UEFAs stolpträff i varumärkeskommunikationen - En kvalitativ analys av könsinkluderande omprofilering i digital varumärkeskommunikation

Sammanfattning: A dynamic society with shifting ideals puts pressure on organisations to continuously change. Brands with strong associations of conservative values therefore find themselves in a paradoxical situation with public demand for a change in core values and organisational segments previously associated with success. Such changes consequently lead to traditionally contradictory standpoints and could be perceived as inauthentic from a brand perspective. This study aims to examine UEFA’s digital brand communication in order to identify how the brand communicates gender and how the organisation uses external communication to change previous associations linked to the brand. In addition, the study further aims to illustrate how target groups within, and outside, of UEFA’s brand community relate to the organisation’s gendered rebranding. The empirical material is limited to two commercials from UEFA’s #EqualGame campaign, published in 2018 and 2019 based on the intention to compare how the brand communication has changed from launch to a year later. Based on brand- and gender theories, the study was conducted with a multimodal social semiotic analysis in combination with an interview analysis to achieve a nuanced and in-depth understanding of the phenomenon. The study shows that the brand’s historical associations are crucial for the success of diversity rebranding, as well as uniformity and authenticity in both representation and portrayal of women and men, respectively. The results further show that the audience, regardless of access to UEFA’s brand community, perceives the gender-inclusive brand communication as inauthentic due to deep-rooted masculine brand associations.