How Volvo is Able to Maintain the Myth of Being “Made by Sweden”

In this age of globalization (Sharifonnasabi, Bardhi, & Luedicke, 2019) where a car can have its “cabling sourced from Morocco, the catalysts from South Africa, the leather keys from Portugal, its plug-in hybrid batteries from South Korea…, its owners Chinese” (Carlstrom, 2017); Volvo has been able to maintain the myth (Brunk, Giesler, & Hartmann, 2018) of being “Made by Sweden”. This paper aims to understand how Volvo sculpts this identity (Andehn, Hietanen, & Lucarelli, 2019) and how those techniques might be applied to continue in a postmodern market that is in crisis.

Introduction

In these trying times as the global markets contracts and in light of the recent pandemic, it becomes a vital importance for marketers to craft (Hartmann & Ostberg, 2013) their communication responding to the new realities and developing the avenues needed for companies to better position themselves. One such company that has been successful in adopting to the shifting times while maintain it messaging as it responds to a changing market is Volvo.

In this age of globalization (Sharifonnasabi, Bardhi, & Luedicke, 2019) where a car can have its “cabling sourced from Morocco, the catalysts from South Africa, the leather keys from Portugal, its plug-in hybrid batteries from South Korea…, its owners Chinese” (Carlstrom, 2017), the engine manufactured in India, and to some extent the assembly done in the United States (Volvo Car USA, 2018); Volvo has been able to maintain the myth (Brunk, Giesler, & Hartmann, 2018) of still being “Made by Sweden”.

The aim of this paper is to understand how Volvo sculpts this identity (Andehn, Hietanen, & Lucarelli, 2019) of being “Made by Sweden”. The theoretical framework will be more of a historical construct of Volvo focusing on two areas; the central concept of being made by Sweden despite its reliance on globalization (Pike, 2008), and the narrative of safety in response to the changing dynamics of society. The analysis will then seek to understand Volvo’s messaging in terms myth making in these two fields; its connection to Sweden, and its branding of safety. Finally, the discussion and conclusion will attempt to understand how Volvo is responding to the postmodern (Fırat & Dholakia, 2006) market and how it may need to reposition itself in these trying times.

Framework

As Henry Ford was able to successful start a new automotive industry in the States, several in Sweden saw the potential of creating something similar; Volvo began in 1924 with its first car was produced at Gothenburg, Sweden in 1927 (Gabrielsson, 2020).

At this time the concept of branding was still in its infancy, while it had evolved from the early notions of simply marking one’s property, the main messaging of the time was still centered around the name of the inventor as a way to not only legitimize a product but further distinguish itself in a more border marketplace (Kuenstler, 2012). However, Volvo saw the opportunity to try something different, by thinking in a global context the founders wanted a name that was easy to spell, pronounce, and have meaning across the world; based on the Latin word “Volvere” ‘to roll’, Volvo became the term to symbolize ‘I roll’ (The News Wheel, 2015).

This early focus on the global market was not by accident, rather it was based upon the prosperous steel industry in Sweden, which at the time had already established many international relationships and was exporting Swedish steel throughout Europe and other markets (Volvo Car Corporation., 2020); Volvo, a key consumer of Swedish steel, was aiming to position itself in the global market by leveraging these international relationships (Volvo Car Corporation., 2020).

As early production ramped up, Volvo found a challenge in its current marketing strategy; due to the more pronounced shifts in weather during the seasons, Swedes were typically purchasing cars during the spring and summer months (Gabrielsson, 2020). Early on Volvo looked to sell their cars in foreign markets (mainly in the Southern countries) in an attempt to flatten the sales curve and extend the cycle throughout the year; this was in stark contrast to the other car manufactures who at the time primarily sought to saturate their local markets (Gabrielsson, 2020).

Another key differentiator that enable Volvo to develop its capabilities (Day, 1994) was the ability to utilize other industries to source parts for their cars and trucks; while other manufactures like Ford sought to develop as much as possible in-house and utilized assembly line techniques for efficiency in production as their key differentiator (Pederson, 2005). At first Volvo outsourced production of components they were unable to make easily to other firms within Sweden, essentially leveraging the skills and abilities of these various industries. “There was, undoubtedly, a great deal of truth in our statement that the inherited skill and traditional quality of the foremen and workers in these industries was incorporated in Volvo automobiles” (Gabrielsson, 2020). In a sense this early way of production by Volvo functioned as basis for their identity of being made by Sweden; it was the skills and abilities of entire country which had enabled Volvo to produce its cars and trucks.

In a way for Volvo what’s past is prologue; while other manufactures were focused on developing the entire solution Volvo was extending its supply chains leveraging various industries throughout Sweden (Pederson, 2005). Eventually though as the marketplace became more competitive Volvo, like any other firm, sought to reduce its costs; it did so by further extending it supply chain outside of Sweden. By swapping out local suppliers with cheaper international providers Volvo was able to cut costs which at the time was something that, for the most, was unheard of; “a British car manufacturer would never think of buying a carburetor in Germany or France even if it was better” (Gabrielsson, 2020).

The other key thread in Volvo’s identity lays in its ability to brand itself around the concept of safety. This coupling of the brand to the notion of safety happened early on with focus on protecting the Swedish consumer from not just the typical inclement weather but the extremes Sweden experiences as it moves from the sunny and warm summer months to the dark and cold winter months (Volvo Car Corporation., 2020). While Ford was successful in expanding to other North American markets, the original models were not suitable for the predominantly undeveloped Swedish dirt and gravel roads (Pederson, 2005); this created another unique opportunity to reinforce the image of safety as Volvo was able to develop a stiffer undercarriage with better suspension to provide a safer and smoother ride (Gabrielsson, 2020).

Marketing efforts coupled with becoming the first in the industry to adopt certain safety propelled the notion of Volvo committing to safety first. Such advancements like being the first to have both a safety cage and a laminated windscreen in 1944 (Volvo Cars, 2020), or the fist have a three-point safety belt in 1959 (Brauer, 2009), or the first rear-facing child seat in 1964 (Volvo Cars, 2020), or side airbags in 1995 (Volvo Cars, 2020), enabled Volvo to cement its identity as an industry leader for safety in automobiles. In more recent times, Volvo has been quick to utilize new technology safety measures including a blind spot information system, driver alert system, a dynamic stability control system, a rollover protection system, a side impact protection system, and a whiplash protection system, (Volvo Car USA, 2018); all of which has been patented and licensed to other automotive manufactures.

In the following section we’ll examine these historical aspects through the lens of myth making and how they are being used by Volvo to establish its Swedish identity and its ability brand itself around the concept of safety. Later we’ll examine how this identity has held despite the changing circumstances of Volvo in the era of globalization.

Analysis

From the very beginning we can see how Volvo has been trying to careful craft its identity; the attention to how the company should be named deviated from the traditional branding practices of the time (Kuenstler, 2012), rather they focused on a Latin phrase to promote a more global identity (Volvo Car Corporation., 2020). It’s worth nothing that there is a linguistic element around the name and a scientific element around the logo, both the silver colored circle with the arrow pointing in a northeast direction represents the chemical symbol for iron, and consequentially the symbol for the male gender (The News Wheel, 2015). Nonetheless one could argue an element of enhancement (Hartmann & Ostberg, 2013) both with the name and of the logo as well; the reference to Latin can be seen as an attempt to trace back to the scholars of western civilization and the logo a direct reference to the properties of iron such as strength and durability.

It is also interesting that while Volvo is Swedish in origin, early on it had more of an international focus, which probably makes sense given the limited size of the market in Sweden especially at that time. Though at the same time we see an entanglement (Pike, 2008) between the brand Volvo and the country Sweden; the early notion that foreign cars were ill equipped to handle Swedish country-side dirt and gravel roads (Pederson, 2005) coupled with the notion that as a collective whole the various industries of Sweden worked in concert to orchestrate the production of Volvo cars, further reinforced this entanglement. The entanglement in some respects transcended the typical notions of a product that is simply originating from a specific region, in the case of Volvo it seemed to be more socially and economically constructed when we consider the different industries working in concert, and more culturally when looking at how Volvo was specifically designed for the Swedish roads (Pike, 2008). This entanglement might also explain the perception of safety as a contrast steaming from Volvo’s positioning as car design specifically for the driver and with the Swedish roads in mind, further instilling value and developing loyalty (Pike, 2008).

As time passed and Volvo began extending its supply chains outside Sweden becoming more of a globalized company, having the majority of parts and assembly done outside Sweden, yet it still is able to hold on this identity of being Swedish. Perhaps one of the ways Volvo has been able to hold on this identity is by framing it through the lens of nostalgia (Brunk, Giesler, & Hartmann, 2018). During the early days of Volvo production it took the various factories throughout Sweden, across different industries, working in concert; this surge of production led to higher employment which in turn economically lifted the communal whole of Sweden (Gabrielsson, 2020). By continuing the ‘Made by Sweden’ Volvo campaign, it can be said that Volvo is attempting to construct a narrative that is call back to those items, where the industries of Sweden collectively locked arms and achieved economic prosperity. The myth making in this sense is Volvo’s claim to be ‘Made by Sweden’, while its origin is Swedish the current owners are Chinese and a majority of the car is made elsewhere (Carlstrom, 2017). Yet there is still an aspect that makes one think this might be true and that is how Volvo has been able to solidify the myth by having the ability to make the statement ‘Made by Sweden’ creditable and on the surface appear possible true (Brunk, Giesler, & Hartmann, 2018). As Volvo establishes this myth though the campaign ‘Made by Sweden’, promoting the nostalgia (Brunk, Giesler, & Hartmann, 2018) of a bygone period, we need to understand why. One possible explanation is through the concept of Pastoral Nostalgia (Brunk, Giesler, & Hartmann, 2018); while there might not be a political element at play here, we might be able to offer the concept of globalization as a substitute.

For Volvo and Sweden, the past of working together is viewed as an idyllic version, and the present time of globalization can be seen as something impure and artificial (Brunk, Giesler, & Hartmann, 2018). In this globalized society we see the efficiency of production but we also see the standardization of identities and a loss of uniqueness (Sharifonnasabi, Bardhi, & Luedicke, 2019), perhaps the success of Volvo’s ‘Made by Sweden’ campaign is an attempt to use the tools of nostalgia and purpurate myth making to recapture the simpler times were prosperity and the sense of community was still present. The globalization aspect for Volvo can also be seen as a form of homogenization, where Volvo’s individual distinctiveness is added to the collective (Sharifonnasabi, Bardhi, & Luedicke, 2019). While Volvo was the pioneer of various safety elements, most of them have become standardize and applied to other car manufactures; the seat belt is now a part of every car (Brauer, 2009), as well as many of the other safety systems like blind spot detection, driver alerts, and front and side airbags (Volvo Cars, 2020). This shift to the collective coupled with the fact that Volvo’s parts and assembly are now done through various global manufacturing facilities, who also produce parts for other car manufactures, can have one question what is truly Volvo. This loss of identity to the market and the push for efficiency and standardization of globalization has displaced the culture of Volvo and in a sense the identity of the Swedish manufacturing industries that supported it long ago (Sharifonnasabi, Bardhi, & Luedicke, 2019). In the following section we’ll examine how identity is used in postmodernism and how Volvo utilizes this to further develop its brand.

Discussion / Conclusion

The ‘Made by Sweden’ campaign has enabled Volvo to reestablish some aspects of their distinct identity and in the process promote a new experience. While modernity created a sense of individualism and globalization promoted efficiency, postmodern seeks to develop a more communal/tribal identity that is focused more on experiences rather than just functionality (Fırat & Dholakia, 2006). Volvo’s messaging is increasingly directed to the postmodern consumer, through the use of quintessential imagery depicting the Swedish countryside or through commercials showing a drive past the recognizable landmarks of Swedish cities, the aim is to associate a romanticized experience of Sweden with their cars (Volvo Cars, 2020).

Since most of the automotive manufactures in the industry have cars and functionality that have become standardize, a new lure needs to be developed in order to distinguish Volvo from the rest; the appeal to the postmodern consumer then becomes not just an experience of the Swedish landscape but that of Scandinavian design as well. Volvo is essentially trying to capture the abstract essence of Sweden and promote it through the tangible concept of Scandinavian design, providing more meaning and further distinguishing itself in the postmodern era (Fırat & Dholakia, 2006). This has led to, in some respects, a repositioning of Volvo by the postmodern consumer (Fırat & Dholakia, 2006); rather than just being another car manufacture providing a vehicle for transport, Volvo is now providing an experience to navigate the world in.

In this age of postmodernism and globalization the distinction of automotive manufactures, to a great extent, no longer exists. Volvo has positioned itself through the use of myth making to promote a more hyper realized facet of identity, that of Scandinavian design, which can be recognized by the postmodern consumer. The focus on Scandinavian design is a narrative that Volvo has chosen to resonate selective aspects of Sweden to bestow a sense of legitimacy in the campaign “Made by Sweden”. Sweden itself has developed certain characteristics, such as design, that are globally known; these characteristics are reflective of the rich cultural/historical events that have occurred and been communicated to the outside world. Through the use of foreclosure, by focusing of Scandinavian design, Volvo is sculpting an identity, to capture the essence of Sweden so it can capitalize on the country of origin effect to restore its distinction and create a sense of belonging for its consumers (Andehn, Hietanen, & Lucarelli, 2019).

In light of the recent pandemic, as global supply chains temporarily scale back, or shutdown, an evaluation needs to be made on the risks of a potentially overextended supply chain. Perhaps Volvo’s ‘Made by Sweden’ campaign will be reflective of a new reality, where its manufacturing is once again done by the various industries within Sweden.

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