We Love Horses - En kritisk diskursanalys av H&Ms marknadskommunikation (idrottssponsring) gentemot unga konsumenter

Sammanfattning: Through a case study of H&Ms equestrian sponsorship this study aims to investigate the communicative aspects of sports sponsorships targeting a young audience, as well as its impact on the core values of children’s and youth sports in the Swedish society. Furthermore, this study intends to investigate and create further knowledge on how elite athletes are used by commercial businesses in order to build relationships with young consumers. Using Norman Faircloughs three dimensional analytical framework for discourse analysis this study investigates the Facebook page H&M We Love Horses at several levels in order to understand its role the society. The analysis shows a consistent theme where H&M in its communication clearly refer to different discourses of the society like for example performance/results, beauty/fashion and solidarity/group identification. The analysis identify and investigate the relationship between these discourses, H&Ms sponsorship of equestrians and young girls knowledge of fashion as well as their relation towards H&M. With help of the analysis its noted that when a company like H&M uses atlethes in order to build relationships with young consumers the children’s and youth sport is attributed with for the sports movement “unnatural values” which its participants must adhere to. In that sense a conflict arises between commercial interests and the current social discourse about children’s and youth sport in the Swedish society. This conflict creates great pressure on the sport movement to in the future develop an approach that adapts to the marketing logic of the sponsors without sacrificing the unique structure and values of the children’s and youth sport.