Browsing by Author "Sevin, Efe"

Now showing 1 - 7 of 7

Citation Count: 25
Branding cities in the age of social media: A comparative assessment of local government performance
(Springer International Publishing, 2015) Sevin, Efe
This chapter is a comparative study of how three local governments- Cape Town (South Africa) Philadelphia (Pennsylvania USA) and Myrtle Beach (South Carolina USA)-use social media platforms in their city branding attempts. Theoretical arguments in the fi elds of corporate and city branding point out the potential of these new communication platforms to change how brand-related content is created and shared with target audiences. However the practice is understudied. The study fi rst explains the potential of social media in branding through media ecology city brand communication and brand co-creation theories. Second the performance of the aforementioned three cities on social media is evaluated by analyzing their Twitter and Facebook presence. The fi ndings suggest that there is room for improvement for local governments in their employment of social media for city branding campaigns. The chapter concludes with recommendations for practitioners. © Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2016. All rights are reserved.
Citation Count: 3
Corporations as Diplomatic Actors: Conceptualizing International Communication Tools
(IGI Global, 2016) Sevin, Efe; Karaca, Hazal Sena
This chapter presents a theoretical look on the available international communication tools that can be used by multinational corporations (MNCs) to engage in diplomatic relations. Specifically, the chapter will provide details about three concepts: lobbying, nation brands, and commercial diplomacy. The research objective is to propose a conceptual framework that (i) explains when and how a specific tool should be used and (ii) demonstrates the inherent connection between the tools. The main assumption in this research is that communication is an essential aspect of conducting international businesses. There are two different categories at the center of these communication attempts. First, MNCs address politicians and other key decision-makers within the local political systems in order to start their businesses. Second, local populations should be persuaded to consume their goods and services. The focus in this chapter is the interplay between the three communication tools that are used to address these two audiences. It is argued that even though there are differences between the needs and expectations of decision-makers and consumers, the communication campaigns used to address one audience affects the other.
Citation Count: 1
Do Foreigners Count? Internationalization of Presidential Campaigns
(Sage Publications Inc, 2017) Uzunoğlu, Sarphan; Uzunoğlu, Sarphan
The U.S. presidential elections always attract the attention of foreign audienceswho despite not being able to vote choose to follow the campaigns closely. For a post that is colloquially dubbed as the Leader of the Free World it is not unexpected to see such an interest coming from nonvoters. Mimicking almost hosting a megaevent the elections increase the media coverage on the United States thus making the elections a platform to communicate with the rest of the world and to influence the reputation of the country or its nation brand. This study postulates that the increasing adoption of social media by campaigns as well as ordinary users increase the symbolic importance of presidential elections for foreign audiences in two ways. First foreign audiences no longer passively follow the campaign but rather present their input to sway the American public opinion through social media campaigns. Second foreign audiences are exposed to a variety of messages ranging from official campaigns to late-night comedy shows to local grassroots movements. The audiences both enjoy a more in-depth understanding of the elections campaigns and are exposed to alternative political views. In this study the 2016 U.S. presidential elections are positioned as a megaevent that can influence the American nation brand. Through a comparative content and network analyses of messages disseminated over social media in the United Kingdom Turkey Canada and Venezuela the nation branding-related impacts of election campaigns are investigated.
Citation Count: 1
Globetrotters And Brands: Cities In An Emerging Communicative Space
(Springer International Publishing, 2016) Sevin, Efe
This chapter presents and discusses a new communicative space in which contemporary cities exists. The outset of such a space is the result of two interrelated developments. First international tourism has become a viable source of income for cities causing them to compete with each other for potential visitors. As a result cities have widely embraced the practice of city branding for promoting themselves as touristic destinations. Second the rise of social media use in such branding projects brought cities closer to their target audiences-at least in terms of communication. The new communicative space concept therefore explains a situation in which target audiences including residents and potential visitors interact with each other and contribute to the establishment of the reputation of a city or its brand. © Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2017.
Citation Count: 5
A new China: Media portrayal of Chinese mega-cities
(Palgrave Macmillan Ltd., 2015) Sevin, Efe; Bjorner, Emma
During the last two decades China has started to leave its closed-door policies in the international arena behind and has shown signs of participating in the global economy. Politically and economically China has been developing further relations with the rest of the world. The country points to its mega-cities in its official 5-year plans to facilitate and execute the outreach attempts. In this article we analyze the media representations of two of these mega-cities - Beijing and Shenzhen - with the objective of understanding how their brand images are portrayed and whether these portrayals are in line with the Chinese objectives. We focus on the media representations by arguing that international print media is a crucial platform that has the potential to influence the brand reception of audiences. Consequently we analyze the volume and subject of Beijing and Shenzhen in English language Chinese and international print media outlets. We evaluate the coverage through a place branding framework. The findings of this research suggest the low-level and narrow coverage of the print media hinders the potential of these cities to become world-renowned centers and help facilitate Chinese interaction with the rest of the world.
Citation Count: 38
Pathways of connection: An analytical approach to the impacts of public diplomacy
(Elsevier Science Inc, 2015) Sevin, Efe
Public diplomacy albeit its functional similarities with public relations and other corporate communication tools is inherently a foreign policy tool used by practitioner states to advance their national interests and achieve their foreign policy goals. The purpose of this theoretical article is to provide a framework to analyze the impacts of public diplomacy projects by acknowledging both its communication aspect and political nature. The pathways of connection framework is built in two-steps. First the public diplomacy concept is situated in international politics by evaluating the concept through mainstream international relations theories. This evaluation yields three areas on which public diplomacy projects might have an impact. Second the existing academic and practical measurement models are categorized under these areas and two pathways per area are presented. The theoretical framework can be used to understand different outcomes of public diplomacy projects and to provide a more accurate measurement of their success. (c) 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Citation Count: 3
Understanding Soft Power Through Public Diplomacy İn Contrasting Polities
(Taylor & Francis Inc, 2016) Sevin, Efe
[Abstract Not Available]