Initiating Relationships in Destination Marketing a Case Study of the Wallander Film Production
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Initiating Relationships in Destination Marketing A Case Study of the Wallander Film Production Bachelor’s Thesis 15 hp Department of Business Studies Uppsala University Spring Semester of 2017 Date of Submission: 2017-01-13 Agnes Karlsson Supervisor: Virpi Havila ! Abstract This thesis focuses on the process of initiating relationships in destination marketing and includes an in-depth case study of the Wallander film series. Destination marketing is unique due to its dependency on relationship creation – typically, dynamic contacts have to be established between the film company, its financial sponsors and the stakeholders in the designated destination. In order to understand how these relationships are created and their dynamics, this thesis explores the factors that impact the process of initiating relationships, called converters and inhibitors. The results reveal that views differ between the film production company and the regional authorities tied to the destination as to which factors that act as converters and inhibitors. While both parties agree that striving for mutual understanding & social chemistry are important converters, the production company further adds a receptive attitude & motivated approach and creatively driven visionaries as vital converters. The regional authorities on the other hand highlight mutual respect, passion/courage-driven visionaries and structure, transparency & communication as key converters. As for the inhibitors, the production company points to lack of motivation, lack of resources and lack of open-mindedness, while the regional authorities highlight lack of mutual understanding & respect, bureaucratic layers and industry-related cultural differences. Keywords: Destination Marketing, Initiation Process of Relationships, Business Relationships, Networks, Wallander, Film Acknowledgements I would like to express my gratitude towards my supervisor Virpi Havila for her advice and support along the journey of writing this thesis. Further, I want to thank the following people for their time and expertise shared during the interviews made for this thesis: Ole Sondberg, Daniel Gylling, Ralf Ivarsson, Carl-Johan Korsås, Kent Mårtensson, Thomas Lantz & Petra Rundqvist. Contents 1. Background ............................................................................................................................ 3 1.1 Main Purpose ................................................................................................................... 4 1.2 Research Gap ................................................................................................................... 5 1.3 Research Question ........................................................................................................... 5 1.4 Structure of Analysis ........................................................................................................ 5 2. Theoretical Framework .......................................................................................................... 6 2.1 Overview of Research Field ............................................................................................. 6 2.2 Initiating Business Relationships ..................................................................................... 7 2.3 Networks .......................................................................................................................... 9 2.3.1 Connected Relations & Business Networks ............................................................. 9 2.4 Summary of Analysis Model ......................................................................................... 10 3. Method ................................................................................................................................. 11 3.1 Selection of Research Area ............................................................................................ 11 3.2 Selection of Method: A Qualitative Case Study ............................................................ 11 3.3 Choice of Film Production ............................................................................................. 12 3.4 Selection of Informants .................................................................................................. 13 3.5 Data Analysis ................................................................................................................. 16 3.6 Reliability & Validity of the Study ................................................................................ 16 4. Empiri: Results..................................................................................................................... 17 4.1 The Initiation Process of the Relationships ................................................................... 17 4.1.1 Yellow Bird approach Film i Skåne and Ystad Municipality ................................. 17 4.1.2 Chasing Financial Funds Engages Actors Outside of Ystad Municipality ............. 19 4.1.3 Specifying the Terms of the Relationships ............................................................. 20 4.1.4 The Project Up and Running – What Happens Next? ............................................ 21 4.2 Converters & Inhibitors in the Process of Initiating the Relationships ......................... 22 4.2.1 The Process Facilitated due to Receptivity, Enthusiasm & Flat Hierarchies ......... 22 4.2.2 Structure, Trust & Mutual Respect: Impact on the Process .................................... 24 4.2.3 Cultural Differences & Bureaucratic Layers Partly Complicate the Relationships 26 5. Analysis................................................................................................................................ 27 5.1 Initiating the Relationships - Mapping out Converters & Inhibitors ............................. 28 5.2 The Virtual Corporation & Network Functions ............................................................. 29 Concluding Remarks ................................................................................................................ 31 References ................................................................................................................................ 33 Appendix .................................................................................................................................. 35 2 1. Background An increase in international travel and a growing entertainment industry have fuelled film tourism to become a growing phenomenon worldwide. Just as product placements will influence a consumer’s attitude towards a brand, so will films have an impact on how travellers view destinations, if the location plays a part in a popular film. Some argue that exposing a destination in a film may be the ultimate tourism product placement (Hudson & Ritchie, 2016, p. 387-388). Already in 2005, Hudson and Ritchie (2005) regarded film tourism as an exploding trend because of the concept’s evident benefits. Their definition of film tourism reads as; “(…) tourist visits to a destination or attraction as a result of the destination being featured on television, video, DVD or the cinema screen” (Hudson & Ritchie, 2005, p. 256). However, simply showing a location in a movie does not automatically mean that there is a destination marketing purpose involved. Hudson and Ritchie (ibid) claim that there are so called film-specific factors that will determine whether a film will result in destination marketing. For instance, the storyline needs to be clearly connected to the site, where the audience is emotionally engaged in the story, which they link to the destination. Further, the destination needs to be captured authentically in the film in order to generate marketing effects (Hudson & Ritchie, 2016, p. 257). A destination may, according to Soteriades (2012), be defined as; “(…) a ‘series of experiences’ achieved through the combination of a diverse range of products and services” (p. 108). Based on this definition, destinations may be regarded as providers of experiences (Hudson & Ritchie, 2005, p. 258). A case in which destination marketing has proved efficient is the production behind the Wallander film series. The case may be regarded as an optimal case to explore if aiming to gain a deeper understanding about the relational dynamics created when producing destination marketing through film. The Wallander series were produced in the municipality of Ystad and started shooting in the year of 2003. When an old military anti-aircraft hall was transformed into Ystad Studios, the small municipality in southern Sweden went from a fishing village to a film city (Adlander et al., 2016, p. 5). According to Ystad’s project developer Adlander, Ystad Studios represents the municipality’s base for creative infrastructure and might even be regarded as the engine of a film hub. Following the production of Wallander, more than 90 productions have been shot in the Ystad region between the years of 2004-2016 (Adlander et al., 2016, p. 6) – a project (the Wallander film series) generating revenues of around 50 million SEK for Ystad municipality (13 million SEK invested) (Adlander et al., 2016, p. 9). The Wallander-series are products of Swedish author Henning Mankell’s famous books. In 1991, the first of Mankell’s books was 3 released. Since then, a total of 30 million copies translated into 40 languages have been sold in 100 countries (Adlander et al., 2016, p. 8). Beside film-specific factors, destination marketing requires excellence in relationship