A Nordic Nation Establishing its Unique Identity
Global News Skins
In trying to discover how Iceland is portrayed in the news, I took to the BBC, the New York Times, and Fox News. I also decided to look at the Icelandic National Broadcasting Service (RÚV) for comparison, since it is the primary news outlet in Iceland, owned by the state. I found that many of the stories about Iceland in NYT, BBC, and Fox were feature pieces or “softer” news. There are so many articles about the World Cup, which may be what the nation was hoping for, since Inspired by Iceland (the nation’s primary branding organization) put out several Youtube videos about Iceland joining the major sports event. But it seems like as far as the summer of 2018 goes, Iceland was only featured in the news if it was about the World Cup. There were also a lot of tourism pieces, for example, “52 Places to Go: Iceland” (NYT) and “Airline to pay two people to move to Iceland and travel the world” (Fox News). The idea that Iceland is an “exotic” or “adventurous” tourist destination is highly perpetuated in world news.
In Branding the Nation: The Global Business of National Identity (o41), Aronczyk states that Iceland’s goal is to, “attract more positive international attention by focusing on the country’s quirky culture rather than its financial and political reforms” (Aronczyk 1). If the article called “Water Sprites, Fairies, and Elves, Oh My” from the New York Times does not convey this message perfectly then I do not know what does. The soft feature pieces or quirky profiles on wildlife that dominate national news surrounding Iceland seem to show that they are succeeding in influencing the “skin” that other nations see them and report on them as.
Overall in American media, it seems like Iceland is pushed into the “other” category that Americans tend to push countries into that they know little about. Maybe giving them the persona of the “other” is what makes their lifestyle somewhat trivial or uneventful to us. Regardless, I would have no idea about the history of Iceland, the financial crisis or the catastrophic volcanic eruption that brought a lot of economic troubles to Iceland, if I had not read about it in the BBC profile, which leads me to believe that their marketing techniques have been successful and even permeated into world news. These world news sources give us a very selective view of Iceland as a homegrown, happy, and native place that we can visit in an article about plants, but not a place whose political structures really matters to us.
It is also important to contrast this with the RÚV. The time line for their articles is much shorter, which means that they are constantly publishing news, whereas some of the other sources had time lines spanning over a year. Their news is much more “hard-hitting,” dealing more with internal politics. The “mistreatment of foreign workers” is mentioned in several articles, yet it is not mentioned in any of the other sources. This seems like a pretty major news story, but that just brings up the question of how relevant Iceland’s problems are to the average global news consumer (according to these sources, not very). There are also strong connections to the US: many of the stories relate back to the US in some way. This says something about how the country would like to be connected to the happenings of the United States.
Upon searching "Iceland" on each website...
April 2018 - August 2018
Iceland and brewery link up to make beer using bread
Iceland tops supermarket satisfaction list
Whale killing: DNA shows Iceland whale was rare hybrid
Iceland food to be sold in The Range in ‘strategic alliance’ - this isn’t even about the country
Iceland smite Messi hopes - in pictures
Iceland to create 240 jobs at Deeside depot
Battle of the football fans: Iceland v Mexico
Iceland in Mold will give cash tokens for plastic bottles
Iceland expands food delivery by drone in Reykjavik
Iceland’s pagan Zuist religion hopes to build temple
Fifth of Northern Ireland farm employees are EU migrants
Iceland helicopter mountain rescue for Pembrokeshire men
April 2018 - September 2018
Listen to the World
Beauty or Beast? Iceland Quarrels Over an Invasive Plant
Why Are Puffins Banishing? The Hunt for Clues Goes Deep (Into Their Burrows)
In World’s ‘Happiest’ Countries, Signs of a Happiness Gap
“In the five Nordic countries, an average of 12.3 percent of the population is ‘struggling’ or ‘suffering,’ according to new research.”
Meet Iceland’s Whaling Magnate. He Makes No Apologies.
52 Places to Go: Iceland
Three Viking Claps for Iceland!
How Soccer’s Minnows Got to the World Cup
World Cup: Iceland Ties Argentina, but You Can Call It a Victory
Water Sprites, Fairies, and Elves, Oh My
Iceland’s 1st Black Citizen? An Ex-Slave and War Hero Denmark Now Disregards
November 2017 - June 2018
GRAPHIC IMAGES: Endangered fin whales slaughtered in Iceland
Messi misses penalty, Iceland holds Argentina to 1-1 draw
World Cup 2018 teams to watch, from Germany to Iceland
Iceland company to resume commercial hunting of fin whales
Column: In Iceland, packing salt to face Messi at World Cup
World Cup contender Iceland emerges as 2018’s Cinderella story: What to know about the team
Iceland: Crash kills Chinese tourist, critically injures 12
Airline to pay two people to move to Iceland and travel the world
Experts scramble to monitory long-dormant Iceland volcano
Iceland forms coalition government with Left Green leader
For comparison, the top headlines on homepage of English translated page for RÚV
October 2 - 8, 2018
Sexually abusive mother back behind bars
English version of Kveikur released
Geir Haarde moving to World Band
Salmon farming licences cancelled
Polish consul speaks up for mistreated workers
President muses on ten-year crash anniversary
Foreign workers abused by profit-seekers
Regulator unhappy at bank investment dividends
Nevada banned from using drug for execution
West Nordic trade show opens in Akureyri
Icelandic horror to be re-made in USA
Police relax tyre rules for bad weather
Man sentenced for spate of burglaries
Losses expected on Primera Air bankruptcy
Symbolic or Stereotype Skins
Iceland is rugged and beautiful. And perfect for most outdoor adventures, all year round.
Most people come to Iceland for nature. Big mistake. Iceland's most unrivaled treasure is the people, who are warm and friendly, and easy with a smile.
The creative juices flow here in Iceland, just like the geothermal water. Experience music, literature, art and design in our many venues, our galleries, and our makeshift creative spaces in old factories around the country.
Icelandic food is another gem, awaiting you to come and discover it. Sustainable use of food resources is important to Iceland. "Locally grown" and "slow food" are descriptive phrases for Icelandic cuisine which is a gift that can easily keep on giving, for a whole evening.
Big categories for things to do: Whale watching, activities, Icelandic food, renewable energy, northern lights, hiking, running, cycling, caving, ice climbing, bird watching, helicopter tours, shopping, dining, festivals, museums.
It is home to a progressive and peaceful nation that has formed a modern society where freedom and equality are the most important qualities. Iceland continuously ranks near the top of measurements for quality of life, gender equality, and democracy, and is one of the highest ranked countries in the world regarding health care, education and internet availability.
Iceland is a country of extreme geological contrasts. Widely known as “The Land of Fire and Ice” Iceland is home to some of the largest glaciers in Europe, and some of the world’s most active volcanoes.
Youtube videos:
This video details the success of the Inspired by Iceland project that the Brooklyn Brothers pioneered. (v8).
This is the video of the president and other Icelanders inviting you into their homes. (v9).
This is the video of the president and his wife encouraging viewers for the World Cup. (v10).
The Rough Guide to Iceland (o42).
It’s not possible to see everything that Iceland has to offer on a short trip - and we don’t suggest you try. What follows is a selective taste of the country’s highlights: fantastic scenery, fascinating museums, spectacular buildings and a few ways to simply indulge yourself.
Travel Trade - a sub page for inspired by Iceland
They have a whole toolbox for media professionals who are going to try to represent Iceland in some kind of tourism, which includes: a media bank (with free photos, logos, maps, etc), marketing info, products, contacts, destination guide, target groups, and research.
This PDF, which is available under the Marketing section of the Travel Trade site for inspired by Iceland, includes materials for branding Iceland. From the PDF:
They have specific tone of voice, messages, stories, and target audiences that they want their national branding project to convey and target.
Iceland Naturally - specific to promotion in North America
Iceland is an island nation in the North Atlantic located halfway between Europe and North America. On a map, we're only the size of a small Midwestern state in the U.S., but up close, Iceland offers a tremendous display of glistening fjords, tumbling waterfalls, vast volcanic black deserts, and bright green, glacier-cut valleys. There is no place on earth quite like Iceland; it is a timeless land where humans have lived in harmony with nature for more than a thousand years. We invite you to experience our country for yourself.
Over 320,000 people call Iceland home. Imagine spreading the city of Cincinnati across the entire state of Ohio—that's how much space we have. As one of the least densely populated countries in the world, Iceland remains one of the purest places on earth.
Magnificent landscapes, stunning skies, and real adventure make Iceland one of the most coveted year-round travel destinations in the world. Far more people visit Iceland than live here—a testament to its irresistible draw. In Iceland, you can experience some of the wildest terrain on the planet while enjoying the warmth and comfort of first-class travel.
Sections for: food and drink, music and art, nature and environment, products and services, business and government, special offers, events.
Information on music festivals, events in the US that give you a “taste of Iceland,” events where you can learn more about Iceland.
There are definitely some major themes shining through for the country of Iceland and what kind of stereotypes and cultural skins they are associated with. This country has made it clear through their nation-branding website InspiredByIceland that they want to be marketing in a very targeted way. Some of the themes and buzz words I picked up on before even reading the marketing guide on the travel trade page were: natural (healthy food, sustainable living), adventurous (sports), locally-oriented, happy, cultural (art, food, music). You can definitely see those reflected in all of the “about Iceland” tabs of each of the tourism sites. They want to be known as a place where locals will welcome you in with rich culture, Icelandic food, creative events, and adventurous activities, all while surrounded by a beautiful landscape. The PDF screenshots that I included are very representative of the symbolic/stereotype “skins” of Iceland: cultural, adventurous, sustainable, mysterious, pure.
In many ways, the global news skins and the symbolic ones align. Seeing Iceland portrayed in the news with profile and feature stories about food and nature make me think of the Iceland Naturally website. It is covered with “news” articles about upcoming events and festivals, new recipes to try, and interesting bike paths to circle around. I feel like for many countries, they may be stereotyped one way by the news media and then another way by travel, culture, or marketing organizations. There could be negative associations because of news events happening in that country. However, in the case of Iceland, I feel like the media portray Iceland how the country itself wants to be portrayed. The final question is, is it actually like this?