers away could be to market themselves with nationality. To investigate why and how some company’s chose to market themselves with nationality, and also study how this kind of marketing is being perceived by customers and non –costumers. Method: The research is conducted through personal interviews with representatives from IKEA and MediaMarkt and also focus group interviews with an association test. Theory: Three theories will be the theoretic base for this essay; nation branding, Country of Origin and Product-Country Images. Main results: For companies marketing with the help of nationality is a good way to separate themselves from other similar companies. Although, they need to be cautious about which country they want to be linked to. Commercials with stereotypes from certain countries are fun, but not when you are the one the commercial are making fun of. Some countries are also seen as better than others when it comes to marketing and branding. If you want to associate your company with a country, you should first se where the potential country ranks for an optimal result. Finally, it is also that presented companies around the world works with this kind of marketing strategy and most of them successfully. Furthermore they work consciously or non-consciously with the three theories. Keywords: nation branding, Country of Origin, Product-Country Images, IKEA and MediaMarkt