Nation Branding During a Crisis
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Nation Branding During a Crisis A thematic analysis of the 2010–2015 nation-branding strategies of Greece Nathalie Christine Holmgren University of Helsinki Faculty of Social Sciences Media and Global Communication Master's Thesis May 2019 Table of contents Abstract 1 Introduction ................................................................................................................. 1 1.1 Research questions ........................................................................................... 3 1.2 Background and contribution .......................................................................... 4 1.3 Key concepts and excluded concepts .............................................................. 5 1.4 Structure of the thesis ...................................................................................... 7 2 Branding products ...................................................................................................... 8 2.1 Definitions of brands and branding ................................................................. 8 2.2 Brand equity and building brands .................................................................... 9 3 Branding nations ....................................................................................................... 11 3.1 A place as a brand: Branding national spaces ................................................ 11 3.2 Differences between product branding and nation branding ......................... 13 3.3 Definitions of nation brand and branding ...................................................... 14 3.4 Implementing nation branding: Strategies, uses and benefits ....................... 18 3.4.1 Strategies of nation branding .......................................................... 18 3.4.2 Uses and benefits of nation branding .............................................. 23 3.5 Critical perspectives on nation branding ....................................................... 25 3.5.1 Treating nations as brands – a paradox ........................................... 26 3.5.2 Important or mere housekeeping? ................................................... 27 3.5.3 Ethical challenges ........................................................................... 28 3.5.4 Difficult to influence and protect .................................................... 30 3.5.5 Critique of and changes within the field ......................................... 31 3.5.6 Homogenization versus differentiation ........................................... 32 3.6 Nation branding in crisis situations ............................................................... 33 3.6.1 Image crises and economic crises ................................................... 33 3.6.2 Challenges to nation branding during a crisis ................................. 34 4 Case: The nation branding of Greece...................................................................... 37 4.1 The crisis and its effects on Greece ............................................................. 37 4.1.1 Perceptions – and reality – of Greece before the crisis ................. 39 4.1.2 Perceptions after 2009 ................................................................... 41 4.2 Promoting Greece ........................................................................................ 42 4.2.1 The Greek National Tourism Organization ................................... 42 4.2.2 Briefly about GNTO’s campaigns ................................................ 44 4.2.3 Enterprise Greece and other organizations ................................... 45 4.3 Challenges to the Greek nation branding ..................................................... 47 5 Data and method ....................................................................................................... 49 5.1 Review of research questions ...................................................................... 49 5.2 Data: Official branding strategies of Greece ............................................... 49 5.2.1 Strategies and campaigns as social constructs .............................. 50 5.2.2 Data selection ................................................................................ 51 5.2.3 GNTO strategies 2010–2015 ........................................................ 52 5.3 Method: Thematic analysis .......................................................................... 53 5.4 Anholt’s nation-brand hexagon as an analytical tool ................................... 57 6 Analysis and results .................................................................................................. 59 6.1 Thematic analysis of strategies .................................................................... 59 6.1.1 Greek Annual Tourism Reporting for 2010 .................................. 60 6.1.2 Annual Tourism Reporting for 2011 ............................................. 62 6.1.3 Annual Tourism Reporting for 2012 – Greece .............................. 64 6.1.4 Annual Tourism Report 2013 – Greece ......................................... 66 6.1.5 Member States’ Annual Tourism Reporting Template .................. 68 6.1.6 Communication strategy of Greece .............................................. 69 6.1.7 Strategy for the promotion of Greece by GNTO .......................... 72 6.2 Results .......................................................................................................... 73 6.3 Answering the research questions ................................................................ 77 7 Conclusion and discussion ....................................................................................... 79 7.1 Conclusion ................................................................................................... 79 7.2 Limitations of the study ............................................................................... 80 7.3 Suggestions for future research .................................................................... 82 References ....................................................................................................................... 84 Appendices ..................................................................................................................... 97 Tiedekunta – Fakultet – Faculty Laitos – Institution – Department Faculty of Social Sciences Department of Social Research Tekijä – Författare – Author Holmgren, Nathalie Christine Työn nimi – Arbetets titel – Title Nation Branding During a Crisis: A thematic analysis of the 2010–2015 nation-branding strategies of Greece Oppiaine – Läroämne – Subject Media and Global Communication Työn laji – Arbetets art – Level Aika – Datum – Month and year Sivumäärä – Sidoantal – Number of pages Master’s Thesis May 2019 83 pages + 13 pages of references Tiivistelmä – Referat – Abstract To nations of the 21st century, the concept known as nation branding has become a common way to encounter economic, political, and social issues. However, many researchers question whether nation branding actually makes a difference during more serious circumstances, such as an economic crisis. This study looks at the branding strategies of the Greek National Tourism Organization (GNTO) during the crisis years 2010–2015, with the aim of achieving a better understanding of how nation branding is conducted during a crisis. The research questions were the following: What were the nation-branding strategies of Greece during the crisis years 2010–2015? Are there signs or mentions of the crisis in the strategies? How does the Greek nation branding correspond to the findings of previous research? The data used in the study consists of strategic documents by the GNTO and the Greek Ministry of Tourism, and was collected from the website of GNTO as well as the European Commission (EC). The data was thematically analyzed based on the dimensions of Anholt’s nation-brand hexagon. The texts were first coded according to the predetermined themes (Tourism, People, Culture & Heritage, Investment & Immigration, Governance, and Exports), after which the branding under each theme was further studied. The analysis revealed that the branding strategies of the GNTO to a great extent corresponded to the findings of previous research, and the six nation-brand dimensions appeared to be clearly visible in the strategies. The Tourism theme was the most prominent theme in the data, followed by Culture & Heritage and People. Governance and Exports can be said to be the least common themes in the 2010–2015 strategies. In addition to the six nation-brand dimensions, a crisis perspective was added to the analysis. The Crisis theme was more visible than expected based on the theory of the economic crisis taboo. There was little to none economic crisis taboo to be found in the material. Future studies could look deeper into the ways that the crisis affected the Greek nation brand and vice versa. Examining the work of GNTO and other Greek organizations further to see to what extent these actors cooperate in the building of Brand Greece would also be beneficial. Avainsanat – Nyckelord – Keywords Nation branding, Greece, crisis, thematic analysis, strategies 1 1 Introduction The ways in which nations promote themselves globally – whether politically, economically or culturally – have gained a significant amount of academic attention during the past two decades. According to some researchers and practitioners, nation branding is not a new phenomenon, since nations have promoted themselves throughout