Have you ever thought about where popular
brands like H&M, Absolut Vodka and Skype come from? Well they come from a
country with a name that just rolls of the tongue, Sweden. Sweden is the
largest country in Northern Europe and the third largest country in Western
Europe, and 53% of it is covered in forestry. In charge of the Swedish brand is
an organisation called ‘Visit Sweden’. Their objective is to promote Sweden as
a country and tourist destination. I often perceived the Swedes to be smug,
cold, extremely self-disciplined and socially closed from what I observed on TV
and in the newspapers. This might be attributed to an ancient Swedish proverb,
which I found they still hold in high regard to this day, which goes “Talking
is silver, silence is gold”. Here are some interesting codes of
conduct I found they live by:
·
Do not look directly at another person in the eyes – Apparently doing so is considered cheeky, rude, aggressive, and
sexually suggestive.
·
Do not sit next to a Swede – In the
theatre, subway, bus etc. If there are empty seats , this arouses suspicion as
to your intentions and is seen as an intrusion of personal space.
·
Do not greet a Swedish stranger
– Swedes do not normally talk to nor do they take kindly to strangers talking
to them unless it is a dire situation.
Judging by the above statements made by a
Swede, it is understandable why Visit Sweden would be needed to work on
changing the cold exterior that the country projects to its counterparts. A
rebranding is just what the country needs. So what were your first impressions
of Sweden?
Reference:
http://www.visitsweden.com/sweden/brandguide/The-brand/The-Platform/A-platform-for-the-Sweden-brand/
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