How to Build Discourse Through Visual Communication : Nation Branding as a Tool of Soft Power

Abstract: The phenomenon of nation branding has increased its popularity within scholars from different disciplines within the past decade. Moreover, the practice of nation branding has gained a significant role in countries’ foreign politics. However, the number of studies within the field of communication and media is lacking. The phenomenon of nation branding is usually researched from economic or political point of views. This thesis connects communication, media, marketing, and politics by examining nation branding as a tool of soft power. It aims to point out how desired meanings are constructed by using visual communication tools to create a favorable image for a country. The visual approach was chosen to be examined as it is more challenging to transfer messages through visual means than using spoken language. Two countries, Finland, and South Korea, were chosen as case studies due to their different nation branding strategies and international rankings. Their promotional videos were analyzed by using qualitative empirical descriptive method by utilizing tools provided by multimodal critical discourse analysis. The descriptive analytical method was chosen as the videos are meant as promotional materials which use over simplified narrative methods so that viewer could understand them easily. The concepts of nation, nation branding, discourse, ideology, soft power, public diplomacy, media, visual communication, and power were used as a theoretical framework. The study shows how discourse is constructed using visual representations as well as what kind of values can be transferred by using visual communication tools to influence on the foreign audience’s perceptions of the country.