Joyce Koeman

Diversity Monitor 2005: Diversity as a quality aspect of television in the Netherlands

Abstract This article looks into the way in which public-service as well as commercial TV stations in the Netherlands assume their social responsibility towards a pluralist society. After all, television channels are expected to be ‘mirrors of society’; the key question is then how successful their programs are in conveying a well-balanced representation of all groups in society. By means of a quantitative analysis, the Diversity Monitor charts the (re)presentation of different groups, with a particular focus on gender, age, and ethnicity. Apart from diversity, and as a subcomponent of the Quality Card (McKinsey, 2003), the Monitor also reviews innovation as an indicator of program quality. The results reveal a wide diversity of TV programs in the Netherlands, but diversity as such is no guarantee of a balanced (re)presentation of society at large. Due to selection mechanisms on the side of the broadcaster and the public, what the viewer eventually gets is at the most a mirror of his or her own group.

Cultural values in commercials : reaching and representing the multicultural market

Abstract Advertisers in the Netherlands and Flanders are discovering marketing opportunities to market to specific target groups such as children and adolescents, and their growing numbers in the ethnic minority population. There have been relatively few empirical studies on the portrayal of these audience segments. In light of the first steps in ethnic marketing theory and practice in the Netherlands and Flanders, this study questions how advertising campaigns actually deal with ethnicity and the multicultural market. This issue is tackled by means of a quantitative and comparative content analysis of Dutch, Flemish, American, Turkish, and Chinese television commercials. The first section of this article sketches a theoretical framework for the measurement of cultural values and the representation of ethnic minorities in commercials. On the one hand it draws on previous cross-cultural research examining the individualism/collectivism dimension of culture (cf. Hofstede, 1991; Schwartz, 1992; Gudykunst, 1998) and on the other hand on advertising research concerned with both content-related, and style characteristics of commercials (e. g., De Pelsmacker and Geuens, 1997). In the second section, the methodology is discussed through an examination of the sample and coding instrument. The results section reveals both similarities and differences in the use of values and communication styles in commercials from individualistic as well as collectivistic cultures. Finally, the conclusions of this study are discussed and recommendations for further research are presented.

Standardization or adaptation? Ethnic marketing strategies through the eyes of practitioners and consumers in Flanders

Abstract Considering the growing interest of marketers to communicate with ethnic minority groups in an increasingly more diverse society and the limited empirical work on ethnic minorities as consumers, this study aims to explore the way in which ethnic marketing practices are perceived by both practitioners and ethnic minority consumers in Flanders. By means of structured in-depth interviews the opportunities and limitations of ethnic marketing in a small, though multi-ethnic, society are evaluated. On the one hand, the study shows that young adults with ethnic origins feel particularly positive about their recognition and inclusion as a ‘new’ target group in the market. On the other, both practitioners and ethnic minority consumers articulate their reservations about the economic benefits, the social impact and desirability of adjustments in advertising messages in order to target ethnic minority consumers.

The news framing of the ‘Syria fighters’ in Flanders and the Netherlands: Victims or terrorists?:

In this article we present a cross-national comparison of framing of the issue of the ‘Syria fighters’ in Flanders and the Netherlands. We examine this topic using inductive and deductive framing analysis and interpret the results in terms of the advocates expressing the frames and the newspapers they were published in. We argue that variation in frame use can be explained by considering the background and social identification of the frame advocates. Furthermore, the subject of the ‘Syria fighters’ is depicted as mostly relating to (Islamic) religious motives and the overall societal construction is relatively one-sided and problematized in a negative sense. This article serves as a preliminary step to a multi-level analysis of societal discourse on integration-related issues in online and offline networks, with an emphasis on Moroccan minorities in Flanders and the Netherlands.

Leitkultur and discourse hegemonies: German mainstream media coverage on the integration debate between 2009 and 2014

This study analyzes the mainstream media coverage on Germany’s integration debate between 2009 and 2014, while detecting main debate actors, topics, discourses, key events and their relations to one another. Media representations of Muslims, integration, immigration, multiculturalism and creation of otherness are scrutinized, considering different political alignments of mainstream newspapers. Furthermore, the Sarrazin debate is contextualized within recent events such as right-wing populism and anti-Islamization movements. A quantitative content analysis revealed pragmatism and culturalism as the leading discourses in one-third of all left and right leaning newspapers, while integration, immigration and populist language in politics were the most discussed topics. Mainly, events and actors related to the Sarrazin debate were mentioned. We argue that the Sarrazin debate has encouraged a variety of actors to speak out in favor or against Muslims. Our findings suggest a personal network analysis combined with qualitative research, in order to identify more actors, ties and network alliances.

The Enjoyment of Shooting Games: Exploring the Role of Perceived Realism

Abstract The enjoyment of violent digital games (e.g., shooting games) is paradoxical in the sense that players often enjoy shooting and killing people in the virtual world, even though they would reject this in the real world. Earlier studies indicated that perceived realism is an important concept to understand this paradox. However, no consensus exists on the nature of the relationship between perceived realism and game enjoyment. On the one hand, the enjoyment players experience when engaging with virtual violence can be initiated by an increased sense of realism which causes the player to feel present in the virtual world. On the other hand, a decreased sense of realism can allow players to justify and take moral distance from in-game violence. This study explores how a multidimensional conceptualization of perceived realism can reconcile these seemingly contradictory perspectives. We distinguish five dimensions of perceived game realism that may impact game enjoyment: simulational realism, freedom of choice, social realism, character involvement, and perceptual pervasiveness. Based on survey data of 728 college students who played a shooting game, perceptual pervasiveness and character involvement were found to positively and significantly relate to game enjoyment, while the other three dimensions did not. This study provides clarification on a theoretical level, contributing to the integration of research on the enjoyment of virtual violence.

Exploiting the social meanings of urban vernaculars: Differentiating effects of Citélanguage in advertising

Abstract Due to several migration flows in Flanders many urban areas have become increasingly multicultural and multilingual, as is the case in the former ghettoized areas (cités) of Limburg, where a new urban vernacular – often called Citélanguage – has emerged. This vernacular has recently gained popularity in mainstream media and has been adopted in public and commercial campaigns to address Flemish youth, although its effectiveness had hardly been studied. In this contribution we join theoretical insights from language accommodation theory, sociolinguistics and advertising studies to examine the persuasiveness of this exemplar of youth slang. We study the impact of advertising slogans in Citélanguage on youngsters from Limburg, while taking into account their local identity (living inside or outside Genk), their ethnic identity (youngsters with or with no ethnic background) and other sociodemographic features as possible predictors of advertising responses. In addition, the social meanings attributed to Citélanguage are scrutinized, as Citélanguage has been previously found to evoke both positive and negative language associations. These social meanings are elicited by means of an experimental free response task and then quantified based on previous affective norms studies. The results confirm that language accommodation may be a viable strategy to address the wider youth population in Flanders, as it transcends classic sociodemographic segmentation criteria. The valence attributed to Citélanguage accounts for variances in advertising attitudes and particularly steers the behavioral intentions of Flemish youth with no migration background. Departing from these findings as well as the limitations of our study we discuss the caveats, opportunities and added value of urban vernaculars in advertising and stipulate a tentative agenda for future interdisciplinary work.