Running Head: CITY BRANDING AND OLYMPIC GAMES
Master Thesis
Discrepancies and similarities in city branding: How Athens and London are represented in the media surrounding the Olympic Games
Olga-Christina Santikou Student ID: 10697039 University of Amsterdam Graduate School of Communication
Track: Corporate Communication
Supervised by
Dr. Renske van der Bronswijk
Abstract
As cities grow, their branding becomes ever more crucial in order to attract new demographics. This, in turn, allows for concise target marketing to which compliments the overall branding strategy. This exploratory thesis aims to address the discrepancies and similarities in regards to city branding in the period surrounding the Olympic Games. In doing so, it reveals the manner in which Athens and London were represented in international media. In the opening ceremonies of their Olympic Games, both Athens (2004) and London (2012) promoted their cultural heritage legacy by presenting historic events in an entertaining format as the outside world watched. Notwithstanding, their priorities and the manner that they were presented varied. This thesis also addresses how the two European cities were perceived by international media. Surrounding the Athens the Games themselves were the primary topic discussed, whereas surrounding London, the primary topic was the economy. While a series of terrorist attacks occurred after the year of 2001, the terrorism frame was reported during the time period before the Athens Games. In an unexpected twist, the international media, were not concerned about the cultural heritage and tourism frame in either of the two cities. This exploratory thesis can be used in the future as a framework for an effective city branding strategy.
Key words: City branding, Athens, London, Olympic Games, 2004, 2012, opening ceremony, cultural heritage, international media
-“Hosting the Olympic Games of course guarantees the world's attention, but there is more to it than simply bathing in the global spotlight. Most importantly, host cities can use the opportunity to create a positive and lasting legacy, resulting in both tangible and intangible returns to local communities”-. Eduardo Paes
The globalizing 21st century has been a momentous time for nations to establish their
brand identity. The history, geography, music, art and famous citizens of a location distill the brand of a nation in the eyes of tourists organizing a vacation (Kotler & Gertner, 2004). In recent years, it appears that countries, cities and regions all around the globe “are chasing” to brand their assets in order to secure a competitive edge over rival destinations (Herstein, 2012). City branding is an appropriate manner in which to describe and perform city marketing activities. Cities all across Europe take advantage of marketing techniques and methods in order to better promote themselves. City marketing is contingent on the construction the communication and management of the image of the city’s image. Therefore, these factors can be considered as the foundation for developing city’s branding (Kavaratzis, 2005).
For city branding to be effective, it needs to take into account prior existing views, as well as evaluate its effects afterwards. When analyzing various international newspapers, a diverse array of opinions are evident (Pease, 1990). An international view is not always congruent with all nations and classifications. These opinions are dependent on the context in which they are delivered. Such a divide between these viewpoints can be seen in the media coverage of and around the Olympic Games. Factors such as human expressions and societal scope in elite newspapers signifies which cultural artifacts account for "authentic" culture (Bourdieu, & Johnson, 1993) in different countries and periods. Every country represents a different culture and it is the crux of this thesis, to determine how international media characterized Athens and London respectively, before and after their Olympic Games. This allows not only for a comparison of the two cultures and their branding strategies, but also helps to gain insight into the potential impact of branding activities on global news.
The Olympic Games can draw people’s attention and is regarded as a hallmark event that marks a city into the foreseen future. People from all around the globe with and without
disabilities play together without any discrimination (Mwaniki, 2012).It is the power of sport that brings people together from different nationalities. The Olympic industry has the power to promote the conception of explicit support on the part of host cities and countries (Essex & Chalkley, 1998; Hiller 2006). The Olympic Games can have long-term positive outcomes for the host city. Throughout the Games, messages of culture are sent to an international audience (Essex & Chalkley, 1998; Hiller 2006).
The hometown where the Olympic Games are held plays a major role in attracting tourists and promoting its city branding. Two cities of great importance that are worth comparing are Athens, the birthplace of the Olympic Games (Boukas, Ziakas, & Boustras, 2013) and London, one of the most powerful global economies (IMF, 2015).1 The Olympic Games in both host cities attracted a large number of tourists and boasted a prestigious image of its country’s capital city to the outside world. It is worth noting that after the Olympics were held in Athens, the national economies around the world affected by the financial crisis that broke in the summer of 2007 (Helleiner, 2011). For the analysis of this research, the fact that the economic crisis occurred before the Olympic Games in London it might have a negative impact for the United Kingdom and consequently for London which is of concern.
Although many research papers have been written for city branding in general (Kavaratzis, 2004; Kavaratzis & Ashworth,2005), there is a lack of scientific research with regard to city branding concerning the specific exploratory subject among Athens and London (Panagiotopoulou,2012; Boukas, Ziakas & Zorbas,2013,Kaika,2010). Similar events in both cities, whereby a strong image of each city was conveyed, will be studied. The Olympic Games and their opening ceremonies played a significant role in the branding of London and Athens, and although the objectives were short-term, the effects are ultimately long lasting (Garcia, 2004). In this regard, while limited empirical data has been done, it is important to research what international media reported about these two significant European cities in order to understand how these events were perceived globally. In this thesis we aim to describe the way Athens and London are represented through international media and explore different city branding methods
1Based on GDP, the United Kingdom is considered as the fifth-largest national economy globally and second largest in Europe.
and the potential differences in the city’s image before and after the Olympic Games. This thesis could also be used as a framework to improve future city branding efforts.
Consequently, the Research Question for this exploratory thesis can be formulated as such: “What are the discrepancies and similarities in regards to city branding in the period surrounding the Olympic Games and the manner in which these cities are represented in international media”?
In particular, in order to explore the Research Question we aim to focus on:
1a. “How were Athens and London represented in international media before and after the Olympic Games”?
1b. “What were the elements that Athens and London used to promote their city branding at the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games”?
Theoretical Background City Branding
The manner in which cities decide to brand themselves and how they are represented in printed media is central to this paper. Framing is a crucial step in the construction of social reality due to the fact that it helps create the perspectives through which people see the world. Framing is used in order to make judgments and to draw conclusions about the world (Hallahan, 1999). Framing is, amongst other things, employed in city branding. Branding refers to the construction of a brand which is encoded in various important channels of communication. Channels of communication can be considered the media, such as printed media and social media (Kent, 2010). Apart from the aforementioned channels, language and images can be taken into consideration as well in order to achieve a successful communication (Kavaratzis & Ashworth, 2005).
Place and destination branding however, is considered to be a relatively new field of study (Kavaratzis & Ashworth, 2005). City branding is an example of how corporate communication and corporate genres have spread to the public sector, so that political entities
such as nation states and cities are now branded (Koller, 2008). Various studies have demonstrated that cities such as London, Paris and New York can compete effectively against much larger entities (Savitch & Kantor, 1995). According to Kavaratzis (2008, p. 11), city branding is “a new application of city marketing” since the focus of marketing interventions has shifted to the analysis of mental, psychological and emotional associations with a city. In accordance with the study of Kavaratzis (2008) on place branding, the branding of areas in general and cities in particular focuses on highlighting specific functional, symbolic and experiential aspects. The origins of city branding can be linked to corporate identity theory (Balakrishnan 2009). A brand being more than the product itself, it includes the meaning and value associated with the product that characterizes its identity (Azoulay & Kapferer, 2003). Nevertheless, the center of attention for both marketing and branding by cities is the same: to compete with other cities, to attract investors, tourists, businesses and new residents (Van den Berg & Braun, 1999; Warnaby & Medway, 2008; Zenker, 2009).
People, in normal circumstances, put together places in their minds through three procedures (Holloway & Hubbard 2001). First, they examine urban design, second, they try to understand the ways in which they or others use specific locations and third, they read or observe various forms of place portrayal such as films, novels, paintings and news reports. According to Holloway & Hubbard (2001) people bring together particular places through their personal experience or through media representations. A branded product requires a brand identity, a brand differentiation and a brand personality (Aaker 1996). In the same manner, a city requires these three dimensions in order to be promoted effectively. City branding can be expressed via core values, beliefs, communication, culture and the overall design (Simoes & Dibb, 2001). Branding involves the construction of a brand; it is incorporated in different semiotic models, including among others, languages and images. Brand communication can be seen as a fundamentally discursive procedure in which a set of core values or list of attributes is, by means of semiosis, expressed throughout vision statements, logos and brand claims (Flowerdew, 2004). Nowadays, countries and cities all around the world invest in their city branding in order to become more meaningful in the global business, political and touristic arena
(Panagiotopoulou, 2012). A country can be considered as a corporation that produces many products, rather than a single separate product (Papadopoulos, & Helsop, 2002). City branding
from a corporate perspective, is the local expression of a global trend in which cities all around the world are increasing competition with each other to boost income from tourism; to secure expenditure; to attract and preserve a qualified workforce. Branding implies the promotion of a nation to be seen as positive, memorable and authentically outstanding as it can possibly be (Dinnie, 2010). To be seen as unique is the goal, and each city promotes multidimensional elements that are relevant to target audiences (Szondi, 2008). Equally important, in recent years, city branding has grown into a competitive environment aiming to boost global industry
connected to tourism and to improve upon the international political positioning of a city (Panagiotopoulou, 2012).
The aforementioned Olympic capitals are of particular interest in this thesis and both cities have devoted great effort into their branding. One of the most remarkable events that both cities have invested in was the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games. Through the Games, Athens promoted the values and messages that synthesize its uniqueness (Panagiotopoulou, 2012). According to Baker (2014, p.6) the London 2012 opening ceremony can be characterized as a “mosaic mode” which gave a diverse insight into the nation through the use of personal biographies that were seen to be accurately researched and fussed together like a collage. Framing and semiotics
The term of city branding will be explained in detail at this chapter with the help of both framing and semiotic theories. According to Eco (1976), semioticians classify signs or sign systems in relation to the way they are communicated. According to Koller (2007), city branding incorporates the construction of a brand which can be found in many semiotic styles concerning communication in general and language and images in particular. Semiotic theory was first applied by Bertin (1983, p.2) as a “tool” that exemplifies how “information visualizations convey meaning”. The notion of viewing certain codes such as visual, textual and/or cultural codes can be interpreted according to certain standards that explicate “an artifact” (Chandler, 2007). Semiotics tends to focus on the receiver, rather than the constructor of the message. On the one hand, Semiotics allows you to look at visual aspects and can be used for the analysis of the opening ceremonies. On the other hand, newspapers are both receivers of the city and country image and sender of the message about the city/country.
Apart from using semiotics, and in order to conduct a quantitative exploratory study, all the information given will be addressed, analyzed and identified through framing; in this way, positive or negative associations can be established (Entman, 1993). Based on Gamson & Modigliani (1987, p. 143) a frame is a "central organizing idea or story line that provides meaning to events related to an issue”, but according to Hallahan (1999), framing draws the focus of attention under the creators scope. Pan and Kosicki (1993), pointed out that framing can be indicated in series of structures within a message. Due to the fact that the analysis of framing in a research demands meticulous explication (Chafee, 1991), this thesis has selected different frames that provide additional evidence to articulate and understand the implications of rhetorical strategies in both visualization and literature (Hullman & Diakopoulos, 2011). For the purpose of this thesis, before analyzing specific types of frames, the data was explored in order to end up with frames such as cultural heritage, tourist, economic crisis and terrorism frames.
The cultural heritage is of great importance in this thesis in order to understand the branding of a city and can be interpreted through both views, framing and semiotics. The aforementioned frame can be found in the rich heritage of a city which embodies symbols and meanings connected to its culture (Coeterier, 2002; Holtorf, 1998). Specifically, the culture of a city can be described through language and other practices such as music, dance, and clothing (Richards, 1996). It can also be described through its historic monuments which are
characterized symbols of a city’s identity, (Sooväli et al., 2003) such as Westminster and Acropolis (UNESCO). Goffman (1974) came to the conclusion that framing can give internal unity and coherence to such symbols, in general and specifically. In addition, heritage is recognizable through “places, objects and practices from performance and display, to preservation and tourism” (Porter & Salazar, 2005, p.3). This is also what makes it useful to combine with semiotics. These are signs that together constitute a message.
According to Zeppel, Hall and Weiler (1992, p.2), heritage tourism can be considered as a “subclass of cultural tourism”. It seems that culture and tourism can be combined through a general context when people visit a city, join cultural events, visit monuments and travel in order to study nature and folklore (World Tourism Organisation, 1985). More insight can be gained by examining the tourist frame from closely for more information. The tourism frame is relevant here as cities that host the Olympic Games take advantage of this event in order to be promoted
as tourist destinations (Hall, 1989; Waitt, 2003; Ap, 2008). A host city promotes its tourism product through a combination of Olympic legacy, rich heritage and cultural aspects
(Kalogeropoulou, 1996). City branding applies to all of the tourists, city’s residents and future residents (Braun, 2008).
Apart from tourism and cultural heritage, a city is also concerned about having optimal economic health. The economic crisis frame emphasizes problems involving the economic effects on either cities or countries in general or individuals and groups in particular. Neuman et al. (1992) characterized it as a usual frame in everyday news. According to Graber (2009) the impact of an economic issue can influence the whole country and the economic consequences are always of concern. Economics is increasingly global in its impact, and therefore economic issues also have world-wide implications.
Lastly, taking into consideration the news that occurred the time period surrounding the Olympic Games and specifically the major terrorist attacks that took place between 2001 and 2005, such as the 9/11 Islamic terrorist attack in New York City, the 2004 Madrid train bombings and the 7 July bombings in the heart of London (The Guardian, 2005; BBC, 2005). Norris, Kern and Just (2003, p.3) identified terrorism as “the systematic use of coercive intimidation against civilians for political goals”. In newspapers, the fear aspect, can be examined through stories concerned the use of violence, bombings, torture or rape among a specific target group.
Olympic Games
World-class sporting events, such as the Olympic Games, can be characterized as a significant catalyst in increasing global awareness of the host country (Black & Van Der
Westhuizen, 2004). They are typical of a major hallmark event in that they are temporary, bring short-term but intensive international participation and media attention and coverage that can have long-term consequences for the host country in general and city in particular (Essex & Chalkley, 1998). More specifically, the publicity and interest abound the subject of the Olympic Games can provide an exceptional opportunity for countries to advertise themselves to potential tourists as well as to other target groups (Panagiotopoulou, 2012).
The philosophy of the Olympic Games is expressed through symbols which can be read semiotically; the most recognizable of which are the five rings (Lennartz, 2002), the motto, the logo and the flame (Toohey & Veal, 2007, p.253).In the era of globalization, the Olympic Games became an emblematic cultural event in the growth of popular global culture. As a matter of fact, the Olympic Games steadily shifted from an initial athletic event to a global well-known culture event (Mount & Leroux, 1994). The Olympic Games are a long-term investment, and in order to take the chance to gain advantage from this event and promote their image, cities must invest huge amounts of money in building their brand (Panagiotopoulou, 2012). Cities receive tremendous attention internationally and stand out as a significant tourist asset for marketing tourism of the host city; this allows them to showcase their business to billions of people in a relevant and dynamic way and while also enabling them to enrich their own brand image (Wang et al., 2012).
The fact that the Olympic Games were held in Athens in 2004 was of great importance not only to the Greek people, but also to the Olympic Movement and the Olympic brand. The values and messages of the Athens Games were considered an oddity to this country. Athens’s authenticity and provenance allowed it to promote positively over modern Greece globally (Panagiotopoulou, 2012). The Olympic Games in 2004 gave Athens the opportunity to acquire world class sporting venues and to improve major infrastructures such as telecommunications and public transportation (Kavaratzis, 2004). The cost of the Olympic Games in Athens is estimated at 15 billion dollars. It has been indicated as a contributor to the Greek government-debt crisis (Bloomberg, 2012).
In the same way, the global interest in the Olympic Games of London 2012 is considerable with the Opening Ceremony drawing in record audiences around the world and broadcasters in numerous markets enjoying their highest-ever audience figures during the Games – on both television and digital platforms (NBC, 2012). Beyond the concentration of sporting talent and worldwide media, the London Olympics hosted the biggest mobilization of armed and security forces (Miah, 2012). Referring to the cost of the Olympic Games in London and according to the BBC (2013), it is estimated at 10.4 billion dollars. There were also additional costs including 90 million dollars for converting the Olympic Stadium in the heart of London into a football venue. In both cases, the majority of the costs have been financed by public
funding and this also appears to reflect the importance governments have attached to the notion of Olympic legacy (BBC, 2013).
Tourism
The fastest growing segment that can boost a country’s tourism is the sport industry (Davies & Williment, 2008). The mega event of the Olympic Games can attract a global audience, boost the economy, shape world tourism patterns and create durable legacies for host countries in general and for cities in particular (Fourie & Santana-Gallego, 2011). The Olympic Games on the one hand can lead a city to spend excessively, but on the other hand it can be considered as an investment. Heritage cities in particular welcome every year a large proportion of the world’s tourists. Growth in tourism demand can positively affect the levels of employment and income (Gursoy & Kendall, 2006; Ritchie et al. 2009). The existence of a tourist plan is important, especially when the tourist industry has as a top priority, the overall development choices of a country (Panagiotopoulou, 2012).
Urban tourism can be considered as part of the culture of modern life. According to Law (1993, 2002), Page and Hall (2003), Ashworth and Voogd (1990) and Pearce (2001), urban tourism is strongly connected with the understanding of management, planning, visitor marketing, service quality and the growth of tourism in cities. This sector is being developed all around the world; therefore, new journals and theories are emerging. As far as image reconstruction is concerned, cultural and heritage industries use economic development strategies in terms of employment and income generation and place- marketing strategies. Urban tourism incorporates both the forces of globalization and the social construction of place at the local scale (Chang et al., 1996). The phenomenon of urban tourism unifies people, place and consumption. In recent years, the techniques of place marketing and planning have been useful in the transformation of cities into place products (Kotler & Gertner, 2004).The main focus of urban tourism is on historic districts, religious places, entertainment destinations, functional tourism districts and redevelopment zones (Pearce, 2001).
Over the last two decades, tourism in Greece has been transformed into a primary source of income for the country (Panagiotopoulou, 2012). Within Europe, London remains an
to is accessibility (Ladkin et al, 2008). Tourists who flow from Europe to London seem to prefer this destination despite the Euro being weak against the Sterling. From a domestic perspective, London has benefited from its unique position as a central driver to the UK economy (Lunt et al., 2013).
Considering cities that have held the Olympic Games, for example Sydney’s (2000) tourism has significantly increased after the end of the Games. This mega event provided a durable legacy for the Australian tourism industry and Australia as a whole (Morse, 2001). The whole image and knowledge of what a destination Australia and specifically Sydney is changed after the Olympic Games (Morse, 2001). In comparison with Beijing’s Olympics, where the Olympic Games were held in 2008, an important factor has to be taken into account. Although, the city transformed into an international megalopolis and a cultural entity with lots of heritage sites (Zhang & Zhao, 2009) in order to attract tourists the negative impact of the economic crisis that occurred affected Beijing’s tourism (Smeral, 2010; Song & Lin, 2009). The end of the Games does not signify the end of glory in one country; rather, it creates a legacy and poses a challenge for the country to keep attracting the same amount of tourists.
Method
The appropriate research techniques that are applied in order to answer the two parts of the research question are non-automated content analysis with textual and visual elements. As mentioned earlier in the theoretical background, a quantitative exploratory research is conducted since we do not know a lot about the specific topic. Rather than relying on hypotheses, we are going to use exploratory methods with our data to search for various possible correlations. It should be noted, that this implies results need to be looked at with due care and that further research will be needed to obtain more definite insights.
To begin with, a non-automated content analysis was used to address the first part of the research question; it was done by deciphering and coding literary textual elements to make replicable and valid inferences by deciphering and coding literary (Krippendorff, 1989). Through content analysis, the researcher has the ability to make impartial inductions by deliberately distinguishing characteristics of a message (Holsti, 1968).
To continue with the second part of the research question, a non- automated content analysis conducted in order to specify a wide spectrum of detailed and accurate definitions of visual elements. The aforementioned analysis can also affect the semiotics practices it portrays (Van Leeuwen & Jewitt, 2001). Within content analysis, a pretest was performed to determine if the celebrities that took part in the opening ceremonies of Athens and London were globally or nationally famous. Via Facebook, pictures of celebrities shown to 10 Dutch people. Both Greek and British athletes who carried the Olympic Torch at the opening ceremony were not recognizable to Dutch students. But singers, like Bjork who sang at the Opening ceremony of the Athens Olympic Games was recognizable to Dutch students. The selection of sampling units will be sufficiently analyzed.
Sample
The sample was derived from two international newspapers to address the research question 1a. “How were Athens and London represented in international media before and after the Olympic Games?” Due to the fact that the research focuses on the city branding of two European cities, London and Athens, before and after their Olympic Games, it is interesting to view the media coverage from an international perspective. The initial intention was to include Chinese and South African newspapers, but an insufficient number of articles was found. The newspapers were selected according to official readership numbers so as for the news to be reported unbiased and they are as follows: ‘The New York Times” (The United States) and -“The Australian”-, (Australia). The key words used in order to find the relevant articles were “Athens” and “London” respectively. A random sample was retrieved from LexisNexis database. It is worth noting that the total amount of articles found for London was 14.909, but for Athens it was only 1.221. The final selection of articles that was analyzed in this study is 521 (Appendix 1).
In order to accurately understand the full impact of the global sporting event of the Olympic Games, it is vital to analyze both the lead up to the event and the after effects. Thus, this thesis has a defined period limited to six months before and six months after the Olympics for analysis. These points in time can be considered as a key indicator for how the event was originally perceived and ultimately reflected by international media outlets. Particularly, for Athens the time period starts from the 1st of January of 2004 until the 30th of June of 2004.
When it comes to London, the time period starts from the 1st of January 2012 until the 30th of June 2012. Afterwards, the time period starts from the 1st of January 2005 until the 30th of June 2005 for Athens and from the 1st of January 2013 until the 30th of June 2013 for London, respectively.
A sample comprised of the official videos of the opening ceremonies of Athens and London at Youtube was used in order to answer the research question 1.b “What were the visual elements that Athens and London used to promote their city branding?” The duration of the opening ceremony in Athens was three hours and thirty minutes whereas in London, it was four hours. The newspapers and the total number of articles analyzed for each can be found in Table 1.
Table 1: Overview of the units of analysis
Data analysis
Before the Olympic Games
After the Olympic Games
Articles in Total ( N=521)
Source Athens London Athens London
The New York Times 70 70 70 70 280
The Australian 70 70 31 70 241
Considering the first sub question, the city branding which is of great importance in this paper is measured based on the frames that newspapers use. Cultural heritage, economic crisis, tourist and terrorism frames were included in the development of the first codebook (Appendix 2). Another important indicator which was considered as part of the city branding of Athens and London is the Olympic Games and how often it is mentioned in the newspaper articles. The articles were analyzed by their size, country source, date and section in which they were published. A comprehensive description of how the specific frames and the other indicators are measured, can be found in the Appendix 3.
To continue with the second sub question, city branding was measured through the opening ceremonies of the aforementioned cities. Cultural heritage and time frame are included in the second codebook (Appendix 2). In accordance with the theory of semiotics, a list of images was created to measure the occurrence of historic heritage monuments in the videos. Moreover, the logo, motto and the Olympic circles which are considered as part of the Olympic Games are examined as well. A comprehensive description of how the specific frames and the other indicators are measured, can be found in the Appendix 3.
Intercoder reliability
At the end of coding, an intercoder reliability was conducted where a random coder was asked to code 10% of the overall sample of newspapers articles (N=521) in order to reach the same conclusion with the researcher and see if the selected data was analyzed in the same way. In particular, N=53 (10.2% of the overall sample) were coded. With the use of the SPSS and the KALPHA macro software, the intercoder reliability was calculated (Krippendorff, 2004; Hayes & Krippendorff, 2007). In order for a study to be characterized reliable, a Krippendorff’s alpha coefficient has to be at its minimum 0.60 (Appendix 4 shows the results of Krippendorff’s alpha). Due to the complexity of the visual elements used in the opening ceremonies, an intercoder reliability test was conducted orally.
A pilot study was performed for both codebooks, so as to decide which frames to use in this exploratory thesis, selecting the 10% of the total amount of units. The cultural heritage frame was decided to be used in both codebooks, as the aforementioned frame can be measured in both textual and visual content analysis. The economic crisis, tourism and terrorism frames were used only in the codebook that was used to analyze textual elements. The operationalization of the variables can be found in Appendix 3.
Results
In order to answer sub question 1a, descriptive statistics and independent samples t-tests by means of dummy variables were conducted. In addition, a regression analysis was conducted with the newspapers- (“The New York Times”- and- “The Australian”) - acting as moderators; however no significant difference was found. Using a sample of N=521 newspapers, we analyzed 280 articles published by The New York Times, and 241 published by The Australian.
To begin with, most of the articles written before and after the Athens Games were published in the “sports” section, while for London most of the articles were published in the “economy” section. Table 2 presents the analytical results accrued from a crosstab analysis for both cities before and after the Olympics. The length of the articles varied for both cities. Before the Olympic Games the majority of articles consisted of one page, while after the Games they consisted of more than one page. The exact percentages are shown in Table 3.
Table 2: Descriptive Statistics results per section
Before the Olympic Games
After the Olympic Games
Section Athens London Athens London
Comment and Debate 1.4% 1.4% 0% 0.7%
International news 11.4% 19.3% 5% 24.3% Opinion 0.7% 0% 0% 1.4% Economy 0.7% 20% 4% 28.6% Travel 4.3% 2.1% 1% 1.4% Sports 66.4% 36.4% 70.3% 8.6% Other 15% 20.7% 19.8% 35%
Table 3: Descriptive Statistics per size of the article
Before the Olympic Games
After the Olympic Games
Size of the article Athens London Athens London
A few lines 1.4% 1.4% 1% 1.4%
One paragraph 5.7% 7.9% 4% 5.7%
Less than one page 46.4% 42.1% 28.7% 27.1%
One page 17.9% 17.9% 12.9% 15%
More than one page 28.6% 30.7% 53.5% 50.7%
Furthermore, in order to test how each city was portrayed in the newspapers, a crosstab analysis was conducted. It was determined that for both time periods, before and after the
Games, the portrayal of Athens and London was neutral. Table 4 presents the analytical results in percentages.
Table 4: Descriptive Statistics of the overall portrayal in the newspapers
In order to test whether the author’s opinion was mentioned, an independent samples t-test was conducted. Although, no significant difference was found before the Olympic Games in either city, there was a significant difference after the Games between Athens
Before the Olympic Games
After the Olympic Games
Overall Portrayal Athens London Athens London
Negative 5% 5% 16.8% 12.9%
Neutral 86.4% 82.9% 76.2% 72.1%
(M=1.22, SD=.41) and London (M=1.43, SD=.50), t (233.85) =-3.58, p<.001, CI 95% (-.33, -.09). In particular, authors provided their opinion more about London than Athens. As far as the subject of the Olympic Games is concerned, an independent samples t-test was conducted in order to test if the Olympic Games were discussed as a main topic amongst all the articles. The results pointed out that there was a significant difference between Athens
(M=.84, SD=.37) and London (M=.41, SD=.49), t (8.06) =258.15, p<.001, CI 95% (.32, .52). The Olympic Games was discussed more among the international media about Athens than London. In the same manner, after the Olympic Games, there was a significant difference between Athens (M=.66, SD=.48) and London (M=.11, SD=.32), t (164.04) =10.06, p<.001, CI 95% (.44, .66) where Athens was discussed more among the international media than London. Concerning the budget used for the Games, there was a significant difference between Athens (M=.14, SD=.34) and London (M=.01, SD=.08), t (155.75) =4.30, p<.001, CI 95% (.07, .19) before the Games. By the same token, the budget was discussed more about Athens among the international media than London. As well as after the Games between Athens (M=.10, SD=.30) and London (M=.04, SD=.19), t (154.68) =1.88, p<.001, CI 95% (-.00, -.13). Moreover, a significant difference was also found, when comparing the mention of facilities that were constructed for the needs of the Games between Athens (M=.19, SD=.39) and London (M=.01, SD=.12), t (163.17) =4.9, p<.001, CI 95% (.10, .24) before the Games, and Athens (M=.17, SD=.38) and London (M=.04, SD=.19), t (135.95) =3.26, p<.001, CI 95% (.05, .21) after the Games. It seems that the facilities were discussed more about Athens among the international media than London.
As far as framing is concerned, Tables 5 and 6 show that there was a significant difference between Athens and London before and after the Olympic Games respectively, concerning the economic crisis frame. In particular, among the N=29 articles that we found discussing about the economic crisis, 89.7% portrayed the economic crisis negatively and 10.3% positively. By the same token, after the Olympic Games among the N=19 articles, discussing about the economic crisis, 94.7% of them portrayed the economic crisis negatively, while 5.3% positively. To continue with the terrorism frame, it was found significant between Athens and London only before the Olympic Games and not after. Lastly, no significant difference was found for the cultural heritage frame with its landmarks and the tourism frame in either periods.
Table 5: Descriptive statistics and t-test Results before the Olympic Games with frames
*p is significant at p< .005
Table 6: Descriptive statistics and t-test Results after the Olympic Games with frames
*p is significant at p< .005
The Opening ceremony in Athens was held on the 13th of August 2004 and its duration was two hundred and ten minutes. The London Olympics opening ceremony was held on the 27th of July 2012 while its duration was two hundred and forty minutes. They both used the symbols of the Olympics which are the five rings, the motto, the logo and the flame.
Athens London 95% Confidence
Interval Frames M SD M SD T df p Cultural heritage .06 .23 .03 .17 -.02, -.08 1.18 252.18 .240 Landmarks .04 .20 .01 .12 -.60, 1.10 .75 5.02 .485 Tourism .08 .27 .04 .19 -.01,.09 1.55 246.84 .123 Terrorism .14 .35 .04 .20 .03,.17 2.92 222.73 .004* Economic Crisis .00 .00 .21 .41 -.28,-.14 -6.03 139 .000*
Athens London 95% Confidence
Interval Frames M SD M SD T df p Cultural heritage .08 .27 .08 .27 -.07, .07 .02 239 .240 Landmarks .08 .28 .04 .19 .19, .89 -1.39 165.72 .166 Tourism .05 .22 .04 .20 -.05,.06 .24 239 .808 Terrorism .01 .10 .02 .15 .04,.02 -.73 238.41 .466 Economic Crisis .00 .00 .14 .34 -.19, -.08 -4.67 139 .000*
As far as framing is concerned, the cultural heritage frame was presented in both cases. Athens referred to the historic monuments, the Classical Era, the golden age of Pericles, the Minoan, the Mycenaean and the Cycladic civilization and the Greek mythology with a duration of thirty four minutes, accompanied by traditional background music. The cultural heritage frame in London was presented for twenty two minutes in total with a focal point at the historic
monuments. Even though at the beginning of this frame there was no background music,
afterwards there was a combination of classical and traditional music. It is of importance that the cultural heritage frame embodied the historic event of the Industrial Revolution. Figures 1 and 2 present the frequency (in numbers) of cultural heritage images in each ceremony respectively. Figure 1: Occurrence of cultural heritage images in London
Figure 2: Occurrence of cultural heritage images in Athens
The Olympic circles were shown for two minutes in Athens and seven minutes in London and both cities selected to play traditional background music. Furthermore, in both ceremonies there was a reference to other host cities and the history of the Olympic Games was presented as well. The time frame of the history of the Olympic Games for Athens was seven minutes while for London was one minute.
To conclude, the athletes that appeared in the opening ceremonies were famous in the national audience of each city, whereas the celebrities that appeared at the ceremonies were famous in the global audience for both cities. The difference is that London chose various singers and actors to perform in order to promote its ceremony, while Athens chose only one famous singer, Bjork to perform at the ceremony.
Discussion
The goal of this exploratory thesis is to analyze the discrepancies and similarities in regards to city branding in the period surrounding the Olympic Games and the manner in which Athens and London are represented in international media.
Although it would have been of particular interest to code Chinese and South African newspapers, in order to find out how the cities which are of concern being discussed, no articles
were found for Athens. This can be explained due to the fact that even if a country has access to products from elsewhere in the world, the population tends to choose products that appeal their culture. However, a number of articles concerning London were found in South African
newspapers. This may be due to the fact that the English language reflects the legacy of British colonialism and although is not the primary language spoken in South Africa, it is amongst a significant portion of the population. Furthermore, it appears that English editions of the specific international media do not focus on the events take place in Europe, even for such a major event such as the Olympic Games.
The fact that 14.909 articles in total were found in The New York Times and The Australian concerning London and only 1.221 articles were written in the same newspapers about Athens shows that international media emphasize more on London news in general. Another finding which is of concern is the small amount of articles found in The Australian after the Games concerning Athens. Although it was expected to find more articles reported about Athens, since many Greek immigrants live in Australia, only thirty one articles were found. This might be explained through the known fact that media are mainly concerned about news stories by the time an event occurs. Therefore, the Olympic Games will not attain the same attention after this time period.
Taking into consideration how Athens and London are represented in the media before and after the Olympic Games, we came up with the following inferences. City branding was analyzed mainly through the portrayal of each city, the author’s opinion, the Olympic Games as an overall subject and through the framing theory. At the beginning, the portrayal of each city was found to be neutral at both periods and thus can be explained by the selection of the specific newspapers, as they were not tabloids, but rather high quality newspapers. Olympic Games as a subject with its sub questions (facilities and budget) were discussed more about Athens in both time periods rather than London. This can be also observed from the most often discussed section for Athens which was in the Sports section. A possible explanation could be that Athens is the birthplace of the Olympic Games (Khirfan, 2010). Moreover, author’s opinion was not included before the Games for both cities, rather, it was included after the Games for both cities with an emphasis on London. This might be explained through the fact that London is a powerful global economy which received even more publicity after the Games.
As far as specific frames that were used in the media are concerned, terrorism frame which was discussed even more before the Games concerning Athens can be linked to a great extent to our theory. This can be supported by a series of terrorist attacks that happened between 2001 and 2005, such as the terrorist Islamic attack on Two Towers in the United States, and the bombing in Madrid and London city (The Guardian, 2005; BBC, 2005). However, the reason that terrorism frame was not discussed in Athens after the Games can be explained through the fact that as far as the Olympic Games was the main subject being discussed there was no fear or terrorist attacks. It is of importance that the terrorism frame was discussed only a little before the Olympic Games in London and a possible explanation can be found in the fact that London’s Olympic Games took place some years after these terrorist attacks took place.
The economic crisis frame was discussed only for London and specifically in a negative way at both time periods, before and after the Games, whereas it was not discussed for Athens. This can be explained through the fact that the financial crisis began in the summer of 2007 (Helleiner, 2011) and is evident that economic issues and the economic crisis were of great importance as the crisis was still occurring at the time that Olympic Games were held in London.
Another two frames of importance are the tourism and cultural heritage frames. In accordance with our theory, tourism frame is considered as a “subclass of cultural heritage’ (Zeppel, Hall and Weiler, 1992, p.2). Although these two frames were examined separately in this thesis, based on our findings no one of the aforementioned frames was discussed in international media for both cities in the time period surrounding the Olympic Games. This might be explained through the fact that cultural heritage is something already known to the world and is not considered news anymore. Notwithstanding, the cultural heritage frame in combination with semiotic theory was presented, as was expected, in both opening ceremonies. Based on our findings, London chose to accompany the cultural heritage frame with a
combination of classical and traditional music, whereas Athens emphasized on its traditional music. As was mentioned in the theory, the Olympic Games are a long-term investment (Panagiotopoulou, 2012); cities receive tremendous attention internationally and stand out as a significant tourist asset for marketing tourism of the host city; this allows them to showcase their business to billions of people (Wang et al., 2012). Therefore, it is assumed that Athens focuses even more on showcasing its tradition and its values.
In addition, each city showcased ten representative cultural landmarks, which are symbols of their civilization and presented them in different ways. Athens showcased the representative cultural symbols only once, which can be considered as a non-representative sample, while London showcased them more than two times within a smaller time frame. Based on our theory, cities that host the Olympic Games take advantage of this event in order to be promoted as tourist destinations (Hall, 1989; Waitt, 2003; Ap, 2008). Based on our findings, Athens have paid more attention to other aspects such as Classical Era, the golden age of
Pericles, the Minoan, the Mycenaean and the Cycladic civilization whereas London attempted to focus on their cultural heritage, part of which is their landmarks. Lastly, due to the fact that Athens is the birthplace of the Olympic Games, the history of the Olympic Games was presented within seven minutes, while London showcased it within a minute.
Implications
This thesis adds content to the improvement of future city branding efforts. The success of a city’s branding initiatives are contingent on various elements. Taking into consideration the growing effect of globalization and the fact that the global industry forces countries and cities to lose their identity, London and Athens need to preserve and protect their brand identity, brand differentiation and brand personality (Aaker 1996). Even though Athens and London attempted to showcase their cultural heritage in order to attract more tourists and investors through their opening ceremonies, this was not presented in the international media. Therefore, it seems that they have to promote their cultural heritage, history, beliefs and communication even more and through various digital communication strategies (Simoes & Dibb, 2001; Kent, 2010).
In present times, the appearance of new communication strategies can play a key role, especially for the promotion of city’s major events, such as the Olympic Games. Cities can take advantage of the technological advances and the Internet can be considered as a powerful marketing and communicating tool. Apart from using printed media, online media including Facebook and Twitter can be characterized as a key element for a successful communication (Kent, 2010).
Due to the economic crisis and the impact that might have on critical sectors such as the tourism sector, it is even more challenging for cities to compete with each other for the
dwindling number of tourists. Referring to the economic crisis and based on our findings, this type of negative news can be harmful for cities’ branding that their goal is to attract tourists, investors and businesses. Cities have to maintain and promote a stable brand identity with traditional origins in order to be successful throughout an economic downturn. This can be achieved through mid-term or long-term communication campaigns that allow cities’ to receive positive evaluation and attract more tourists and investors.
Limitations – Future research
An exploratory research was carried out, since there was a lack of knowledge on the specific topic; this thesis is based on findings rather than testing hypotheses. This may affect the chances of Type I and Type II errors (Lieberman & Cunningham, 2009) and further research will need to corroborate these findings. As long as there was a time limitation, a small sample of newspapers articles was analyzed while only the opening ceremonies were taken into account. The closing ceremonies of the Olympic Games can also be taken into account for a future research. Moreover, a possible suggestion for future research could be to use international (native) coders to analyze Chinese and South African newspapers in order to have a wider point of view. Apart from analyzing the high quality newspapers, tabloids can also be analyzed in order to see if there are similarities and discrepancies in the way tabloids portray a city. Lastly, a qualitative research can be carried out in the future in order to explore larger time frames and samples.
Conclusion
The 21st century has been a momentous time for nations in general and in cities in particular to establish their brand identity. Discrepancies and similarities in city branding were central at this exploratory quantitative thesis. The center of attention for cities in general is to compete with other cities to attract investors, tourists, businesses, new residents and boost their economy. The way Athens and London were perceived to the external world through
international media surrounding the period of the Olympic Games was examined, while the elements that the two European cities used at their opening ceremonies were examined as well. The cultural heritage frame which was the focal point of this thesis was presented in the opening ceremonies of Athens and London, but it was not mentioned in the international media.
International media emphasized London news more in general and specifically in the economic news, while for Athens they were interested in its Olympic Games. City branding is an example of how corporate communication and corporate genres have spread to the public sector. As the competition among cities increased, Athens and London have a significant contribution in global industry, thus they need to promote and preserve their cultural heritage, history, beliefs and tourism in order to have a more effective communication of their cultural identity.
Acknowledgements
The author would like to thank Dr. Renske van der Bronswijk for her precious advice and guidance, Eugenia Karvouni for the cooperation with the intercoder reliability, her family, Alex Bikas, Kalliopi Stauridaki, Mariusz Mleczko, Michael Benzing and Isidoros Fikaris for
supporting her efforts.
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Appendix 1
Table 1: Descriptive Statistics of the amount of articles found in New York Times and The Australian Before the Olympic
Games
After the Olympic Games
Source Athens London Athens London
New York Times 350 5.000 190 4.000
Australian 650 3.500 31 1.909
Appendix 2 Codebook with textual elements
Part 1: General Questions
1. Which is the title of the article?
2. What newspaper was the article published in?
Please choose the type of the newspaper from the following list. 1= The New York Times (US)
2= The Australian (Australia)
3. Was the article published in a weekday or during weekend? 0=Weekday
1=Weekend
4. When was the article published?
It is important to note down if the article was published at the time period before the Olympic Games or after the Olympic Games.
Please write down the exact month and year.
5. Was the article published in a weekday or during weekend? 0=Weekday
1=Weekend
6. What section of the newspaper was the article published in?
Refer the section that is written below the headline of the article to one of the following codes. 1= Front Page
2= Comment and Debate Pages 3= International News 4=Opinion pages 5=Politics 6=Economy 7=Travel 8=Sports 9=other
7. What is the size of the article? 1= A few lines
2=One paragraph 3=Less than one page 4=One page
5= More than one page
Part 2: Questions refer to city branding 8. Which city is the article about?
(It the answer is not Athens or London then stop coding). 1=Athens
2=London
9. Is the name of the city mentioned in the title of the article? 0=No
1=Yes
10. Is the city reported repeatedly (more than one time)? 0=No
1=Yes
11. How is the overall portrayal of the city in the article?
Refer to the lexicon list below in order to assign the appropriate words to the appropriate category.
Positive: Good, clean, advantageous, beautiful, interesting, exciting, pleasant, excellent, great, positive, satisfactory, wonderful, nice, admirable, sustainable, hot, warm, modern, inspiring, special, architecture, social, friendly, diverse, connections, parties, passionate, history, real, lively, extraordinary, liberal, unique, well infrastructure , vibrant, cultural, multicultural, vision, impressive, artistic, cosmopolitan .
Neutral: A comparison between opinions is used. Mention both positive and negative words. Negative: expensive, bad, sad, poor, imperfect, loss, failure, weak, problematic, suffering,
disadvantages, pitfalls, polluted, unpleasant, noisy, ugly, boring, cold, common, old, corrupt, bad infrastructure, dirty, conservative, horrible, crowded, dull, bustling, hectic.
0= Negative (use of negative words about the portrayal of the city)
1= Neutral (use of neutral words, objective point of view instead of subjective) 2= Positive (use of positive words about the portrayal of the city)
12. Does the article report author’s personal opinion?
When an article has the personal view of the author it means that it is subjective, biased, personal, emotional and informal.
0=No 1=Yes
