SWEDISHNESS SELLS: Brand Perception in Germany and Sweden.

MARKETING & STRATEGY CONSULTING

SwediShneSS SellS.
how the image of a Country influenCeS
Brand PerCePtion and viCe verSa.
by Franziska EndtEr

MANDEL MARKETING & STRATEGY CONSULTING
Sveavägen 66, SE-11134 Stockholm, Sweden Tel/Fax +46 (0)8 222 022
Matthias Aßmann ma@mandel-consulting.com www.mandel-consulting.com

Swedishness sells.
How the image of a Country influences Brand Perception and vice versa.
by Franziska Endter

A bstract of theoretical and empiri-
cal findings of a study by Mandel
Consulting, conducted by Franziska
tomer’s identification with it. Just like the hu-
man personality is rooted in a cultural or na-
tional origin, the brand should connect to a
Endter, Friedrich-Schiller-University cultural or geographical background to com-
Jena.. The study investigated image plete its personality and become authentic.
transfers between the nation brand In this context the country of origin (COO)
Sweden and Swedish consumer brands of a product and its effect on consumer judg-
among Germans and Swedes. ment and purchase behaviour has enjoyed
increasing attention in the last decades.
No identity without heritage However, with opening trade boarders and
multinational production, the place of pro-
Communicating Swedishness by means duction in terms of “made-in” became more
of branding seems more visible than ever. and more blurry. Research showed that the
Brands “of Sweden”, blue and yellow brand origin of the brand is more salient to the
colourings and images of blond Swedish tes- customer than the country of production: it
timonials and untouched Nordic landscapes is much more visible in the
are gladly used to attach that special some- brand communication.
thing to a brand. But is Swedishness a suc-
cess factor? And what exactly is perceived
as Swedish?
To be able to explain how a brand can prof-
it from the image of its country of origin,
a description of what a brand is and offers
is needed. A widely accepted definition of a
brand is a “name, term, sign, symbol or de-
sign, or a combination of them intended to
identify the goods and services of one seller
or group of sellers to differentiate them from
those of competition“ (American Marketing Graphic 1: Modes of conveying the brand origin.
Association). As graphic 1 illustrates, the modes of con-
veying brand origin are diverse: It can be
Additional to its primary function of differ- communicated through direct reference in
entiation from competitors, it also expresses Slogans or brand names (“Volvo - from Swe-
a certain attitude of the consumer that uses den with Love”, “Tiger of Sweden”), through
it and shows his belonging or differentiation indirect linguistic reference by using the na-
to a social group. This symbolic function of a tional language in the brand name (Haglöfs,
brand exceeds its functional use and is the Fjäll Räven, Hästens), through national sym-
base for creating a lively brand personality. bols or colours within the logo (Ikea using a
With higher international standards of man- blue and yellow logo, Kosta Boda using the
ufacture, quality differences diminish and it Swedish royal emblem) or through the dis-
becomes crucial to a brand to stand out by play of the lifestyle or stereotype people of
adding extra symbolic value. the country (Lätta TV spot displaying blond
The first step to achieve this is to define a girls and their affinity to nature or Ikea TV
brand identity by means of functional, emo- spot promoting relaxed family life).
tional and social values. Using human charac- In contrast to the COO as place of produc-
teristics the brand can then develop a special tion or assembly, a brand origin can basically
brand personality which facilitates the cus- relateto any origin that seems favourable, re-


2

gardless of physical places of value creation. Beyond product brands – also a nation
can and must be branded
According to trademark law any product
can be given a Swedish sounding brand name “As long as a public opinion matters – and
(think of Häagen Dasz being created in the it matters terribly because the public is the
US). This artificial referral to a brand’s COO market – then it is (…) vital for countries to
is called “borrowed origin” and is a popular (…) ensure that the public opinion is as fair,
strategy. However, it is illegal to put a made- as accurate and as positive as it possibly can
in-Swedenlabel on a product manufactured be.” (Anholt 2006a)
in China. Emphasising the country of design
or country of assembly is another way to In an increasingly competitive globalised
connect to a geographical resp. cultural heri- market where dissolving national borders
tage in case country of production has an lead to the extension of the marketplace
unfavourable connotation. not only products fight for their USP, also
However, it should be kept in mind that the nations do. The notion that a nation can be
more authentic the brand identity and its branded just as a product is enjoying grow-
background story is the more trustworthy ing attention as the achievement of political,
and credible it is. Wrapping the real origin social and economical goals depends on how
into a “true story” - may it be country of a nation is perceived by its target groups. In
design, country of assembly, country of pro- order to gain international awareness, trust
duction or country of branding is adding val- and goodwill, methods need to be developed
ue to a product, increases identification and to manage a nation’s image and create sus-
recognition.The brand’s image in the mind of tainable and relevant
the consumer, e.g. perceived functions, asso- relations.
ciations and their evaluation, becomes three
dimensional. Nation Branding is the approach to use the
Brand awareness, brand recognition, brand tools of Marketing in order to position and
associations and their evaluations altogeth- communicate a nation as a brand. Although
er constitute brand equity. Consequently, parallels exist, there are two crucial differ-
choosing to communicate an appropriate, ences between a nation and a product brand:
relevant and favourable COO that the cus- The nation does not offer a physical product
tomer remembers increases brand equity. It but a variety of associations and values. Be-
has to be underlined that the brand image is cause of the complexity of a nation one can
a result of consumer’s association and can- hardly speak of total brandability. A nation’s
not be fully steered by the brand manager. brand identity cannot simply be made up out
It evolves upon the interaction of individual of the blue. It is tied to the cultural values and
experiences and associations with cultural the self image of the nation’s people. From
values and norm. this starting point the core values need to
be defined and wrapped into a message that
is multidimensional and fits to the demands
of several stakeholders. This is what makes
Nation Branding such a challenge, as Fan
(2006) puts it: „branding requires simplicity
and clarity, but the image of a nation is com-
plex and vague“.

Beyond communication, the delivery of the
promised product needs to be secured. That
branding is an extremely powerful tool is
Graphic 2: COO in the Brand Equity model. Source: undeniable. “But it will not work if other
Keller 1993


3

components of the strategy (finance, R&D, „Our degree of progressivity is what distin-
production, distribution) fail to deliver what guishes Sweden from other countries and
the customers want. Nation Branding is no thus whatmakes us interesting to others. It
exception” (Fan 2008, S. 11). is a summary of what we as a group believe
to a high degree andwhat we thus offer the
Defining Swedishness: Sweden’s Na- world. It is the basis for our work to cre-
tion Branding Strategy ate a new, contemporary image of Sweden.
(…) Sweden can thus best be described as
The brand communication tools of a nation a country focused on development based
are diverse and mostly relate to the local his- on people’s needs and environmental condi-
tory, culture or nature.The national flag, royal tions – a progressive country that strives for
symbols, landscapes, iconic buildings, typical balanced development. On a comprehensive
products as well as celebrities and historical level, progressivity means having strong faith
personalities etc. pp. all represent a nation. in the future and a desire to gradually make
Thinking of Sweden primary associations are the world a slightly better place. It means
the national colours blue and yellow, the roy- having faith in the creative force of people
al crown, the archipelago scenery as well as and the ability to take responsibility for one’s
woods sown with little red wooden houses, life.Working together and being open to the
painted in the typical falun-red colour. It is rest of the world and to the future in or-
mooses, ABBA, Björn Borg, Ingmar Bergman der to take advantage of its opportunities.“
and the royal family. All these symbols and (Swedish Institute 2008b)
associations can be concerted in one com-
munication strategy by creating an umbrella This message needs to be supported by as
brand that attaches meaning to them in a many means as possible. Stories need to be
larger context. How can Sweden’s umbrella told, pictures need to be shown that clearly
brand be defined? represent these values. The media channel
should be carefully selected in order to cor-
respond to the brand message: Primary me-
diaused by the NSU are interactive online
media and social media as well as personal
contacts in order to ensure a direct and indi-
vidualised communication and use the word-
ofmouth effect.

According to the message and the media
involved the pre-defined audience of brand
Sweden shares its values and consists of pro-
gressive, modern and creative people who
The governmental initiative “Swedish council live up to innovation, individuality and toler-
for the promotion of Sweden abroad” (NSU) ance.
involves the Swedish Institute, the Swedish
export council, Invest in Sweden Agency, But there isn’t only one target group:The na-
Swedish tourist board Visit Sweden and Swe- tion brand needs to be relevant within six
den.se. It aims at concerting the visual and dimensions that differ in their relevance to
verbal communication in order to create a each audience: governance, tourism, culture,
consistent, authentic and modern image of immigration and investment, people and ex-
Sweden. The core values to be communi- port.
cated are innovation, openness, care and au-
thenticity. These cumulate in the brand core Export is the most relevant dimension to
“progressivity”: consumers as they base their purchase deci


4

sion not only on the expected functional use
of a product originated in a certain coun-
try but also on it’s symbolic values. Buying
a Swedish brand is a statement towards the
governance of Sweden, the people, the cul-
ture etc.Vice versa, the framework that a na-
tion delivers to the creation of products in-
fluences expectations towards it. Therefore
the perception of the nation as a whole re-
flects in purchase behaviour towards Swed-
ish brands.

The Status Quo of Sweden’s Nation Table 1: Sweden’s position in global country rankings.
Brand
In the brand hexagon the image is visualised
The Nation Brand The nation branding efforts of NSU have per dimension. Accordingly, Sweden shows
Index is the world’s been successful: Sweden is a strong brand,
largest measurement strengths in governance, economy and ex-
especially within Europe. Since the beginning port, attraction of immigration and talents as
of nation brand imag-
es. It was developed of the measurement of Nation Brand images well as its people, whereas weaker dimen-
by Simon Anholt and in the Anholt NBI1 2005, Sweden found itself sions are tourism and culture. It also shows
measures since 2005 among the top 10 countries in the world, al- the evaluation of the country that is most
the strengths of 50 though its position slightly dropped in 2009.
countries on the six positive towards Sweden, Germany, and least
dimensions of the na- There are two reasons for this: positive, India.
tion brand hexagon.
In 2009 the panel 1. The panel of the NBI changed in 2009, 2.
consisted of 20.000 Sweden used to be at the forefront of strate-
people in 20 coun-
gic Nation Branding and now, other Nations
tries who responded
to questions regard- catch up and grow stronger. Unquestionable
ing cultural, touris- is, that the values of Swedish society, em-
tical, political, eco- phasising openness to new ways of thinking
nomical and human and ethic behaviour as well as development
aspects.
based on people’s needs and environmental
conditions remain important. The country Graphic 3: Sweden’s brand hexagon according to NBI
is still admired for its fair governance. This 2008. Source: SI 2009
builds the framework for a strong nation in
all regards. It is argued, that weaknesses of the Swed-
ish image result from a lack of knowledge.
Especially the focus on social and education- People outside Europe are not really aware
al equality results in high living standards that what Sweden is and what it has to offer.
give way to higher education. Sweden scores
high in the Global Talent Index, reflecting a “We can see in the research we do, for ex.
high number of highly skilled workers, es- from the NBI, that the perception of Swe-
pecially graduates. These brain workers are den around the world is fairly similar, but
the fundament for innovation and economic it’s stronger or weaker. For example in Ger-
growth. many, Sweden’s image is very positive and
strong, Sweden is well known. While in India
Table 1 displays a number of global rankings. Sweden is not wellknown at all. But it’s the
Sweden ranks high in all categories. For com- same things that we are strong in. You can
parison, Germany’s position is given as well. generally say that in a country like Germany,
knowledge isn’t a problem. If you go to India,
people don’t even know that

5

Sweden exists and if they mix it up with Germans homogenously have a positive im-
Switzerland. In those countries we have to age of the country, its people and their pro-
flag: we are here, we are interesting.” (Norén duction and marketing skills.The more expe-
2009) rience they have with the country, may it be
through media or personal contact, the more
Another explanation for the positive Image positive is their image. Although it cannot be
in Europe and the weak image in Asia and said which is cause and which effect, Norén
Africa is the cultural distance: Sweden is a explains that travel to Sweden increases in-
highly individualistic, feminine culture with a terest in products: “People that have been to
low hierarchy level. In this regard it is close to Sweden have a much more positive image
the German culture which provides a certain of Sweden. That opens up an interest in the
base of mutual understanding. In Asia where products as well”. It is therefore vital to mo-
collectivistic values, a masculine culture as tivate people to travel to get involved with
well as high hierarchies are predominant, the the country.
appreciation and understanding of Swedish
values might be low. Sweden’s product related Country-
Image
Especially in Germany the interest in Swed-
ish culture and governance as well as in trav- Sweden’s economic profile is very strong. In
el to Sweden is rather high and results in the NBI 2009 Sweden ranks 8 among the big
wide knowledge about the country. Results industrial powers Japan, USA and Germany.
of the Mandel study show that Germans use Germany has besides the USA the most
the following media frequently as primary positive Image of the Swedish economy and
sources on which they build their image of ranks it 6 out of 50. This is a very important
Sweden on: Kids fiction, TV-documentaries outcome as Sweden’s largest export partner
about Sweden and travel. In documentaries is Germany, making 10.4 % of the total ex-
and news, the Swedish Model and the edu- port volume (Source: Swedish Export Coun-
cational system is often referred to as a role cil).
model for Germany. Reports from Sweden
portray its untouched nature and space for Due to its relatively small domestic market
developing people and thoughts. Fiction for- it relies heavily on export, first and fore-
mats like „Inga Lindström“, “Michel aus Lön- most of semi-manufactured goods, services
neberga” or „die Kinder von Bullerby” show & technology but also to a large extend of
a very idyllic, peaceful and perfect image of consumer products, such as foods, furniture
the country. On the other hand they give a and automobiles. According to the Mandel
rather oldfashioned and traditional impres- study, furniture & decoration, fashion, out-
sion. door and sports equipment and kids prod-
ucts are those industries that are most asso-
The high density of Swedish crimes in the ciated with Sweden. Cosmetics, sweets and
literary bestseller list and on TV conveys an jewellery are not perceived as typical Swed-
image of a dark and cold country with cruel ish products.
murderers everywhere. But people seem ei-
ther to be aware that this is purely fictional It is notable that these associations refer to
or to ignore the reference to Sweden, be- brands rather than products, due to the fact
cause it does not affect the image of Swe- that Sweden as a country-of-manufacture
den in a negative way. Instead the country has lost relevance. Production is outsourced
is perceived as an extremely safe and just to mostly low-wage countries in the Far
country. East, Baltics or Eastern Europe. The label
made-in-Sweden has practically disappeared.
Findings of the Mandel study suggest that It is argued that the production in low-wage


6

countries has no major effect on the per- There are hardly any product categories or
ception of the product, as long as the brand attributes that Sweden is bad at. This clear
suggests a Swedish origin: and positively perceived dimension of Swe-
den as a Nation Brand is an important ad-
“For example Volvo: it is owned by Ford, some vantage for Swedish companies. Especially
parts are built in Finland, Austria, Mexico. As unknown brands that seek to enter new
long as it is perceived as a Swedish product, markets are dependant on the trust that is
as long as it is perceived as having the qual- given to Sweden. Vice versa, the perception
ity and aspects like safety, that you would of the country’s economy is vital for the
expect from a Swedish product than it isn’t country’s total image.
a big problem to produce in a country with
an unfavourable image. I have a BMW and Country-of-Origin-Effect – is the coun-
it’s been built in America and I would never try image transferred to Swedish
buy an American car.” (Norén 2009) brands?

Recalling statements from Swedish brand The export dimension is part of the product-
managers and a number of quantitative stud- related country image or country-of-origin
ies2 the core values communicated by the image as it is described in scientific litera-
NSU reflect in product attributes that are ture. It is the outcome of the perception of
perceived as typically Swedish: quality, reli- the country as a whole including political, ed-
ability, safety and innovation. Innovation is ucational and social conditions, economic in-
specified by Norén as innovation for safe- frastructure and the production and market-
ty and care for people. These associations ing capabilities of the people based on media
proved to be fairly similar among Germans exposure and personal experience with the
and Swedes. Swedes evaluate innovation country, its people, its brands and products.
more and eco-friendliness less preferable All these experiences are saved within the
than Germans. In the eyes of German con- associative network in the consumers mind
sumers, brands perceived as Swedish are and can activate each other when exposed
highly likeable. Both consider modern design to one related cue.
as something closely connected to Swedish
brands. In this regard, Sweden benefits from The stimulus can be the Swedish flag on a
the spill-over of the perception of Denmark product package, which then activates the
and Finland as great design (think Alvar Aalto country image. Such a cue initiates the in-
or Arne Jacobsen), as many German consum- ference of the country image to intrinsic or
ers do not clearly differentiate between the product-related attributes of the product,
Scandinavian countries. Vice versa, Sweden such as quality, durability, safety and work-
has to be aware that damages in the image manship.To sum it up, the Country-of-Origin
of another Scandinavian country affects its effect means the image transfer from the
image, as happened during the Danish cari- country image to attributes of the product
cature fight 2006. associated with the country by means of
branding.
Furthermore, environmental friendliness
is clearly something that is expected from The consumer uses COO as a cognitive
a Swedish brand. Based on the progressive shortcut especially when cognitive capa-
Swedish climate, energy and environment bilities and/or the motivation to investigate
policies that seek to reduce emissions and intrinsic attributes are low. This is the case
promote eco-friendly business practices, in situations where quick decisions are re-
Sweden’s Image as an industrial nation is quired or when the product is a low-involve-
replaced by the image as an environmental ment product. Empirical findings imply that
nation. in the condition of low familiarity with the


7

product, COO is relied on heavily adding ad- the history of being a company from 1851,
ditional information. Consequently the im- with over 150 years of tradition of building
age transfer should be stronger. This relation hand-crafted beds. In this particular case
could not be found for Swedish brands in the focussing on something more old-fashioned,
Mandel study, e.g. there is no stronger as- more retro-style is enhancing the history of
sociation with Sweden’s image for unfamiliar this very old company.” (Haas 2009)
products than for familiar products.
Although positioned in a different segment,
The central finding of the Mandel study is that the bed manufacturer Hästens risks get-
the pure information that a brand is origi- ting associated with Ikea by emphasising its
nated in Sweden leads to a positive product Swedish heritage. Ikea as a provider of mod-
evaluation. This COO-Effect could be shown ern furniture with a short life time opposes
across all product categories. Taking into ac- the durability and craftsmanship of Hästens,
count that Sweden’s product-related country but has to a large extend built the product-
image hardly shows any weaknesses within related image of Sweden, especially in the fur-
the European markets, the Swedish heritage niture category. Hästens differentiates itself
has positive effects on the product percep- not only through price, but also by using the
tion. It should therefore be reinforced, es- emblem of the royal purveyor and imagery
pecially if brand managers want their brand of Swedish open and untouched nature, the
to be perceived as exclusive, innovative, high origin of the materials for the Hästens bed,
quality, safe and caring for people or/and as well as the skills of the Swedish people
eco-friendly and sustainable. manufacturing the bed. Ikea instead refers to
affordable, creative design, family values and
One might argue that the image of Sweden equality, also Swedish values but different
as a traditional, slightly old-fashioned country ones. The complexity of a nation’s image is
contradicts its image regarding technology of advantage when it comes to choosing the
and innovation and could therefore irritate most favourable aspects of it for the product
the consumer. But there are brands that ex- brand.
emplify that these perspectives can co-exist,
just as a person’s history can be the basis for Swedes are on the one hand considered shy
his or her progressive development. and quiet, but also free-spirited and selfcon-
fident. The latter is what the Swedish under-
“Sweden also as a country has an image wear brand Björn Borg builds upon. They
abroad that is very traditional and has those refer unignorably to their heritage by using
values like pure nature, lots of space for a living Swedish sports legends name. Their
people to live. On the other hand Sweden is mission is to spread the Swedish spirit all
perceived as a very technical and IT coun- over the world: Being playful, colourful and
try and Hästens is also now changing the daring. The brand communication conveying
position on the market. We launched it as a creativity and innovation pre-dominates ste-
traditional brand with quality and 25 years reotypes associated with Swedes. The brand
warranty; we have communicated very old clearly has the power to change a country’s
values like the nature of materials, being the image. Brands are ambassadors of their
purveyor of the royal household. But if you country and transport its values. They often
stress only functionality or technical aspects, are the first connection to it. “A lot of Ger-
it is possible to copy them. But if you try to mans have never been to Sweden, but they
stress know Ikea and for them Ikea and Sweden are
other values, if you withhold a certain per- synonym” (Helfrich 2009).
sonality - creating a lifestyle around the
brand is something that is unique, it gets in- Considering Swedens largest brands Sony
tangible. Hästens would like to enhance Ericsson, Ikea, H&M,Volvo and Saab: As am


8

bassadors for their country they have shaped The brands then use the same local commu-
the product-related image of Sweden enor- nication abroad because they are too little
mously. They have built trust in Swedish don’t have the budget to adapt it locally. In
brands. Swedishness attaches not only sym- future they might not adapt it because Swe-
pathy and trust to the brand Ikea, or quality den is just the right association that enhanc-
and safety to Volvo, but also to other brands es their brand value.
that are associated with Ikea or its COO
Sweden. In table 2 those brands are shown Is there one optimal COO-strategy?
that came to mind when asked for a Swedish
brand from the respective category in the Roth & Romeo have developed a model that
Mandel study (unaided recall). helps choosing the right COO communicat-

Table 2: Most recalled Swedish brands per category. Source: Mandel Study.

Most Swedish brands are known in the seg- ion strategy as shown in graphic 3. This sug-
ments outdoor & sports, sweets and fash- gests that the country-image can be favour-
ion. The segments that Swedish and German able or unfavourable for a brand depending
consumers feel most familiar with are furni- on the product category and relevant prod-
ture, fashion and sweets. It seems likely that uct attributes. A product’s or brand’s COO
the familiarity with Swedish furniture and should not be communicated if the country
fashion brands is due to the ubiquity of Ikea is perceived as weak regarding the dimen-
and H&M. An explanation for the familiarity sions that are relevant to the product. This
of sweets might be that these products are configuration is an unfavourable product-
frequently bought and many sweets refer country-match (quadrant II). If no associa-
to their Swedish origin (Marabou, Almondy, tion between the productrelated country
Gille). They might do this because image and the attributes relevant to the
product exists, we face a mismatch. This
1. food products must be marked with their mismatch is favourable if the country has
country-of-production and weaknesses regarding relevant product di-
mensions (quadrant IV). Not to refer to the
2. Swedish brands react to the fact that COO in brand communication is then the
Swedes prefer local foods as they are cul- appropriate strategy. As there are hardly any
turebound products adapted to taste pat- weaknesses in the country image, no exam-
terns, cultural tradition etc. of the Swedes. ples can be given for Swedish unfavourable


9

product-country-matches and favourable However, to only rely on the Swedish heri-
product-countrymismatches. tage as selling proposition is not recom-
mendable. COO can solely reinforce the
An unfavourable mismatch (quadrant III) oc- perception of product-related attributes
curs, if the COO is strong in relevant prod- such as innovation, design and quality. If the
uct dimensions, but the consumer does not suggested expectations are not fulfilled by
associate the product to its COO. This leads the product, authenticity and credibility get
to the recommendation to put stronger em- lost. A negative back-transfer on the country
phasis on the COO in brand communication. image and other Swedish brands might hap-
This applies to Swedish cosmetic, sweets pen. That is why Strid, author of the book
and jewellery brands. Consumers prefer a „The Viking Manifesto – The Scandinavian
product from Sweden, if they perceive rel- Business Approach“, recommends a strong,
evant product attributes to be strengths of differentiating primary message that works
its COO (quadrant I). This is the ideal con- independently from national origin.
figuration and called a favourable product-
country-match. In this case there is a synergy „National Origin is a weak argument and
situation for country and product brand. not a very good way to differentiate a brand
on the international market. No brand or
The brand that is a perfect example of a fa- company can ever claim a national identity
vourable product country match is Ikea, the as its own. Nationality is neither specific nor
most important brand ambassador of Swe- unique enough. On the other hand nation-
den: ality can be a good way to reinforce the
primary brand message. IKEA is a perfect
“The values of brand Sweden and brand example. The brand is built on design, price
Ikea – this is a very good match. It is about and a sort of innovative populism – traits
design, it is cutting edge and progressive but that are very much part of the Swedish
it is also design for the people. It is inno- character.” (Strid 2009)
vation with the flat packs, Do it yourself is
something specific Swedish. Ikea has done The German attitude vs. the Swedes
so much to build brand Sweden and Swed- attitude towards Swedish brands
ish values as well. I think they are a very
good ambassador. (Norén 2009) Results show that Germans that have a high-
er contact frequency to Sweden or Swedish
media are more aware of Swedish brands
Country image dimensions and have a more favourable image of Swed-
positive negative ish brands than those with less frequent
contact. This latter relation might be medi-
Product attribute dimensions

favourable product- unfavourable product-
country-match country-match ated by personal values: A consumer shares
relevant

Furniture & Decoration none?
Outdoor & Sports
Swedish values and consequently has an in-
Fashion terest in Swedish subjects. At the same time
Kids’ products
he has a positive attitude towards brands
perceived as Swedish as they are believed to
irrelevant

unfavourable product- favourable product-
country-mismatch country-mismatch
Cosmetics none? carry Swedish values.
Sweets
Jewellery
This illustrates the importance of consider-
ing the specific market and consumer cul-
Graphic 4: Product-country matches. Source: Roth & ture in order to be able to predict positive
Romeo 1992
or negative COO-effects. This intercultural
perspective takes into account that a brand
has the expressive function of reflecting cul


10

tural and personal values. Therefore socially so average. We feel Swedish products are a
visible products might be particularly sen- little boring and average”.
sitive to the COO-effect. In a very collec-
tivistic culture such as the Chinese, people It seems as if the foreign owners of large
prefer domestic products and refuse foreign Swedish brands like Saab, Volvo, Absolut
products to demonstrate conformity with Vodka are very careful to still position their
their In-Group and support the local econo- brands as Swedish. Big companies from oth-
my. This phenomenon that is rooted in obe- er countries seem to see the value of be-
dience to strong social norm is called con- ing Swedish more clearly than the Swedish
sumer ethnocentrism and has widely been companies do. For the Swedes it is nothing
examined in larger countries, such as China, exotic or special about being Swedish, as
Japan and USA. The Mandel study analysed Norén explains.This lack of exoticness might
the level of consumer ethnocentrism in be one of the reasons why brands originated
relation to Swedish brands in Sweden and in Sweden choose to communicate a “bor-
Germany. Results indicate that the image of rowed origin”. Gant or Lexington appear to
Swedish brands was not more favourable be American in order to differentiate from
among Swedish consumers than among Ger- Swedish “lagom” (engl.: mediocrity).
man consumers. The degree of consumer
ethnocentrism is in both countries rather H&M and Ericsson use a global brand strat-
low. Possibly, this is possibly because of the egy arguing that it is easier to act on a global
extensive exchange with other cultures and market if there is no cultural rooting visible
their products, as Norén desribes: to the consumer that might evoke consumer
ethnocentrism or consumer animosity. Addi-
“I don’t think the argument that buying tionally, when H&M launched, there seemed
Swedish products supports the Swedish to be no benefit in emphasising the Swedish
economy is very strong in Sweden. In the heritage. Sweden was not known as a fashion
USA for example you can see it very much country at all. This has significantly changed.
more, probably in France, too. That is also
because Sweden has been a very export How Swedish brands build their
oriented country, we have been relying on home country’s image
export for a long time. We have never been
able to have this protective market.We have It is important to stress that the image trans-
sold our products and imported others.” fer is bidirectional. For smaller, less known
(Norén 2009) brands the transfer from the country image
to the brand image might be larger whereas
Although an ethnocentristic attitude of the larger brands have a considerable influence
Swedes could not be explicitly proved, they on the country image. Olle Wästberg, Head
still might prefer Swedish products in the of the Swedish Institute illustrates that „Ikea
actual purchase situation. It is obvious that has done more fort he Swedenimage abroad
Swedish products are more easily accessible than all governmental efforts together“. If
to Swedes than to Germans. Norén com- H&M had clearly communicated its Swedish
ments on ethnocentrism among Swedish heritage, it would have helped Sweden to be
consumers as follows: perceived as a fashion country.

“Those who buy a Volvo do it because it’s Every brand that communicates Sweden as
really a safe bet, high resale value and it’s COO builds the brand Sweden, intentionally
made for Swedish roads. It has been the or non-intentionally, for good or for bad.
most sold car in Sweden for many years. And Consequently, the brand management of
then you have the other side where people Sweden and the brand management of indi
would never buy a Volvo because it’s so dull,


11

vidual consumer brands, as small as they This approach should be extended to com-
might be, need to interlock in order to cre- munications just as the Scandinavian Out-
ate synergies and build and maintain a strong door Group (SOG) exemplifies: This alliance
and consistent image in the mind of their of Scandinavian outdoor and sports brands
stakeholders. Strid sums the interaction of aims at generating synergies in distribution
Swedish brands and the Nation brand Swe- and communication. Not only the image of
den up: each member brand as eco-friendly and high
quality is to be strengthened, but also the im-
„Swedish Brands have put the country on age of entire Scandinavia as an export region
the map, but not proportionally to their level for sustainable high-quality outdoor equip-
of success on the international market. Fifty ment.
years ago, few people could find the country
on a map, today Sweden is a concept. Yet, It is not about large scale sales of a stan-
considering the unprecedented success of dardised product. It is about an additional
hundreds of companies, Sweden could and symbolic value that goes beyond the con-
should be much better known. The Sweden sumer’s need for low prices. In Noréns eyes
country brand has not lived up to its poten- this is what constitutes the power of small
tial for two reasons: One, the Swedes are brands.
culturally low-key and reluctant to talk about
themselves and two, Swedish companies are “We always talk about the big brands, Ikea,
very often more interested in being per- Volvo,Absolut and Ericsson.They certainly are
ceived as international than Swedish. Much great ambassadors. But we shouldn’t forget
more could be done on a number of levels the small brands. Of course they don’t reach
in both the private and public sector” (Strid as many people but f. ex. fashion companies
2009) in Tokyo buy Nudie Jeans. And a lot of people
will find out where Nudie comes from and
Again, Ikea has done pioneer work: In Ger- they will tell their friends. There are a lot of
many, which is next to Sweden Ikeas largest small brands that make up the image of
market, a strategic cooperation of Ikea with Sweden.The customers of small brands that
Visit Sweden and Swedish ambassador’s takes cater to a niche market are more aware
place to increase awareness and knowledge and interested in finding out more about
about Sweden. Another popular example the brand. I think the exclusivity today is not
of how brands build the brand Sweden are anymore about buying something expensive
Swedish fashion labels: Sweden has in the but it is about finding it. Making an aware
last decade grown to a nation of exclusive choice. It is about story and genuineness, to
fashion, because of the joint force of small have something that is different from what
brands that referred to their Swedish ori- everyone else has.” (Norén 2009)
gin (Filippa K, Whyred, Cheap Monday, Tiger
of Sweden etc.). They presented a product …or is the brand’s origin overrated?
that reinforced the perception of Sweden
as a country with high design affinity. Fur- Genuineness and “making an aware choice”
thermore to appear as one face to the trade is what matters increasingly to the consum-
customer and raise awareness for Swed- er and what makes him pay more attention
ish fashion, the brands networked instead to the brand’s origin. But can a brand alone
of combating each other and facilitated the respond to this?
development of international distribution.
The Swedish Institute supported them by The fact, that social responsibility and sus-
promoting Swedish fashion in international tainable production is crucial for buying with
fashions and art shows. a good conscience may give reason to a sig-
nificant turn in consumer choice behaviour.


12

The paradigm that the brand origin is more and that rent needs to be paid on a regular
important to the consumer than the manu- basis.” (Latshaw 2008)
facturing country is about to shift. Paying at-
tention to this development, Swedish compa-
nies return to local production, not only for
strengthening the domestic economy and se-
curing higher standards for their employees. About the author
But also because buying “made in Sweden”
gives the consumer the confidence to make Franziska Endter studied
an ethical choice. In delivering this promise Intercultural Business
and not only thinking short term profit ori- Communication with
ented, Swedish companies like Klättermusen, Focus on Scandinavia,
Hästens or Light my fire that execute all pro- Media Studies and Psy-
cesses of the value chain in Sweden seem to chology at Friedrich-
be far ahead to other countries’ brands. Schiller-University in
Jena, Germany. During
A consumer that shares the values that Swed- her studies she worked
ish brands promise cannot be satisfied un- with International Brand
less the product keeps its promise. An aware Management, Advertising and Trend Re-
consumer will feel cognitive dissonance – an search in Jena, Hamburg, Copenhagen and
imbalanced state of mind that causes tension Stockholm.
within the consumer – if intrinsic product at- She joined Mandel in 2009 to work on her
tributes and the brand image do not match. final thesis on the above subject and to ex-
Daring a look into the future, the growing change knowl-edge between business and
sustainability movement gives the nation science.
brand Sweden and Swedish brands a pole
position. The image of the country as well The study was conducted in coorperation
as its “hard” location factors, its economic with Mandel Consulting. MANDEL fo-
and social infrastructure, natural and human cuses on Marketing and Media Services &
resources create a great basis to accomplish Consulting for Brands, Products and Ideas in
the request for sustainable products: all Europe & Scandinavia.
Mandel is a team of dedicated Marketing
“As an advanced economy with a humanist Consultants, professional Media workers and
touch, Sweden, as well as its top competitors thorough Strategists.We love Brands and the
Canada and Switzerland, is seen globally Communication of their Message.
as a model of how to successfully balance
growth with the need to protect the rights If you are interested in more findings
and freedoms of citizens and the commit- of the study, you can purchase the ex-
ment to protect the environment. Maintain- tended version including interviews
ing this exemplary brand attribute is para- or product category specific analysis.
mount to the continued success of Sweden’s Please contact:
brand. With environmental problems grow-
ing in importance on the international con- Franziska Endter
sciousness, the value of Sweden’s strength franziska.endter@mandel-consulting.com
will likely continue to grow. Sweden needs to
cherish these three aspects of its reputtion: Matthias Aßmann
environmentalism, technology and education. matthias.assmann@mandel-consulting.com
It needs to keep them closely monitored, and
ensure that it continues to deserve them:
you never own a reputation, you only rent it,


13

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16

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