Territoriality and social values: textual analysis of the #ConMuchoAcento campaign by Cruzcampo beer

Abstract

PurposeThe aim of this research is to analyze the territorialization strategy developed by the Spanish brewing company Cruzcampo through its campaign #ConMuchoAcento (#With a strong accent) launched in January 2021.Design/methodology/approachThe work is framed within the case study methodology. Semiotics will be the discipline used to establish the set of cultural units or signs that the company puts into play in its campaign #ConMuchoAcento.FindingsCruzcampo beer makes use of place branding by highlighting the Andalusian accent as a way of creating a unique positioning strategy. By doing so, the brewing company faces the issue of being associated with the negative Andalusian stereotype, sometimes regarded as if it were uneducated and low class. The use of dialectic must be seen as a step further in place branding strategy since it brings locality to the commercial message.Social implicationsThe social effects of the cultural units brought into play by the #ConMuchoAcento campaign remain to be analyzed, that is, the political dimension of this exercise of signifying agency of Andalusian culture. In other words, it remains to be seen how the accent represents that romantic Andalusian ideal of “authenticity” as that form of subjectivity at the margins of the cultural and rational organization of modern global capitalism.Originality/valueThis study is one of the first to be conducted on the multi-award-winning #ConMuchoAcento campaign. Furthermore, it will analyze the place branding strategy carried out by the brand from a semiotic perspective.