A Message That We All Share Title Sheet
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A MESSAGE THAT WE ALL SHARE TITLE SHEET A message that we all share A research of the campaign ‘All that we share’ released in 2017 by TV 2 Denmark. In addition, an understanding of the Danish viewers' interaction with the message hereof and a view of the campaign in an international context. MASTER THESIS IN CULTURE, COMMUNICATION & GLOBALISATION 10th semester, June 2020. Aalborg University STUDENTS Cristian Voicu (20180685) Ida Marie Stenumgaard (20181122) SUPERVISOR Birthe Mousten Nielsen CHARACTERS: 281,574 PREFACE The thesis is made from an interest concerning a Danish TV networks’ decision to use the message of connectedness and diversity as part of their brand identity. We find is interesting to research why TV 2 decided to do this and further, how they did it. In addition to this, we want to see how the Danish consumers interact with this message and, given the large international response to the campaign and its message, we also want to investigate the international viewers' perception of the campaign. We want to give a special thanks to the 12 respondents and to Vicky Wassman Dahi who participated in our data collection and contributed with interesting and essential meanings and insights to our research. Further, we want to thank our supervisor, Birthe, for her perspectives and constructive feedback. We hope you enjoy the reading. Abstract Today companies employ increasingly more complex branding strategies as they try to keep up with the competition and with the evolving needs and behaviours of consumers. Brand managers are turning to using cultural or ideological principles as the core of their branding efforts. This research study aims to shed light on that strategy, dubbed as cultural branding, by conducting a case study of a branding campaign by TV 2. The campaign ‘All that we share’, from 2017, sends an intercultural message of diversity and connectedness in an ever more interconnected, yet increasingly divisive world. The meaning of the campaign is analysed using an approach that takes into account the sender’s perspective, the receivers’ perspective and the context that shapes both perspectives. The receivers’ perspective is further composed of both Danish and international recipients. For these we devise an interpretative analysis that looks at data collected through a focus group, an expert and several semi- structured interviews, as well as data from secondary sources such as social media and online news articles. We conclude that viewers engage with, and positively receive, the message of connectedness, despite social tensions regarding the increasing heterogeneity of cultures. This can be linked with the ‘soft’ approach of the commercial and the pre-existent perception of TV 2. Furthermore, we can observe that the credibility of the message is considered outside of the credibility of the commercials themselves. The viewers display a critical attitude towards the campaign and its elements, confirming the idea of a post-modernist sceptical consumer. The observed congruence between the brand identity portrayed by TV 2 and the brand image created by the viewers is evidence of TV 2’s success at creating an effective communication campaign and shows the potential of creating a brand identity using authentic cultural claims. Moreover, the influence that cultural context has on the way viewers perceive meaning is underlined by the slight differences observed in the perspectives of the Danish and international viewers. Finally, we have noticed a perception that the campaign also functions as an advertising for the Danish way of life, which shows that commercials can take on a broader meaning than initially intended, whether the company behind meant it to do so or not. iv Contents Reading guide ............................................................................................................................. 1 1. Introduction ....................................................................................................................... 3 1.1. Research question ........................................................................................................... 4 1.2. Operationalisation .......................................................................................................... 4 2. Background and research context ..................................................................................... 6 2.1. Delimitation .................................................................................................................. 13 3. Literature review .............................................................................................................. 16 3.1. Branding paradigms ...................................................................................................... 16 3.2. Conventional branding models ..................................................................................... 17 3.3. Cultural branding .......................................................................................................... 18 3.4. Two sides of branding ................................................................................................... 19 3.5. Brand meaning .............................................................................................................. 21 3.6. Conclusion ..................................................................................................................... 22 3.7. Criticism ........................................................................................................................ 23 4. Methodology .................................................................................................................... 25 4.1. Philosophical considerations ........................................................................................ 25 4.2. Research strategy .......................................................................................................... 27 4.3. Quality of research ........................................................................................................ 27 4.4. Case study ..................................................................................................................... 29 4.5 Data collection ............................................................................................................... 31 4.5.1. Sender’s perspective .............................................................................................. 31 4.5.2. Receivers’ perspective ........................................................................................... 32 4.5.3. Criticism ................................................................................................................. 37 4.6. Thematic analysis .......................................................................................................... 38 4.7. Conclusion ..................................................................................................................... 40 v 5. Analysis ............................................................................................................................ 42 5.1. TV 2’s perspective ......................................................................................................... 42 5.1.1. Intention ................................................................................................................ 42 5.1.2. Message ................................................................................................................. 45 5.1.3. Public Service ......................................................................................................... 47 5.1.4. International .......................................................................................................... 49 5.1.5. Creating a true story .............................................................................................. 51 5.1.6. Branding ................................................................................................................. 53 5.2. Danish viewers’ perspective ......................................................................................... 55 5.2.1. Knowledgeable consumers .................................................................................... 55 5.2.2. Community ............................................................................................................. 75 5.2.3. Prejudice ................................................................................................................ 83 5.2.4. Credibility ............................................................................................................... 89 5.2.5. Emotions .............................................................................................................. 103 5.2.6. Doing this for society ........................................................................................... 107 5.2.7. Denmark ............................................................................................................... 114 5.2.8. International ........................................................................................................ 118 5.3. International perspective ............................................................................................ 120 5.3.1 International media .............................................................................................. 120 5.3.2 Online comments .................................................................................................