Populärkulturella narrativ i place branding, En studie av Visit Malmös strategiska omformning av Halva Malmö består av killar som dumpat mig
(2026) SKDK11 20261Department of Strategic Communication
- Abstract
- In today’s media landscape, popular cultural narratives play an increasingly important role in how places are understood and experienced. This study examines how these narratives are integrated and transformed within strategic place communication. By analyzing Visit Malmö’s communication surrounding the Netflix series Diary of a Ditched Girl, the study aims to contribute to the understanding of how stories, emotions, and environments are processed when used in the construction of strategic place branding.
To investigate this, a qualitative thematic analysis was conducted based on three types of empirical material: the television series, Visit Malmö’s digital guide Diary of a Ditched Girl: The Malmö Guide, and our own observations of the... (More) - In today’s media landscape, popular cultural narratives play an increasingly important role in how places are understood and experienced. This study examines how these narratives are integrated and transformed within strategic place communication. By analyzing Visit Malmö’s communication surrounding the Netflix series Diary of a Ditched Girl, the study aims to contribute to the understanding of how stories, emotions, and environments are processed when used in the construction of strategic place branding.
To investigate this, a qualitative thematic analysis was conducted based on three types of empirical material: the television series, Visit Malmö’s digital guide Diary of a Ditched Girl: The Malmö Guide, and our own observations of the locations presented in the guide. The study examined how the series’ environments and narratives are transformed in the transition to strategic place communication, which emotions and perceptions of Malmö are emphasized or toned down, and how authenticity is produced in the intersection between popular culture and place branding.
The findings show that Visit Malmö uses the series’ stories and environments to create an emotionally familiar and recognizable image of Malmö. At the same time, a clear transformation takes place in which the series’ more complex and emotionally ambivalent portrayal of the city becomes more coherent, aesthetic, and experience-oriented. Feelings such as uncertainty and disappointment are often toned down in favor of humor, familiarity, and consumable experiences. The study demonstrates how popular cultural narratives are not merely reproduced in strategic place communication, but are actively processed through selection, dramaturgical adaptation, and the transformation of emotions and narratives.
The study contributes to research on place branding and strategic communication by highlighting how popular cultural narratives are not merely transferred into strategic place communication, but actively transformed through selection, emotional framing, and dramaturgical adaptation. The study also contributes to a broader understanding of how emotions, authenticity, and cultural narratives are strategically organized in the construction of contemporary perceptions of places. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
https://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/record/9229250
- author
- Hjort, Lisa LU and Danielsson, Tindra
- supervisor
- organization
- course
- SKDK11 20261
- year
- 2026
- type
- M2 - Bachelor Degree
- subject
- keywords
- place branding, strategic communication, popular culture, place representation, authenticity, narrative, Malmö, Halva Malmö består av killar som dumpat mig, Visit Malmö, media convergence, dramaturgical adaptation.
- language
- Swedish
- id
- 9229250
- date added to LUP
- 2026-07-13 11:58:51
- date last changed
- 2026-07-13 11:58:51
@misc{9229250,
abstract = {{In today’s media landscape, popular cultural narratives play an increasingly important role in how places are understood and experienced. This study examines how these narratives are integrated and transformed within strategic place communication. By analyzing Visit Malmö’s communication surrounding the Netflix series Diary of a Ditched Girl, the study aims to contribute to the understanding of how stories, emotions, and environments are processed when used in the construction of strategic place branding.
To investigate this, a qualitative thematic analysis was conducted based on three types of empirical material: the television series, Visit Malmö’s digital guide Diary of a Ditched Girl: The Malmö Guide, and our own observations of the locations presented in the guide. The study examined how the series’ environments and narratives are transformed in the transition to strategic place communication, which emotions and perceptions of Malmö are emphasized or toned down, and how authenticity is produced in the intersection between popular culture and place branding.
The findings show that Visit Malmö uses the series’ stories and environments to create an emotionally familiar and recognizable image of Malmö. At the same time, a clear transformation takes place in which the series’ more complex and emotionally ambivalent portrayal of the city becomes more coherent, aesthetic, and experience-oriented. Feelings such as uncertainty and disappointment are often toned down in favor of humor, familiarity, and consumable experiences. The study demonstrates how popular cultural narratives are not merely reproduced in strategic place communication, but are actively processed through selection, dramaturgical adaptation, and the transformation of emotions and narratives.
The study contributes to research on place branding and strategic communication by highlighting how popular cultural narratives are not merely transferred into strategic place communication, but actively transformed through selection, emotional framing, and dramaturgical adaptation. The study also contributes to a broader understanding of how emotions, authenticity, and cultural narratives are strategically organized in the construction of contemporary perceptions of places.}},
author = {{Hjort, Lisa and Danielsson, Tindra}},
language = {{swe}},
note = {{Student Paper}},
title = {{Populärkulturella narrativ i place branding, En studie av Visit Malmös strategiska omformning av Halva Malmö består av killar som dumpat mig}},
year = {{2026}},
}