Purpose

Ideas related to “the Nordic” are important in the reconstruction of national identities in Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden, and these countries’ modern national narratives are structurally highly similar. At the same time, there are clear differences between the Nordic countries regarding their national images. The purpose of this study is to a examine the relationship between ideas of the Nordic and national images through a qualitative study of brand manifestations on Nordic web portals for foreign visitors.

Design/methodology/approach

The two guiding research questions are: How do Nordic branding strategies and national stereotypes impact on nation-branding content toward visitors in the Nordic region? What traces of the Nordic as a supranational concept can be found when the Nordic is translated into concrete national brand manifestations? The analysis focuses on brand manifestations such as brand visions, codes of expression, differentiation, narrative identity and ideologies.

Findings

The analysis shows that clichés about the nations prevail in contemporary brand material and that Nordic branding strategies impact on the portals in diffuse and implicit ways. There are, however, some important common denominators, pointing toward a new Nordic brand related to exotic, untouched yet easily accessible nature, with a focus on pure, fresh and clean food with new tastes, in combination with happy and welcoming people.

Originality/value

The results from the study contribute with insight in how ideas of the Nordic on a supranational level transform when used in concrete and practical branding material. Further, this paper proposes a new Nordic branding focus, which contests traditional Nordic ideas.

中文翻译：

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“异国情调、欢迎和新鲜”：新北欧品牌的刻板印象

目的

与“北欧”相关的思想在丹麦、芬兰、冰岛、挪威和瑞典的民族认同重建中具有重要意义，这些国家的现代民族叙事在结构上高度相似。同时，北欧国家的国家形象也存在明显差异。本研究的目的是通过对面向外国访问者的北欧门户网站上的品牌表现进行定性研究，来检验北欧思想与国家形象之间的关系。

设计/方法/方法

两个指导性研究问题是：北欧品牌战略和国家刻板印象如何影响面向北欧地区游客的国家品牌内容？当北欧被转化为具体的民族品牌表现时，可以找到北欧作为超国家概念的哪些痕迹？分析侧重于品牌表现形式，例如品牌愿景、表达代码、差异化、叙事身份和意识形态。

发现

分析表明，关于国家的陈词滥调在当代品牌材料中盛行，北欧品牌战略以分散和隐含的方式影响门户。然而，有一些重要的共同点，指向一个新的北欧品牌，与异国情调、未受破坏但易于接近的自然有关，专注于具有新口味的纯净、新鲜和干净的食物，与快乐和热情的人们相结合。

原创性/价值

研究结果有助于深入了解北欧的想法在用于具体和实用的品牌材料时如何在超国家层面发生转变。此外，本文提出了一个新的北欧品牌重点，以挑战传统的北欧理念。