2. Content List
Introduction ………………………………………………………………………………………………..3
1. Problem statement ………………………………………………………………………………….4
2. Methodology …………………………………………………………………………………………..8
2.1 The design of research ………………………………………………………………….8
2.2 Research paradigm ……………………………………………………………………..10
2.2.1 Pragmatism as a study …………………………………………………….11
2.2.2 Epistemology ………………………………………………………………….12
2.2.3 Ontology ………………………………………………………………………..13
2.2.4 Mixed-methods approach ……………………………………………….13
3. Literature review ……………………………………………………………………………………16
3.1 Wedding tourism ………………………………………………………………………..16
3.1.1 Motivations for destination wedding ………………………………16
3.1.2 Destination wedding impact ……………………………………………17
3.2 Marketing ……………………………………………………………………………….….18
3.2.1 Destination marketing …………………………………………………..18
3.2.2 Destination branding ……………………………………………………..19
3.2.3 Social media branding……………………………………………………. 20
3.2.4 Unique selling point…………………………………………………………21
4. Methods………………………………………………………………………………………………….22
4.1 Netnography………………………………………………………………………………..22
4.1.1 Netnography – literature review……………………………………..23
4.1.2 An assessment of social media………………………………………..24
4.1.3 Netnography – planning and data analysis………………………24
4.2 Digital tool ………………………………………………………………………………….26

3. 4.2.1 Facebook in social research……………………………………………26
4.2.2 API Application programming interface …………………………27
4.2.3 Data collection ………………………………………………………………28
4.2.4 Ethics and limitations of API based tool …………………………30
4.2.4.1 Ethics ………………………………………………………………..30
4.2.4.2 Digital tool limitations ……………………………………….31
4.3 Semiotics ……………………………………………………………………………………32
4.3.1 The Saussurian Model……………………………………………………. 33
4.3.2 Charles Pierce and his pragmatic model…………………………. 33
4.3.3 Other semiotic theories …………………………………………………. 37
5. Analysis…………………………………………………………………………………………………. 37
5.1 Data collection…………………………………………………………………………….40
5.1.1 Wedding setting…………………………………………………………….. 41
5.1.2 Legal aspect ……………………………………………………………………48
5.1.3 Couples presentation ………………………………………………………53
5.1.4 Destination promotion ……………………………………………………59
6. Limitations ……………………………………………………………………………………………..65
7. Conclusion……………………………………………………………………………………………… 66
Annex …………………………………………………………………………………………………………68
1. Wall Street Journal article…………………………………………………………68
2. Digital tool PrintScreen……………………………………………………………..75
Reference list ……………………………………………………………………………………………..82

5. 3
Introduction
Danish Island Weddings company is located on the island of Ærø. This small island placed in
the Southern Denmark is not without a reason called the a Fairytale Island. It is a unique
destination where unkept nature can still be found along with a romantic seaside and
charming, historical villages. It is not only known among tourists as it also serves a purpose
of a beautiful wedding setting. This unique scenery was one of the main motivator of Danish
Island Wedding representatives to establish a wedding company in the year 2008. In this
project we will try to uncover the marketing approach of Danish Island Wedding based on
the company’s Facebook page.
This paper is divided into 5 chapters which can be summarized as follows:
1. Problem statement: an overview of the motivations for our research and the
presentation of our research questions, based on the case example of the Danish
Island Weddings company.
2. Methodology: explanation of the research design used and motivation for the
pragmatist stance which guided our study.
3. Literature review: a critical review of the theoretical framework that applies to our
study. It includes wedding tourism as a starting point in pinpointing our field of
research , continuing with destination marketing and destination branding as the
underlying theoretical framework for our social media research study.
4. Methods: an overview of the methods used for our research with a general
presentation of the netnographic approach of social media, followed by the two
research tools employed for our data analysis: digital tools and semiotics analysis.
5. Analysis: analysis and interpretation of the collected Facebook data applying the
above mentioned methods and division into four main relevant categories as a result
6. Limitations: an overview of the limitations that were faced in the project.
7. Conclusion: where the outcome of the analysis and final considerations are
presented.

6. 4
1. Problem statement
In this chapter we would like to introduce the process of the problem statement along with
the motivations for this project. We will also explain why we decided to use only Facebook
platform as a main focus of the project.
As mentioned in the introduction, our main motivation for the topic of the semester project
was the article in The Wall Street Journal (Annex 1) Why Get Married in Las Vegas When You
Can Do It in Denmark? Island of Aero attracts foreigners looking to get hitched quickly, but
no Elvis impersonators. Another crucial reason of becoming interested in the concept of
Denmark as a wedding destination was a visit from the representative of Visit Denmark on
the Tourism Experience and Marketing Communication lecture of 8th semester. During this
lecture, it was mentioned, that Visit Denmark has noticed a growing interest of incoming
weddings and even had a campaign launched during the period of Eurovision 2014
promoting elopement weddings. Here especially addressed were same sex marriages.
Nonetheless, for the purpose of this project we decided not to investigate any specific kind
of marriage but rather focus on the overall event.
The first step undertaken towards the research for the project was the market
segmentation. It was a very important process in our research as it was to find out the
companies on the market and the potential office we could collaborate with while working
on the project. The companies specialized in organizing weddings in Denmark are listed in
the table below:
Express Wedding Denmark http://www.expressweddingdenmark.com/
Getting Married in Denmark http://gettingmarriedindenmark.com/
Express Wedding Aps http://www.expresswedding.eu/
Get Married in Denmark / Danish Island
Weddings
http://www.getmarriedindenmark.com/

7. 5
A Danish Wedding http://www.adanishwedding.com/
Wedding Island http://www.weddingisland.dk
Wonderful Weddings Denmark http://www.weddingsdenmark.dk/
Table 1: Wedding companies in Denmark
In the prime phase of data collection, we have established we would focus on the company
based in Copenhagen as it would enable us the personal contact. This was however was not
possible due to the high season in the wedding industry. We then tried to communicate with
alternative companies, but none of them was interested in the cooperation. After facing the
problem of not being able to have any interview from the company's side, our semester
project group had to find alternative solution - that being a company with a strong online
presence. By doing so, we could compromise the topic of the semester project by adjusting
the research angle therefore, we did not have to change the topic completely.
While analyzing the wedding companies in Denmark, we focused on the evaluation of the
following qualities:
1. Innovation - in terms of products & marketing.
2. Online presence via social media platforms - what platforms are used and the images
created. Furthermore, we look at the quality of the content. We evaluated the
quality by the following criteria: what type of content is presented, how is it
presented, is it original, how often are the updates.
3. Engagement on the Social Media Platforms - measured by the number of comments,
followers, likes.
4. Overall company impression - when was the company established, types of products
offered, web page quality in terms of presented information, layout, navigation, in
depth information about products and recognition on the market.

8. 6
Based on the above criteria we have evaluated each of the companies from the Table 1:
Wedding Companies in Denmark. As the project focuses on the example of DIW and we deal
with a limited number of pages, we shall present only the evaluation of the company we
work with:
1. Innovation - DIW offers very broad products, custom made for the needs of the
couple. They address all types of couples including same sex and trans. In terms of
products, couple can choose between 3 types of packages, from assistance based
only to the fully personalized and individual offer. DIW can organize the wedding in a
lighthouse, aircraft, on the beach, on the board of tall ship and many more. The
unique products are marketed through social media with beautiful pictures taken by
a private photographer. Unlike other wedding companies in DK, DIW offers not only
quick marriage option but also unforgettable experience.
2. Online presence via social media: DIW has profiles on the following platforms:
Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest. All of the platforms are updated on regular basis
with, for the most part, original content. Exception here would be Pinterest, where
quite a few boards are the ‘inspirational boards’ (they feature other pictures than
original). DIW is the company with the most extensive social media platforms. The
majority of wedding companies in DK do not have social media presence at all or it is
very limited. We can conclude here that, although social media marketing is not
innovative anymore, as it has existed for many years, in case of wedding tourism in
DK, DIW is the most innovative company on the market.
3. Engagement on the Social Media: DIW has over 340 followers on Instagram, 149
followers on Pinterest and 2410 followers (likes) on Facebook. Furthermore, there
are numerous likes and comments on the posts. At last, DIW is the company with the
biggest engagement on their platforms as per 17 May, 2016.
4. Overall company impression: DIW was established in 2008 what makes it one of the
oldest companies of this type in Denmark. Although being located on the small island
of Ærø, it is recognizable on the international and national market. As a best example
would serve here the article by The Wall Street Journal. In 2015 DIW was also
featured in the DR TV show ‘Business på bryllupsøen’. The web page of DIW is up to

9. 7
date, with the latest information and products offered. It is also very informative,
keeping in mind that it addresses foreign people coming to Denmark.
After gathering the information, it had to be decided which platform would be used for the
purpose of the research. We have critically discussed the possible outcome from each of
them and concluded it would be the most beneficial to base the research on DIW Facebook
page. First of all, it is the longest existing social media platform of the company. Secondly, it
has a variety of information including both visual and textual updates. This was important to
us due to the research methods we strived to use in the project (methods are explained in th
detail in the chapter 4). Facebook also is a collaboration of data of Pinterest and
Instagram. In case we decided to analyze all of the profiles, the information would overlap
and become repetitive. Furthermore, it had to be decided how the project would go about
selecting the data to analyze. Here we have decided upon focusing on the year 2015 and
2016. As a motivation for choosing this particular period of time was the fact that DIW
Facebook page was not too active in the previous years (that is before 2015). Moreover, DIW
was recognized on the international and national market in 2015. Last but not least, we
wanted to analyze in depth the collected data what would not be possible without
narrowing the research, while dealing with time limitations this project was facing.
Based on the gathered data we have decided upon the following research questions:
1. What are the key components of wedding tourism marketing strategy based on DIW
Facebook page?
2. How are these components used in the Facebook marketing?

10. 8
2.Methodology
2.1.The design of research
In order to immerse ourselves into the research of the destination weddings tourism and its
implications, there is a need to set the coordinates for the methodology used in the present
study.
Wedding tourism is rapidly developing within the tourism industry. Being relatively new
concept research on this topic is not yet fully form calling for new initiative in this area of
study. As Hannam and Knox state, in the field of tourism, there is a need ‘for in depth,
focused and engaged research that is not only informed by theory, but also contributes to
the development and revision of theory. For this to occur, what we need is a thoughtful
engagement with both theory itself and methodologies’ (2011,p.179). As the theory chapter
focuses on an overview of the existing literature regarding our study focus, in the following
chapter we are going to present the methodology and methods used for our investigation,
which will be applied to the case example of the company DIW.
‘Methodology, as the word suggests, relates to a process where the design of the research
and choice of particular methods, and their justification in relation to the research project,
are made evident’ (King &Horrocks, 2010, p.6). It can be argued that this is a framework of
the study, while the methods are the means or tools to go about the research. ‘The most
common definitions suggest that methodology is the overall approach to research linked to
the paradigm or theoretical framework while the method refers to systematic modes,
procedures or tools used for collection and analysis of data’(Mackenzie and Knipe, 2006).
There are three approaches to research recognized by social science literature: deductive
inductive and abductive research . The classic hypothetico-deductive method is consistent
with the verification of pre-formulated hypothesis based on existing theory, as proposed by
Karl Popper (cited in King & Horrocks, p.13) and continued by the positivist tradition in social
research. By contrast, inductive research starts from collecting empirical data and

11. 9
formulating theories based on the findings of the investigation (King & Horrocks, p.19). This
approach is consistent with post-positivist and later developed social science paradigms of
research, from grounded theory to pragmatism, to name a few. The third type is the
abductive reasoning, the concept introduced by Pierce and it is said to ‘consists of
assembling or discovering, on the basis of an interpretation of collected data, such
combinations of features for which there is no appropriate explanation or rule in the store of
knowledge that already exists’ (Reichertz, 2010).
In light of the rapid changes within the modern society, researchers argue for the need of
more creative, adaptable methods that go beyond traditional scientific approaches: ‘rapid
social change and the diversification of life worlds are […]confronting social researchers with
new social contexts and perspectives[…] Traditional deductive methodologies[…]are
failing[…],thus research is increasingly forced to make use of inductive strategies instead of
starting from theories and testing them[…]’ (Flick, 2002, p.2, cited in Denzin &Lincoln, 2011,
p.9).
As tourism marketing and place branding studies have only in the recent years started to
attract the attention of researchers, we can argue that we are exploring an under-
researched field. Furthermore, the specific topic of destination wedding tourism is lacking
considerable research studies, especially with regards to innovative marketing strategy
efforts and its implications for the tourism industry as a whole (Breg 2013, Major et al.
2010). This is the case as it is still a niche, growing sector of the tourism industry, which is
only currently starting to be regarded for its potential. In addition, we are investigating the
online presence of a company employing a relatively new method, social media
netnography.
The next step in defining our research design is choosing appropriate methods to interpret
our data. As we are investigating in depth a social media channel of a specific company, we
are looking at both the visual and textual data present on Facebook, as explained in the
problem statement chapter, with the aim to answer our research questions: what are the
key components of wedding tourism marketing strategy based on DIW Facebook page and
how are these components used in the Facebook marketing.

12. 10
These are questions we are going to answer through qualitative research, a ‘…domain where
a broad and holistic approach is taken to the study of social phenomena’ (King &Horrocks,
p.7).
As opposed to quantitative research, which is ‘concerned with measurement’ and outcomes
expressed in ‘percentages, probability values, variance ratios[…]’ (Ibid.), ‘there is no one way
to do interpretive, qualitative inquiry’(Ibid.). As two representative theoreticians in this field
argue about qualitative research, ‘we are all interpretive bricoleurs, stuck in the present,
working against the past, as we move into a politically charged and challenging
future’ (Denzin &Lincoln, 2011, preface). Thus, we can assert there is no specific way to
conduct a qualitative research and it can be adapted according to the requirements of each
research study.
Conducting netnography will allow us access to investigate a social phenomenon with an
immense growth potential for the tourism industry in Denmark. By using a qualitative stance
in our study, we strive to gain a deep understanding of the chosen topic, an objective that
also takes into consideration the limited time and resources of our study. As mentioned by
Pansiri (2007) ‘Qualitative methods are constructed to take account of the particular
characteristics of human experience and to facilitate the investigation of experience.
2.2 Research Paradigm
As we are investigating an action-centered problem related to the emergence of a new
tourism sector, our chosen research paradigm is pragmatism. Upon data collection and
having an overview the further research we have decided that on the research paradigm.
Following this philosophical assumption, we are going to establish the epistemology and
ontology of or research.

13. 11
2.2.1 Pragmatism as a study
At first formulated as ‘a theory of meaning’, pragmatism was developed by C.S.Pierce in the
1870’s (Queiroz &Merrel, 2006, p.37). Pragmatism is derived from the greek word ‘pragma’,
meaning ‘action’ and was later introduced by William James in the 1907 work ‘Pragmatism:
A New Name for Some Old Ways of Thinking’, in
‘an attempt to provide practical solutions to contemporary problems experienced by
people and society’ (Giacobbi, Poczwardowski, and Hager, 2005, p.20).
A more recent advocate of pragmatism, Rorty argues for disregarding
‘the correspondence of theory and reality in
favor of dialogues where the value of different types of knowledge are viewed as
tools for helping us cope with and thrive within our environment (Rorty, 1990, cited in
Ibid.).
Pragmatism as a research paradigm has its roots in the works of Pierce, Dewey, James and
Mead, and more recent advocates like Rorty and Cherryholmes (Creswell, 2003). The
underlying concept of pragmatism is a concern for problem-solving, action centered
research, a broad understanding of a real-life problem and a mixed-methods approach.
Rather than opposing preceding philosophical assumptions, pragmatism combines elements
derived from these to reach an in-depth understanding of the research question:
‘[…]the pragmatist prefers to avoid debate about whether constructivistic
or positivistic conceptions of truth are more accurate. The pragmatist considers
the practical concerns with human existence, the research questions being asked,
and the consequences of inquiry, to be more important than which version of the
truth is better than another’(James, 1907, cited in Giacobbi, Poczwardowski, and Hager,
p.22).

14. 12
2.2.2Epistemology
By definition, epistemology ‘is the philosophical theory of knowledge’, ‘a means of
establishing what counts as knowledge’ (King &Horrocks, p.8). It is also a concept that has
often rendered opposite the quantitative and qualitative approached to research(Ibid.) In
what concerns pragmatism, researchers rely on action centered research and the liberal use
of multiple methods tailored to their specific area of study. In a review of pragmatic
knowledge, Creswell (2003) argues that ‘pragmatism is not committed to any one system of
philosophy and reality[…]’while ‘researchers have a freedom of choice…they are free to use
the methods, techniques and procedures […]that best meet their needs and purposes’(p.12).
Despite the freedom within the methodology there is always however possibility to decide
upon less suitable means which could lead to faults in reasoning.
We consider this relevant for our present investigation, as we are researching destination
weddings in Denmark, a tourism niche that is gaining immense popularity at present. To best
explore what are the key aspects of marketing this sector and its implications for local
tourism as a whole, it is necessary to tailor our research design accordingly. As literature in
the field of destination weddings tourism is rather scarce (Major et al. 2010, Breg 2013) , the
pragmatic approach allows us to depart in our study by exploring the real-life , practical
implications concerning our study and to use the appropriate set of mixed methods:
semiotic analysis for text and images and digital tools for user engagement insights. As
access to internal data regarding the weddings company we chose as a point of reference
was not possible and nor were face-to-face discussions with company members, we had to
focus our attention to other sources of data. More particularly, after careful exploration, we
have concluded that the social media channels of the company provide the most complex
source of data . The main reason for this is the international focus of the company and its
value proposition to deliver fast and easy wedding services, most easily accessible through
the online environment. From these, Facebook was selected as the most active social media
platform both from the company and consumer points of view.

15. 13
2.2.3Ontology
Ontology refers to ‘the claims or assumptions that a particular approach to social enquiry
makes about the nature of social reality’ (Blaikie, 1993, cited in King & Horrocks), ‘the branch
of metaphysics concerned with what exists, with being and reality…’ (Adams St.Pierre, in
Denzin & Lincoln, p.615). We follow pragmatist views that do not recognize a unique set of
claims about the nature of reality, but rather are guided by the research problem and
context.
‘Pragmatists do not see the world as an absolute unity’, ‘truth is what works at the time, it is
not based in a strict dualism between the mind and a reality completely independent of the
mind’ (Creswell, 2003, p.12). In other words, pragmatic views rely on actions rather than
laws about the nature of reality. Consequently, we do not seek to follow a rigorous set of
theories in our study . We rather want to seek the ‘what’ and ‘how’ concerning innovation in
a niche field with potential impact for the tourism in Denmark.
2.2.4 Mixed-methods approach
Pansiri argues for the use of pragmatism as a suitable paradigm for conducting mixed-
methods research in tourism, following the ideas of Downward and Mearman (2004).
‘Pragmatists[…]emphasize choosing explanations that best produce desired outcomes. It is
on the basis of this position that pragmatism has been hailed as the foundation of mixed-
method research (Tashakkori and Teddlie, 1998; Teddlie and Tashakkori, 2003)’ (Pansiri,
2006, p.225).
Also named multi-method research, this type of research design is known in literature as
triangulation: ‘Information coming from
different angles or perspectives is used to corroborate, elaborate or illuminate
the research problem. Triangulation limits personal and methodological biases and
enhances a study’s trustworthiness’ (Decrop, in Philmore & Goodson, 2004, p.7).
Denzin (1978) identifies 4 types of triangulation in research: (cited in Decrop, 2004, p.7)

16. 14
a.Data triangulation, combining data sources, or/and primary and secondary data
b.Methods triangulation, using multiple methods to study a single problem
c.Investigator triangulation, using different researchers to study the same data
d.Theoretical triangulation, using multiple perspectives to study the research problem
Other types of triangulation include: informant triangulation, using a wide range of
informants in the sampling process, multilevel triangulation, using individuals or groups,
facts or whole processes, longitudinal triangulation, observing a phenomena at different
moments in time, (ibid., p.8).
By using data available publicly on the Facebook page of DIW, such as images and text for
our visual semiotic analysis, and data about user engagement obtained through the use of a
digital tool (Facebook Graph API) we are combining data sources and research methods,
using data and methods triangulation. As our team consists of three researchers who are
contributing with different academic backgrounds, we are using investigator triangulation.
As we are using multiple theoretical perspectives, such as semiotics and place branding
literature, we are using theoretical triangulation. Furthermore, we are exploring the social
media channel of DIW throughout the period of 2015-2016 , making use of longitudinal
triangulation.
Tourism studies, especially from a marketing perspective, have relied predominantly on
quantitative methods(Williams et al. 2015). Qualitative research has mostly been a basis for
conducting further studies : ‘the majority of tourism marketing research has relied on
structured surveys and quantification’(Riley, 1996, cited in Ibid., p.1). However, Decrop
(2004, p2) argues that by considering trustworthiness, qualitative studies could gain more
relevance in this field.
Lincoln and Guba (1985)have developed four criteria for trustworthiness in qualitative
research (cited in ibid., p.4-6):

17. 15
1. credibility, refers to the objectivity of the research, the ‘separation between the
researcher and their subject’(p.4). As the investigated company did not want to a take
part in the research it would be difficult to obtain the evaluation of the project.
2. transferability, ‘the analytical transfer of theoretical
propositions to other objects (people, settings, phenomena, etc.)’, however taking
into account the context of the qualitative study (p.5). Although the following project
revolves around DIW, the results can be used as a guideline for further studies in the
under researched field of wedding tourism. This is possible as we have attempted to do
a most thorough analysis of our collected data, taking into accountboth the theoretical
framework and the methodology. As in our study, we have taken a passive approach to
the research. We strived to maintain objectivity to the best extend by applying the
theoretical framework rather than our own experience.
3. dependability, ‘the correspondence between the data
recorded by the researcher and what actually occurred in the setting’(p.5).
Dependability has been connected with the changing research context, due to the lackof
ability to cooperate directly with a destination wedding company in Denmark. As a
result, this has not only affected the overall framework of the study but also the choice
of methods.
4. confirmability , refers to the objectivity of research, achieved by
‘by looking for a variety of explanations about the
phenomenon[…], reporting theoretically meaningful variables, and
giving others access to factual data[…]from the empirical material’(p.5). This was
executed in the project by reviewing the collected data several times and adjusting the
analysis and interpretation accordingly.
All of these criteria will be tackled in the findings of our research as we strive to make use of
the pragmatic approach and the mix of methods employed in order to achieve
trustworthiness. Ethical considerations of our netnographic study together with sampling
obstacles will be, in addition, discussed in the ‘Limitations’ subchapter.

18. 16
3. Literature Review
3.1 Wedding tourism
As this project revolves around the wedding tourism it is necessary to explain the concept in
order to understand the context of this paper. First of all, we should start from the
definition of wedding tourism. Wedding tourism can be defined as ‘international travelling
with the purpose of getting married’ (Acorn Consulting Ltd., 2008 cited in Breg, 2013, p. 1).
Furthermore, some scholars include also travels connected to celebrating wedding -
honeymoons (Breg 2013,p. 2). Major (et al, 2010 cited in Breg, 2013) also distinguished 4
main segments of the wedding tourism: first time marriages, remarriages, same sex
marriages and commitment ceremonies and renewal vows. In this paper however, we will
focus only on the destination weddings without further distinguishing between the type of
marriage as we strive to evaluate the overall marketing strategy of DIW as explained in the
problem statement.
Wedding tourism, also recognized in the literature as a destination wedding is a rapidly
growing niche market (Major et al, cited in Breg 2013). It is estimated that ‘global market
size for wedding tourism is between three and six million trips annually (Poon, 2009, p. 3).
Not many scholars however undertook a further research of this segment (Breg 2013, Wain
2010, Boden 2001). ‘As destination wedding tourism is a niche market that has been
emerging only in the recent years [...] aggregate global statistics are hard to verify’ (Breg
2013, p. 3) therefore, only individual destinations have separate statistics that although will
not apply to each country in the same manner, can still give an overview of the trend (Breg
2013, Major et al.2010).
3.1.1 Motivations for destination wedding
One of the most important factors determining decision over a destination wedding is the
price factor. Weddings abroad tend to be cheaper than in the home country (Major et al.,
2010). This however is not the factor that applies to the case of Denmark as a wedding

19. 17
destination, as it is one of more expensive countries in Europe. This can lead to the question
what makes Denmark attractive for the incoming wedding couples? Wedding abroad is
characterized by ‘the trend to have a memorable wedding in a unique location’ (Breg 2013).
In the previous year, the most popular destinations were these characterized by a warm
climate. Especially interesting for incoming wedding industry are thus countries such as
Mauritius, Mexico, Caribbean, Cyprus, Italy and Greek Islands (Major et al, 2010, cited in
Breg 2013). It is however possible to observe change within trends. As Major (et al, 2010)
states: ‘couples are now seeking a celebration that is more extraordinary than the typical
beach wedding’. There is a visible shift from a traditional wedding in a sunny country to an
unforgettable wedding in unusual setting. Thanks to that, as Berg(2013, p. 7) mentions
‘innovation in weddings further opens the market, creating place for destinations of varying
climates and natural landscapes to profit from this market segment’. This means that
destinations such as Denmark, despite being not so attractive in terms of weather conditions
still are a desirable wedding destination. This is dues to the unique nature, culture and
memorable wedding settings such as offered by DIW, for example lighthouse or tall ship.
On the other hand, another very important matter are the legal regulations of the
destination countries. Some places, although very attractive and with beautiful locations,
will never be suitable for destination wedding, as the local law makes the procedure a hard
and long-term effort, for example France(Major et al, 2010). Denmark is known for easy legal
procedures despite the type of marriage. This is also one of the unique selling points of DIW,
as mentioned on the web page ‘Denmark is great if you want to get married fast, or avoid
stress and bureaucracy’ (Danish Island Weddings).
3.1.2 Destination weddings impact
After the overview and motivations for destination weddings it is also worth to present the
impact of in-coming weddings on the tourism sector revenue. Poon (2009) explains, that
unlike the domestic wedding that lasts only 2 days on average, destination wedding is
prolonged and therefore, creates more revenue via the extended stay. Furthermore, Major
(et al, 2010, p. 251) adds, that destination weddings not only contribute to the company
organizing the event but also to the overall tourism sector as numerous services are used

20. 18
such as accommodation, transportation and more. Further read in Kim & Agrusa (2005, p.
901 cited in Breg, 2013, p. 6) ‘The financial impacts of wedding tourism are strong,
particularly since consumers tend to be more concerned with quality than price’. Based on
the following information, it can be concluded that wedding tourists are more valuable for
the economy and thus, there are more desirable. This statement is based on the research by
Travel Industry Association of America analyzed by Poon (2009), where the approximate
spending of the leisure and wedding tourists were compared. The average revenue of leisure
holiday couple is estimated to be $421 while for the wedding tourism it is as much as $1400
- 2400 per couple. Although this research was done for the American market, it can serve as
an indicator. As it is further concluded by Kim & Agrusa (2005,cited in Breg 2013): ‘wedding
tourists tend to be higher spending target market than any typical vacationers, because they
want to enjoy unique and memorable experience to the fullest extend available’.
3.2 Marketing
3.2.1 Destination marketing
The unexpected rapid growth within the tourism sector implemented a call for the
destination marketing (Li, 2002). Moreover, the increase within the technological innovation
makes marketing and promotion of the destination a crucial activity in establishing the
competitiveness of the destination (Pike & Page,2014, p.203). Most importantly, destination
marketing is at present considered as one of main factors stimulating growth and
sustainability in the globalized and competitive tourism market (UNWTO, cited in Pike &
Page, 2014). Additionally, due to the overly competitive tourism market ’[...] destination
marketing organizations [...] find it increasingly difficult to differentiate their destinations
from neighboring of foreign competitors’ (Li, 2002, p. 194). To fully understand the concept
of destination marketing we need to first gain an overview of how research in the field has
evolved. To begin with it is worth mentioning that destination marketing draws from the
general area of tourism marketing which has been specialized towards the more narrow
literature concerning the destination in particular (Pike & Page, 2014, p. 2003). There has
been a debate as to whether destination marketing should apply general marketing

21. 19
principles or create an independent framework. In this line of thought, Ashworth and Voogd
(1990) argue for the contribution of the geography to place marketing as destinations are
complex and it is not enough to apply conventional marketing theory and practice related to
goods and services (cited in Pike & Page, 2014). This is a common characteristic of a field
which is still in the early stay of the development. Destination marketing literature has up to
this point been majorly concerned with adapting broader theory from already existing fields
such as psychology, management, sociology, geography and economics with less interest in
generating individual research (ibid. P. 207).
3.2.2 Destination branding
Facing the need to differentiate themselves from the competition, destinations saw the urge
to adopt various branding initiatives for this purpose. While destination image has been a
used concept in the literature since the 1970’s, destination branding is a fairly new concept
only introduced in the late 1990’s while research in this area ‘has increased exponentially’.
The first to bring to discussion the difference between place marketing and place branding
was Simon Anholt (1998) which also coined the idea of ‘nation brands’ (Gertner 2011,p. 91).
‘The need for ‘place branding’, as it has surfaced over the last decade and a half, can also be
explained as an evolution from ‘place marketing’ (Govers, 2011, p.227). Places have been
undoubtedly marketed for a long time, yet recent studies argue for the necessity of more
focused branding efforts as they can lead to enhancing the reputation of the destination:
‘[...] concept of brand is relevant and useful to places [...] providing reassurance, glamour or
status to the products and services that are marketed[...]’ (Anholt, cited in Govers, 2011,
p.227). There has been a debate among scholars as to the concrete definition of definition
branding, taking into account the wider product branding literature (...). However, the most
consistent definition comes from Blain (et.al, cited in Pike & Page, p.211) and consistent with
assessing the functions of a brand both from the buyer and the seller perspectives:
‘Destination branding is the set of marketing activities (1) that support the creation
of a name, symbol, logo, word mark or other graphic that readily identifies and
differentiates a destination; that (2) that consistently convey the expectation of a
memorable travel experience; that (3) serve to consolidate and reinforce the

22. 20
emotional connection between the visitor and the destination; and that (4) reduce
consumer search costs and perceived risk. Collectively, these activities serve to
create a destination image that positively influences consumer destination choice.’
Brand and brand image have been studied extensively since the 20th century in relation to
consumer behavior (Zhang, 2015). Several studies have treated this issue in depth (Keller,
1993, Aaker, 1991, 1996, Plummer, 2000, cited in Zhang, 2015). Although taken into
consideration, in this paper, however, we are not going to explain in detail the general
concept of branding and its implications, as it is our intention to focus solely on destination
branding and its applications. Scholars of the branding studies argue the branding process
comprises of three key components: brand identity, brand image and brand positioning (Pike
& Page, 2014, p. 211). Brand identity refers to how the company strives to be seen as in the
marketplace. Brand image, on the other hand, refers to how the company is perceived
through the consumer point of view. Ultimately, urand positioning should be understood as
the endeavour of the company to achieve consistency between brand image and brand
identity.
3.2.3 Social media branding
16 million business has emerged since 2013 and ‘Facebook marketing has transformed how
business is conducted, and its use by local businesses to extend their markets continues to
explode’ (Zephoria.com). With the expansion of social media, the ways business is
conducted has changed. Business and customers are in the constant dialogue with each
other as now, due to the amount of information and the ability to interact of consumers
through the means of social media (Edelman, 2010). Social media for business purposes has
a range of advantages such as: ‘greater surfing time and implication of users, greater
processing and impact of information and the creation of relationships with users’ (Huertas
& Marine-Roig, 2015, p. 297). When talking about destination marketing, brand image is a
significant coordinate with positive effects for the added value, the satisfaction and tourist
decision making and opportunities in product distribution for the desired target audience
(Munar 2011, cited in ibid.). There is a consensus among scholars that destination brand
identity is the pillar in constructing effective communication strategy on social media

23. 21
channels (Huertas & Marine-Roig, 2015, Govers 2011, Pike & Page ,2014, Li 2002, Gertner
2011, Hankinson 2010). This can find its relevance in the study of Govers (2011, p. 227), who
mentions: ‘branding, at a higher level, should be about creating an overarching brand
strategy or competitive identity that reflects a nation ’ s,city ’ s or region ’ s history,
accomplishments and aspirations regardless of the markets to be served’. In the effort to
gain a unique positioning on the market destination brand ‘generates emotional attachment
and favorable predispositions for a visit’ (Huertas & Marine-Roig, 2015,p. 297). Therefore,
social media branding is a prerequisite in the creation of a successful destination brand
image (ibid.). Atkinson (et al, cited in Govers,2011, p. 228-229) elaborates on the constitutive
elements of the brand image: ‘Brand images consist of networks of associations about
places, products, objects or other people, referred to in psychology as schemata’. Thus,
efficient brad communication strategy should include a coherent brand identity which
entails ‘the brand's emotional values’ to make the destination appealing to the target
audience (Huertas & Marine-Roig, 2015,p. 298).
3.2.4 Unique Selling Point
The term USP (Unique Selling Point) was first described by doctor Rosser Reeves, who
claimed that the advertisement business can work at best while having clearly defined point
(Masteron et al. 2014, p. 466). USP serves the role of diversification between companies
creating unique qualities not available elsewhere (Jones, 2007). Creating a USP is based on
researching the other USPs of competitor companies on the market. Therefore, it implies a
market research and analysis in order to determine the best way to distinguish themselves
from competitors (entrepreneur.com). Marketing scholars argue that this can be done ‘by
stating simply and clearly why your product or service is different, it will stand out from the
competition’ (Hall & Maidenhead, 2009, p.2). We can therefore conclude that having an USP
contributes to having a significant advantage in the customer decision making process. As
argued by Hindle (2012) USP helps ‘[...] product or service [...] differentiate it in a way which
will make customers purchase it rather than its rivals’. Furthermore, USP offers a range of
advantages: ‘The process of identifying a USP helps you to focus on the key benefits that
help to sell your products or services and contribute to your profits’ (Hall & Maidenhead,
2009, p.2).

24. 22
However, ‘uniqueness’ is increasingly hard to achieve in today’s oversaturated market. Philip
Kotler argues for an additional concept which relates to creating a ‘unique emotional selling
proposition’, or an ESP instead of USP. This connects to ‘a unique emotional association in
the consumer’s mind’ (Kotler, cited in Hindle, 2009). Consequently, it is vital to assess the
types of creating a USP (Ibid.): by offering lowest price, by offering highest quality, by being
exclusive, by offering the best customer service, by offering the widest choice, by giving the
best guarantee. USP can be created based on more than one principle as can be seen on the
example of DIW, where the quality of the product, the customer service, exclusivity and
guarantee of the best services merge in order to obtain the maximum business potential.
4. Methods
4.1 Netnography
As the world is changing, our social interactions and cultural encounters are going digital
with every step we take into the future. The Internet has ‘forever altered how we
communicate, entertain ourselves, find partners, get directions, gain a sense of community
and ask and answer questions about a massive variety of different topics’ (Russell Belk et al.,
2013, p.92). Allowing people worldwide to get in touch with one another instantly, while still
being engaged in other matters, this new technology gained a lot of popularity from 1996’s
45 million global users to today’s billions of users all around the world (Kozinets, 2010).
With the new rise of social media and online communities which some scholars may refer to
them as ‘virtual communities’ in opposition to the ‘real’ ones (Chan& Lee, 2010), or as
Thompson et al. (2002, p.351) points out ‘the methodological riddle of distinguishing
between a life that is lived and a life that is told’, a new interpretive method of gaining and
exploring information has been developed in order to ‘help us understand their world’
(Kozinets, 2010, p.2).
The new research method introduced by Kozinets (1998) as Netnography, is often used in
the area of marketing and consumer research (Kozinets, 2010; Russell Belk et al., 2013) to
collect and analyze data, as these ‘virtual communities’ that were somehow neglected ‘have

25. 23
a real existence for participants with associated effects on many aspects of their behavior’
(C. Hall, 2011, p.266).
4.1.1 Netnography – Literature review
Netnography was first introduced by Robert Kozinets simply as ‘an interpretive method
devised to investigate the consumer behavior of cultures and communities present on the
Internet’ (Kozinets, 1998, p.336), a theory that positioned netnography as a form of doing
ethnographic research on the Internet. Kozinets (2002, 2006) later on linked the two
methods arguing that ‘Netnography, or ethnography on the Internet, is a new qualitative
research methodology that adopts ethnographic research techniques to the study of culture
and communities emerged through computer-mediated communication’ (Kozinets, 2002,
p.2).
In comparison, ethnography as an anthropological method gained popularity among the
social science fields, unlike netnography which is more of a marketing research technique
(Kozinets, 2002). The author states that ‘ethnography is an inherently open-ended practice.
It is based upon participation and observation […] is more visibly affected by researcher
interests and skills that most other type of research’ (Ibid., p.3) and as Sherry (1991) argues,
it relies on the ‘acuity of the researcher- as –instrument’ (Sherry, 1991, p.572), being more
reflexive and rooted in the knowledge of the local, the specific and particularized .
Netnography uses information that is publicly available on the Internet and ‘provides
marketing researchers with a window into naturally occurring behaviors, such as searches
for information by and communal word-of-mouth discussion between consumers’ (Kozinets,
2002, p.3). Kozinets (2002, 2006) also argues that netnography is different from traditional
market-oriented ethnography in the way that it’s far less time consuming and it has a more
elaborate domain of occurrence, adding that ‘as a method, netnography is faster, simpler
and less expensive than traditional ethnography’ (Kozinets, 2006, p.28).
Critical stances towards netnography state that content analysis, as a method, is well
established in media studies and it is not relevant for the internet, as conventional mass-

26. 24
media, such as newspapers, radio and TV is very different from the online media, in the way
that ‘mass media are by definition public media. On the internet, however, it has to be
decided from case to case (i.e. IMB to IMB, from Webpage to Webpage, from list to list)
whether we deal with semi-private communication or public communication’
(Langer&Beckman, 2005). Despite criticism, online data is currently recognized as a valid
data source for social science research (Kozinets, 2006).
4.1.2 An assessment of social media
As mentioned previously, netnography is a new method specifically designed to study
cultures and communities online and also ‘an excellent resource for the seasoned qualitative
researcher and a useful entry point for the newcomer to qualitative research’ (Bowler, 2010,
p.1270).
Additionally it is worth explaining the connection between our motive for choosing
netnography as a research method and its relevance to marketing and social media. With
the Internet rapidly evolving there is a huge increase among the online social platforms such
as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, TripAdvisor, etc., phenomenon that defines and redefines
the virtual landscape of tourism industry ( Munar et al., 2014).
As Munar (et al.2014) states , ‘In this sense, tourism social media can be regarded as a novel
form of collective value creation’. This is consistent with the creation of a brand image
successfully implemented in the online marketing strategy. Furthermore, ‘[…] marketers are
continually seeking to strategically facilitate meanings that contribute positively to brand
images, purchase likelihood, satisfaction, and the like’ (Mick et al., 2004, p.1). This being
said, it is possible to notice that DIW Facebook marketing contributes to the creating a
positive marketing image of the company.
4.1.3 Netnography – planning and data analysis
According to recent studies, there are four types of netnographic research: symbolic
netnographies, autonetnographies, digital netnographies and humanist netnographies (

27. 25
Kozinets, 2015). Symbolic netnographies focus on exploring practices related to particular
groups and in line with Kozinets (2015) studies, they represent the online experience and
interactions of particular groups or culture. Autonetnographies are related to the experience
of the researcher himself, while humanist netnographies are strictly based on social and
individual issues.
More relevant to our project are the digital netnographies, defined as the ones that
‘incorporate any and all methods of data analysis including those using software for word
and language recognition and for the calculation and representation of social relationships,
into the wider enterprise oh human understanding’ (Kozinets, 2016, p.19). Although not all
the these elements found relevance for our research, Kozinets (2016) argues that
netnographies can vary in many ways, depending on the data collected and more important
depending on the purpose of the research.
There is, however, another type of netnography that Kozinets (2010) mentioned in one of his
previous articles - computationally assisted netnography - which is more relevant to our
research. This type of netnography ‘adds the careful use of software tools to the protocols of
the netnographic process in order to assist the researcher’ (Kozinets, 2010, p.5). The author
also points out that computational tools can be very helpful in conducting a netnography, as
they help the researcher in matters such as: sourcing, tracking, marking, collecting, reducing,
visualizing and pervading (Ibid.) For the purpose of this project we used an API Graph based
online tool further explained in this chapter number 4.2.
Further on we refer to the steps in conducting netnography according to Kozinets (2002,
2006, 2010): Entrée, Data collection and Analysis, Providing Trustworthy Interpretation,
Research Ethics and Member Checks and how these steps apply to our research. Entrée
refers to identifying the relevant online communities that are to be used in the research
paper (Rageh et al., 2013). In the case of this project that was the Facebook profile of DIW.
The motivations for the usage of Facebook platform can be found in the problem statement
chapter number 1.

28. 26
For the data collection, posts from Facebook were extracted with the usage of a digital tool
from the desired period of time, that is from January 1st
2015 to April 30th
2016.
Furthermore, the extracted data was analyzed in order to find similarities and establish
patterns. At last, 4 posts from each category were chosen for further analysis.
Providing trustworthy interpretation was conducted by applying Pierces semiotic model to
the selected Facebook posts . The research ethics is elaborated in chapter 4.2.4.1. The final
step –‘member checking’ does not apply to the paper as it refers to the ‘final research
report’s findings [being] presented to the people who have been studied in order to solicit
their comments’ (Kozinets, 2002, p. 9).
Analysis and interpretation was based on qualitative data analytic process which consists of
six steps introduced by Kozinets (2010): coding, noting, abstracting and comparing, checking
and refinement, generalizing and theorizing. The selected posts were coded as follows: 4
posts were selected from each category and numbered in ascending order from 1 to 16
(Image 1, Image 2, …, image 15, Image 16). It is important to keep in mind that the posts
include an image along with its corresponding textual description as published on the
Facebook page. For each of the images the coding indicates the number of the category they
belong to (from 1 to 4), the number of the image within the category (from 1 to 4), the date
and time of the post as extracted from the official DIW Facebook page in the format
date/month/year, followed by the precise time of posting. For example, the first post in the
first category was coded as follows: Image 1:(1;1,25/05/2015,17:48).
4.2 Digital tool
4.2.1 Facebook in social research
Facebook is one of the biggest and widely used social platforms in the world. As per April
2016, Facebook has more than 1.65 billion active monthly users. This number is estimated
to grow approximately 15% each year. Furthermore, 16 million business has emerged since
2013 and ‘Facebook marketing has transformed how business is conducted, and its use by

29. 27
local businesses to extend their markets continues to explode’ (www.Zephoria.com). This
rapidly growing platform has become not only interesting for the users but also researchers
as it gives an access to enormous amount of data (Rieder 2013). ‘While traditional empirical
methods such as interviews, experiments and observations are widely used, a growing
number of studies rely on what the authors call <data crawling> (Wilson et al, 2012). There
are multiple reasons for scholars turning towards the digital methods while conducting a
research. As Rider (2013) states ‘digital methods have a number of advantages concerning
cost, speed, exhaustiveness, detail’. While using the digital methods it is possible to gather a
large amount of data in a relatively short time. Furthermore, as the research evolves around
transcripted data gathered from the web, it is much easier to organize it for the analysis
despite the amount of gathered information. To optimize the Information collection,
scientists and scholars have created a numerous tools and softwares based on the API data
collection system (further explained in this chapter). At this point it is vital to touch upon the
fact, that generally speaking Facebook has more restrictions regarding the privacy of the
users than other social media platforms utilizing textual footprints, for example Twitter
(McKie et al, 2016). Facebook protects the privacy of the users, therefore only the public
profiles and their content is available for research. Of course there are way to access all
information, as we however do not want to undertake any illegal actions we have limited the
research to the public Facebook page. Furthermore, accordingly to the terms & conditions of
Facebook, all comments and content submitted to the public pages becomes automatically
public as well (Facebook).
4.2.2 API Application programming interface
To be able to fully understand the process of data collection via digital tools it is necessary to
gain the the understanding of basic technologies behind the software. For the most part,
digital research tools are based on the application programming interface (API). As Lomborg
(et al 2014) explains: ‘An API is a back end interface through which third-party developers
may connect new add-ons to an existing service. The API is also interface for researchers to
collect data off a given social media service for empirical analysis’. In other words, thanks to
the API graph it is possible to have access to the page statistics and other extensive data not

30. 28
visible for a regular user (by regular user, we understand here a third party not associated
with a certain company). This data can be retrieved without the need of direct access to the
page via login and password as the API applications are based on the token access key.
Token has to be provided by the company and without it there is no other legal way to
access the previously mentioned information. Some interfaces however, can be used
without the token access. “Access through sanctioned APIs make use of the machine
interfaces provided by many Web 2.0 services to third-party with the objective of stimulating
application development and integration [...] interfaces provide also well-structured data,
but are generally limited’(Rieder,p.347). Although the dimension of provided information is
more narrow in this case, it still can be useful especially while dealing with a larger amount
of findings. Facebook in research is often used to ‘harvest textual archives of communication
patterns [...] for close-up analysis’ (Lomborg 2014) and this is the exact function has found its
relevance in this project.
4.2.3. Data collection
Rieder (2013) distinguishes two main types of data collection with the usage of Facebook:
1. Via recruiting the research participants with the usage of the platform - gathering
participants of the research for example for surveys via Facebook and other
platforms
2. Via data collecting - collecting textual and visual data by scraping
As data collecting is the approach undertaken in this project, we will focus here on further
explanation of the process. Data collecting has been recognized as a main way of studying
Facebook. It has been popularized within the past two decades and met with a great
excitement from the researcher's side ( Manovich, 2012). The most popular way of
conducting data collection is via the online tools available on the market or individually
designed softwares.
For the purpose of this project, we used the API based platform gathering posts from the
chosen period of time. This type of data collecting is called ‘scraping’. Scraping can be also

31. 29
done manually but with the bigger amount of data it would be not efficient and too time
consuming. As we have decided upon analyzing the textual and visual data from the period
of 01 January 2015 to 30th April 2016, it was far more beneficial to incorporate a tool
extracting the desired information. The process of data extraction has been conducted with
the usage of the Facebook scraping software: http://groupbrowser.azurewebsites.net/. This
particular tool is an internet platform that can extract posts from the desired group/page.
Furthermore, it enables to determine the amount of posts and the exact days. In the case of
this project, the main settings looked as following:
.
PrintScreen 1: Digital tool settings
Although DIW Facebook profile exists from 2008, we have decided upon analyze of posts
only from the year 2015 and 2016. We should explain at this point the objectives of
collecting the data only from the mentioned period of time. As mentioned in the chapter
number 1 – problem statement, the starting point of this project was the article from The
Wall Street Journal: Why Get Married in Las Vegas When You Can Do It in Denmark?Island of
Aero attracts foreigners looking to get hitched quickly, but no Elvis impersonators. This
article was published in September 2015 and therefore, after discussing critically the
objectives of the research we have decided to take under consideration only the content
distributed in the earlier mentioned dates as we found them the most relevant.
Furthermore, DIW Facebook page was not very active in the previous years. Last but not

32. 30
least, we wanted to narrow the data to be able to conduct in depth analysis. As the project is
limited by many factors, one of them being the space limitation, we had to be strict in the
decision of the choice of data included.
After implementing the criteria to the groupbrowser platform, we have obtained a list of all
the posts from the desired period including the type of the data, creation time, direct link to
the post, direct link to the picture - if any, and text of the post/update. Below the example of
retrieved data can be seen:
PrintScreen 2: Digital tool sampling
In the period of 16 months there was a total amount of 77 Facebook updates. All of the
posts were categorized and organized. This is further elaborated in the analysis chapter
number 5.
4.2.4. Ethics and limitations of API based tools
4.2.4.1 Ethics
Using the APIs based applications is connected with numerous ethical and legal aspects. First
of all, while using social media platforms one is dealing with the privacy issue. As mentioned
before, Facebook has some internal restrictions regarding the private profiles and data from
these cannot be obtained without the permission of the person in charge of the profile
(Facebook, Lomborg et al 2014, Rieder 2013, Wilson et al 2012). The access to the company

33. 31
pages can only be obtained upon the agreement and token provided by the company. Any
APIs applications that can create the access without prior permission are here considered as
illegal. It is worth to mention as well, that during the data gathering process for this project
we did not use any tools that could be questioned in terms of ethics.
Another issue regarding privacy is the content of the public page submitted by the
individuals. This has been very well summarized by Neuhaus and Webmoor (2012, as cited in
Lomborg et al.) ‘when users sign up for a social media service, they have to accept the terms
of use, often implying letting the service provider use their information to improve and
monetize their product’. While critically discussing the privacy matter, it can be concluded
that all content submitted by a private person to the public account/fan page etc. becomes
automatically public as well and thus, it can be used for the research purpose.
The usage of data generated with APIs tools is a delicate matter and should be treated
individually depending on the scale and the public aspect of the research. There is no
ultimate solution to how to deal with the privacy matter and this was very well summarized
by Lomborg (et al. 2014, p. 262) ‘We contend that there are no final answers to these
questions [regarding ethics]. Rather, they must be carefully considered in the context of any
concrete research project using APIs.’
4.2.4.2 Digital tool limitations
On top of the methodological issues of generalization, validity, and reliability, there are legal
and ethic implications of using data collected through APIs as part of research (Lomborg et
al. 2014,p. 261). While collecting the social media data with API based applications
researcher may face numerous limitations. Apart from the ethical aspects explained in the
previous chapter, one of the main limitations emerging from the digital tools is the need for
the researcher to have a sufficient knowledge about the softwares or at least be able to
collaborate with somebody having the knowledge (Lomborg et al 2014). The most useful

34. 32
applications are the ones designed especially for the need of the project as they have the
opportunity to be adjusted to collect the most relevant data. As we however do not have
sufficient knowledge in this field, neither we had enough time to gather it, we had to rely on
the already existing tools. To be able to choose the tool however, it was necessary for us as a
semester project group to conduct a basic research regarding what applications were
available on the market, which could be used for the project. Along with that we also had to
gain the main understanding of the API based tools.
4.3 Semiotics
According to Oxford Dictionary of Media and Communication, semiotics is defined as ‘The
study of signs (both verbal and nonverbal). Semiotics is widely assumed to be purely a
structuralist method of textual analysis, but it is much more broadly concerned with how
things signify and with representational practices and systems (in the form of codes)’
(OxfordReference.com). By this widely accepted definition, we can conclude that semiotics is
concerned with a variety of fields, the present paper dealing with marketing semiotics as a
method to analyze DIW marketing strategy.
As presented in the Encyclopedia of Consumer Culture, semiotics history dates back as far as
the Antiquity, when Hippocrates was interested in the relation between signs and medical
symptoms. Further on, a number of philosophers such as Plato, Aristotle, Saint Augustine,
and John Locke showed interest in the nature of signs. However, modern semiotics is
attributed to the works of the Swiss linguist Ferdinand de Saussure and the American
philosopher and logician Charles Sanders Pierce (Berger, 2011). Deriving from their works, a
number of approaches to semiotics were developed, incorporating influences of more
recent authors in the study of semiotics: ‘Different traditions in modern semiotic theory
derive from the Saussurean and Peircean models of the sign, though in modern cultural and
media theory the influence of Jakobson and Eco can be seen as bridging these traditions.
Consequently, while the Saussurean terms signifier and signified are better known than the
terms used in the Peircean model, the latter's modes of relationship are widely adopted’
(OxfordReference.com).

35. 33
4.3.1 The Saussurian Model
Ferdinand de Saussure named his approach semiology arguing for its importance among
other sciences: ‘A science that studies the life of signs within society is conceivable; it would
be part of social psychology and consequently of general psychology;[...] Semiology would
show what constitutes a sign, what laws govern them’ (Saussure, 1966, cited in Berger,
2011).
For Saussure, a sign has two components: a sound-image named signifier and a concept
named signified. The relation between them is arbitrary or based on convention. The study
of signs in his view can be done both at a specific moment in time -synchronical- and as they
evolve over time -diachronical. Therefore the fact that signs change over time based on
social and cultural conventions is one of the main points in his semiology model.
Furthermore, in his model, Saussure defines the meaning of the signs as differential,
dependent on the relation with other signs: ‘No sign, then, has meaning in itself and its
meaning is always a function of the relationship between that sign and other signs. In
practical terms, what this means is that when dealing with concepts, because of the nature
of language we tend to think in terms of polar oppositions such as cheap and expensive, rich
and poor, happy and sad’ (Berger, 2011, p.1)
However, language, the central theme in Saussure’s model, is ‘virtually immutable’:
‘language is no slave to the wishes and whims of the individual; if change there be, it comes
about through the linguistic practices of the entire community’ (Queiroz, Merrel, p.47). The
emphasis on language as the only provider of meaning and the disregard to contextuality
have attracted criticism to the Saussurian model (Derrida 1974; Harris 2002; Thibault 1996,
cited in ibid.).
4.3.2 Charles Pierce and his pragmatic model
Pierce’s semiotic theory as the ‘formal science of signs’, and ‘the pragmatic notion of
meaning as the ‘action of signs’ (semiosis)’ were influential for several disciplines such as

36. 34
‘philosophy, psychology, theoretical biology, and cognitive sciences’ (Queiroz & Merrel,
p.39).
Pierce’s model which he entitles semiotics, includes another component in addition to
Saussure’s theory. He also talks about ‘the form of the sign’, or the ‘sign vehicle’ or
‘representamen’ and the ‘idea created in a listener's mind by hearing or reading that sign
vehicle (what he called the interpretant)’ (McGee & Warms, 2013, p.3). In addition, Pierce
introduces the sign’s object, referring to what the sign stands for. The different ways a sign
can stand for its object are classified by Pierce in three types of relationship. The first type is
‘Iconic’, when there is a similarity connection between sign and object, such as an architect’s
planned building resembles a real one. The second type is ‘Indexical’, when there is a
spatiotemporal connection between sign and object, such as the way a finger points to a
specific object. This is by far the most context dependent type of relationship. The third is
‘Symbolic’ or conventional, when the relationship is solely based on convention: signs have
an arbitrary relation to their objects. most words of the language have an arbitrary relation
to the objects they stand for. Overall, his semiotic model is based on ‘the concepts of inter-
relatedness and inter-action between signs, the world, and interpreters’(Queiroz & Merrell,
p.39).
Pierce’s semiotic model is based on a series of categories named ‘Firstness’, ‘Secondness’
and ‘Thirdness’, defined as ‘an exhaustive system of hierarchically organized classes of
relations’. Firstness is what exists without any relation to something else, the category of
‘possibility’. Secondness is what exists in relation to something else, but without relation to a
third identity, the category of ‘reaction, opposition, differentiation, existence’. Thirdness is
what exists to bring a second entity in relation to a first one, the category of ‘what in all
probability would be, given a certain set of conditions’.
Pierce’s semiotic model is in line with his pragmatist philosophy, having ‘the action of signs’
in the center of his conceptual framework. His scientific stance, which he defines as
‘normative science’, entails ‘concepts of inter-relatedness and inter-action between signs,
the world, and interpreters’(Ibid. p39). In this vein, semiotics is concerned with all human

37. 35
intellectual endeavors ‘including mathematics, logic, the physical and biological sciences, the
social sciences, and philosophy and the ‘normative sciences’ (ibid. p.39).
In the present paper we use Pierce’s pragmatic semiotic model as a method for our social
media netnographic analysis. Consequently, it is worth to sum up the main concepts in
Pierce’s semiotic theory that are going to be used for our data analysis in chapter 6.
The triadic relationship Sign (S), Object (O) and Interpretant (I) is the minimal unit of analysis
in the semiotic model. In brief, Pierce defines these concepts as follows:
‘A Sign is a Cognizable that, on the one hand, is so determined [...] by something other than
itself, called its Object, while, on the other hand, it so determines some actual or potential
Mind, the determination whereof I term the Interpretant created by the Sign, that that
Interpreting Mind is therein determined mediately by the Object’ (Pierce, cited in ibid. p.40).
The interpretant (I) is both the third term of a first triad and the first term(sign) of a
following triadic relation, giving birth to the semiosis continuum. In other words, ‘Peirce
conceived semiosis as basically a process in which triads are systematically linked to one
another so as to form a web’ (ibid.p.41). The interdependent triadic relationships of the
semiotic process are in Pierce’s view what determines meaning: ‘A Sign may be defined as a
Medium for the communication of a Form. [...] As a medium, the Sign is essentially in a
triadic relation, to its Object which determines it, and to its Interpretant which it determines’
(ibid., p.42). Therefore, a sign can express something about the object, provided that the
interpreter is familiar with the object from ‘experience created from other signs, which are
always from previous history’.
To clarify, we take an example: a piece of red paper is used as a sample (i.e. representamen)
for a can of paint (i.e. object) to indicate the red colour of the object, since we assume that
one already knows its other features (packaging, content, usage, etc.). The red paper
indicates that the paint in the can is red, but it says nothing else about other object features.
The role of the interpreter is crucial here: ‘[...] if the interpreter knows that it refers to a can
of paint, then, and only then, does the sample give him the information that this particular

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can of paint must be red’ (Everaert-Desmedt,2011). Thus, Peirce makes the distinction
between the dynamical object (the object as it is in reality), in this case the can of paint,
from the immediate object (the object as it is represented by the sign), in this case the red
color of the paint.
The semiotic process is theoretically unlimited: ‘Upon being interpreted, the representamen
has the ability to trigger an interpretant, which in turn becomes a representamen by
triggering another interpretant referring to the same object as the first representamen, and
thereby allowing the first one to refer to the object’ (Ibid.).
The three categories of the interpretation can be explained as follows: Firtsness, a
relationship between the represaentamen and the object which does not refer to anything
else. For example, ‘a person’sportrait, with noother indications, represent a whole class of
possibleobjects: the peoplewho look like the portrait[…]’ (Ibid.)
Secondness, functioning like a logical proposition, for example a person’s portrait with an
indication of his/hers name. The interpretant in this case would show that the person in the
picture is Mr./Mrs. So-and-So (Ibid.)
Thirdness, a rule between the representamen and the object. The reasoning can correspond
to induction, deduction or the concept of abduction,also introduced by Pierce. The example
would be: ‘upon entering a room, I see a table with a handful of white beans on it, and next
to it, a bag of beans. I observe that this bag contains only white beans. I then form the
hypothesis that the white beans came from this bag’(Ibid.)
However, there is a limitation in practice, to which Pierce refers to as the concept of ‘habit’.
A central term in his pragmatist philosophy, habit is ‘a disposition to act in a certain ways
under certain circumstances’, making Pierce’s sign guided by the ‘habits of action, reaction,
and thought they provoke, sustain, and modify’ (Queiroz &Merrell, p.44). Habit is, therefore,
what allows a consensus on semiotic interpretation:
‘Pierce calls [n.habitus] the final logical interpretant - our habit of attributing a certain
signification to a certain sign in a certain context with which we are familiar. Force of habit
temporarily freezes the infinite recursivity of one sign to other signs, which allows

39. 37
interlocutors to quickly reach consensus on reality in a given communication context. But
habit is formed by the effect of previous signs. Signs are the catalysts that cause habits to be
reinforced or changed’ (Ibid.)
4.3.3 Other semiotic theories
A number of scholars (Frege, Saussure, Shannon and Weaver, Kripke) account for theories of
signs and their meaning, yet the Piercean model remains the most widely accepted in social
science literature (Queiroz&Merrell). The main reason for this argument are the fact that his
model takes into consideration the differences between the components of the sign and
between the sign and other signs, and arguably the most important aspect, the context
dependency of signs, their objects and their interpreters. The table above shows an
overview of different non-piercean semiotic theories.
Table 2: A comparison of some concepts of meaning
5. Analysis
Qualitative data for this project has been collected via the use of a digital research tool and
further analyzed through the method of netnography and semiotics. Through the analysis
process we followed a series of steps that served as a guideline for the data interpretation
and will be further explained in this chapter.

40. 38
First of all, data has been gathered from the official DIW Facebook page via a digital tool that
has extracted the visual and textual posts within a selected time frame: 1.01.2015 to
30.04.2016. The motivation for usage Facebook page as a source for data has been explained
in depth in the chapter 1. Furthermore, the collected data was categorized by the digital tool
(previously in chapter number 4):
1. Photo updates - refer to Facebook updates on the timeline where along with text
some visual images are presented.
2. Status updates - refer to textual data regarding the latest of the company activities.
3. Link updates - refer to textual information including links to external sources.
4. Video updates - refer to a promotional presentation of the company.
The next step of the research was to count the updates of each category. In the desired
period of time, there was a total number of 77 Facebook updates, among which photo
updates were 61, status updates were 3, link updates were 12 and video updates were a
number of 1. Moreover, we have organized the updates according to the post frequency by
month. The resulting information is presented in the table number 3:

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Table 3: DIW Facebook post frequency
The above table reflects an overview of the connection between seasonality and online
activity of the company. By the data displayed, we can conclude that the online activity is
directly proportional with the weddings season of spring and autumn, which could be a
possible explanation for the company not being willing to cooperate with us for the purpose
of this research. At last, we have gathered all the textual data extracted via a digital tool and
counted the most frequently used words that the overall text from the post contains. To do
so, we have used an online platform www.wordcount.com that lists the most common
words. This simple procedure allowed us to detect patterns that will be further along
correlated with the semiotic analysis. The outcome of the word count can be seen in the
table number 4 below.
Table 4: DIW frequency words
From the types of posts identified by the digital tool we agreed upon usage of only the photo
updates as they are the most frequent and the information provided allows for a complex

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analysis of both visual and textual data through the chosen methods. It is argued by scholars
that photos have a higher impact rate on user engagement: ‘Visual content (namely photos)
and moderately long posts have a statistically-significant positive impact on DMOs' Facebook
engagement, whereas high post frequency, and early daily timing (in the morning) of posts
have a negative impact on engagement’ (Mariani et al, 2015).
5.1 Data categorizations
After giving an overview of the data source, it had to be decided how we would proceed
with the data categorization. Through the process of categorization 4 main themes were
detected and applied for further analysis. During this process our group reviewed all the
photo updates from DIW Facebook page of the selected period of time in order to detect
patterns in the Facebook marketing strategy. Ultimately, we have identified the following
themes which relate to the content of the photo updates:
1. Wedding setting -presentation of the wedding event from tangible elements such as
exquisite decor, space arrangements, food and beverages to intangible elements that
include the created atmosphere of Scandinavian coziness, stress less environment,
countryside tranquility and the excitement of adventure.
2. Legal aspect- presentation of stress less wedding environment as opposed to the
traditional wedding, emphasis on lack of bureaucracy and easiness
3. Couples presentation- focus on multiculturalism, it is a collaboration of beautifully
arranged pictures of the international couples that are getting married on the island. All
these contribute to creating the company’s portfolio, using their own award-winning
photographer.
4. Destination promotion - using elements of the local island environment to promote the
company; focus on the rural setting and the proximity to the natural landscape, very in synch
with the weddings atmosphere.
From the identified categories the posts are divided as follows: category 1: 17 posts,
category 2: 18 posts, category 3: 35 posts, category 4: 24 posts. From each of the categories

43. 41
mentioned above, we have selected 4 relevant posts that we will further analyze with the
use of netnography and semiotics.
Further on, our analysis will be guided by the four categories that will be analyzed in depth
in the next chapters. Based on this, we strive to elaborate how the company is marketing its
wedding product also taking into account the concept of innovation. By innovation we
should understand here the marketing strategy aspect based on the Danish market. It is
worth to mention however, that the DIW itself is innovative in terms of its products. As
Berg(2013) mentions ‘innovation in weddings further opens the market, creating place for
destinations of varying climates and natural landscapes to profit from this market segment’.
This applies to DIW as it is located in the unusual setting of Ærø. Although being rather
reclusive destination it is still a successful target for the wedding tourism. There are
numerous factors of influence further explained in this chapter.
The analysis will be conducted based on Charles Pierce’s semiotic model and the triadic
relation S-O-I :sign, object, interpretant. These three abbreviations will be used throughout
the analysis: S,O,I. A first part will describe the photographs’ component elements,
identifying the sign and its corresponding object. This part will be marked with number 1. A
second part will constitute the interpretation of both text and image, taking into account
Pierce’s categories of firstness, secondness and thirdness. This part will be marked with
number 2.
5.1.1 Wedding setting
As argued by marketing scholars, visuals tend to have a stronger impact on the reader than
plain text (Mariani et al, 2015). This can be observed based on the example of DIW. The
visual sensors create a certain atmosphere of a unique wedding experience. Thanks to this,
the DIW product is not only characterized by fast and easy weddings, it also offers, at the
same time, all the benefits of a traditional, personalized wedding ceremony: ‘Your Danish
wedding does not have to be in a dull modern building surrounded by other wedding
groups!!’ (Danish Island Weddings) In other words, DIW weddings are ‘quick, romantic and
stress-free’(ibid.).

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The unique setting is highly influenced by the overall destination experience. Compared to a
big city wedding, DIW weddings offer the custom made experience package set in a historic
small town. Consequently, the weddings setting is in close relation with the location,
therefore referring to the advantages of destination branding argued by Govers (2011, p.
227) ‘…branding at higher level, should be about creating an overarching brand strategy or
competitive identity that reflects a nation’s, city’s or region’s history, accomplishments and
aspirations[…]’. To exemplify the unique setting options, the weddings may be held on the
beach, in the lighthouse, in an airplane, in the old Merchants court, or in another unique
location upon request. All these contribute to the innovation due to the special features that
DIW product provides. This specific angle, that relates to a romantic, fairytale, island
wedding is marketed heavily through the photographs in the Facebook posts. ‘There are
many places in Denmark to get married; but Ærø is special, with the fairytale, historic town
of Ærøskøbing, the lovely countryside and beaches and wonderful sea views, and the
friendliness of the local people’ (Danish Island Weddings). Here we can refer to the criticism
regarding the conventional concept of USP (Masterson et al., 2014, Jones,2007, Hall&
Maidenhead, 2009, Hindle,2012,) our data findings, confirming the necessity for an
additional dimension of this concept, namely the emotional one. Therefore, Kotler’s
upgraded concept of ESP (Emotional Selling Proposition) can be brought into discussion
(Kotler, cited by Hindle, 2009). To further verify the findings on the semiotic analysis we are
going to elaborate on the results on the word count tool presented in table number 4. The
most frequent words used in the analyzed Facebook posts that are at the same time relevant
to this first category are: ‘wedd’, ‘camilla’, ‘photographer’, ‘beautiful, ‘Jørvad’ , ‘marchant’
and ‘court’ . As we can observe, the use of a professional photographer, named Camilla
Jørvad is emphasized by the company in an effort to prove that every detail of perfect
wedding is taken care of by professionals. The words ‘marchant’ and ‘court’ indicate a
specific wedding venue which is part of a unique and memorable wedding setting used by
the DIW to create a positive brand image. ‘Wedd’ as the word count tool extracted, is an
abbreviation of ‘wedding’ which marks the name of the specific product offered by the
selected company. By using positive attributes such as ‘beautiful’ the marketing strategy is
appealing to the emotional component.

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Image 1 : .(1;1,25/05/2015,17:48)
Our entire team worked tirelessly to create the ideal seaside setting for Lisa and Marco's
destination wedding this weekend. A perfect combination of rustic and romantic
1. In the picture we can observe a set of 18 vintage chairs (S), similar to garden chairs,
painted in white. They are placed in front of a wooden gate (S) facing wild greenery and the
seaside. We can notice the blue skyline intersecting with the sea and the coastline in the
horizon. The clear sky and the sun (S) are indicators of the warm season (O). The entire
setting is placed in a natural landscape that is well kept but not reshaped (S). The chairs are
placed on two symmetrical separate rows and there are white flower petals (S) spread on
the grass.
2. The interpretation can be associated with an idyllic wedding setting (O), correlated to the
well-known minimalistic Scandinavian design (O). This corresponds to the category of
secondness, as the wedding altar image is accompanied by a description that reveals the
nature of the event. The ceremony setting is very plain yet sophisticated. It reflects the
message passed through the marketing approach related to a guaranteed, memorable
experience. This simple decor is enhanced by the beauty of the natural landscape, signified
by the blue sky and bright sunlight (S). It also relates to the destination promotion as the
outdoor island scenery is one of the unique selling points. By analyzing the image, the

46. 44
outdoor setting may be an indicator of any outdoor gathering, but by considering the text,
the interpretant (I) is now aware that this a setting for a wedding ceremony held outside.
Furthermore, it is possible to notice here the overlapping themes in our categories: the
wedding setting is used together with the destination promotion features for the marketing
strategy. Scholars argue for the need to implement an innovative approach to their
destination image ‘[…] destination marketing companies find it increasingly difficult to
differentiate their destinations […] Thus, establishing of a unique identity, or image,
becomes a major concern […]’(Li, 2002). This can be done by creating USP that is further
implemented in the branding strategy. As seen above, what may normally account for an
unpolished representation of on a budget wedding setting is transformed via the branding
strategy into an emotional association with ‘A perfect combination of rustic and romantic’.
Image 2: (1;2, 16/10/2015 t14:49)
Behind the scenes with the Danish Island Wedding's team for the DR1 programme 'Business
på Bryllupsøen". And click on this link to see the programme itself
https://www.dr.dk/tv/se/business-pa-bryllupsoeen/business-pa-bryllupsoeen-1-3’
1.In this photo we can distinguish an urban setting (S), resembling a city square (O). There
are highly maintained trees (S) on the right side of the picture. On the left side there are
tables and chairs (S) placed in front of a 18-19 century building. The pavement is made out of

47. 45
brick (S), being consistent with the architectural style of the building. The photo is black and
white(S) so it is not possible to determine the weather conditions. In the middle of the
square there is a group of people. On the right side there is a group of people dressed in
elegant attire and on the left side there is a cameraman and a microphone man. The
majority of the people in the group are dressed in dark colors but it’s possible to spot one
person wearing a long light sparkle dress. There is one person approaching the group and
the interactions appears to be positive based on the facial expressions.
2.Judging by the way the people in the picture are gathered in the city square we, the
interpreters, can assume an event celebration or a ceremony is taking place. The festive
outfits (S) indicate a special occasion and the elegant white dress (S) indicates that one of
the people in the image is a bride. This is a symbol interpreted by cultural habit (Everaert-
Desmedt, 2011).By recording the event we can conclude that it is a life important ocassion
worth being kept as a memory. Also taking into account the description we can assume that
the event is being recorded to be featured on the national television. The woman greeting
the crowd (S) may be a representative (O) of either the TV program or the DIW company .
This interaction takes place in the urban setting(O) of Ærøskøbing, judging by the
architecture and the surroundings (S). The table and chairs setting (S) suggests a cafe or a
restaurant (O), constructing a proper decor to hold a celebration. Taking the photograph in
the middle of the event being tape recorded is done purposefully, illustrating Peirce's
pragmatic concept of ‘habitus’. The scene is intended to show how the event is featured on
the DR1 TV programme. This amounts for the category of ‘thirdness’, as the interpreted
wedding celebration is further used for marketing purposes through a ‘behind the scenes’
tactic. By doing this, DIW company is trying to show that they are acknowledged publicly as a
successful wedding business. The black and white effect (S) is said to bring more focus to the
basic, essential features of a product among consumers: ‘Black-and-white images can lead
consumers to focus on the abstract, essential, and defining components of a product. In
contrast, color images can draw attention to the concrete, sometimes unimportant and
idiosyncratic features […]’ (Lee et al. 2014)

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Image 3: (1;3, 21/09/2015, 09:51)
A beautiful naked wedding cake with blueberries and wild flowers we created for Louisa and
Charles' wedding day last week. Photo by Camilla Jørvad
1. This is a collage of three pictures. The first presents the profile of a female in a white lace
gown (S) holding a bouquet of white flowers in her hands(S). There are reflections of the sun
(S)that indicate good weather (O). In the second picture we can see a couple holding hands
(S) and kissing on the street. The female character appears to be the same as in the first
picture. She is wearing an intricate pattern lace dress and holding a white flowers bouquet.
The male character is wearing a dark suit. The couple is kissing on a narrow street,
surrounded by old historical buildings (S) colored in red and yellow with white framed
windows. The street is paved in bricks and the weather is sunny. The third picture focuses on
a cake on a silver platter, placed on a flat surface covered with laced table cover. In the
background we can see a set of burning candles and some glass decor elements.
2. This association of pictures is setting a presentation of the wedding scape (O), from details
regarding the general experience to more narrow ones that relate to food arrangements and
dress codes, all represented by the signs noted above (S). The lace dress detail and the white
glazed cake brings to the mind of the interpretant (I) the efficiency of a well-organized event
with everything in place. The loving couple kissing is not only part of the company’s clients
portfolio (secondness) but it is also a symbol of a romantic successful event set in the
historical decor of Ærø island streets(thirdness). Love and simplicity are the qualities that are

49. 47
mostly suggested with these pictures. This account for a creation of the positive image of the
destination, argued to be one of the key aspects of destination marketing (Li, 2002).
Image 4: (1;4, 06/09/2015, 14:06)
Beautiful henna art on the bride and her bridesmaids captured by Camilla Jørvad
1. The photo presents a series of hands(S) of 5 female characters (O). They are creating a
circle and their palms are covered in red paint ornaments(S) from the wrist to the fingertips.
We can notice the strong color gowns(S) of three of the people in the picture. The person in
a red dress placed centrally has golden bracelets on both wrists and a ring on the right hand.
The person to the left in the pink gown has silver bracelets on both wrists. There is
sunlight(S) reflecting on the setting, therefore we can assume the weather (O) is warm.
2. The hands decorated with intricate floral ornaments (S) made with henna along with the
strong colored dresses are symbols of oriental culture. This kind of images are especially
important as they present the international aspect of the clients. The text lets us know the
picture includes the bride and her bridesmaids, accounting for the Piercean ‘secondness’
category of interpretation. By this, the company puts a lot of emphasis on the fact that it is
capable of organizing events for any type of customers regardless of the cultural and

50. 48
religious background (thirdness).It is especially important to market the ability of working
with not only different cultural but also religious contexts for this type of business. Through
the marketing of DIW it is pointed out that wedding ceremonies can be fully personalized
according to particular needs and expectations. As Pike & Page ( 2014 p.211 ) discuss,
effectiveness in terms of destination marketing is achieved through a competitive market
position.
5.1.2 Legal aspect
DIW focuses on marketing the wedding experience as ‘romantic, quick and easy’(Danish
Island Weddings). The marketing strategy is based on emphasizing the lack of bureaucracy
that leads to a stress free wedding and easy paperwork formalities. This results not only
from the data collected for the analysis but is also one of the main points highlight on the
official web page of DIW. Although many worldwide destinations may be attractive for
weddings abroad in terms of the location beauty and facilities, the local administrative rules
may prevent this from being suitable for such an event, which would make it hard for
wedding tourism businesses to develop. This is the case for countries such as France and
Italy (Major et al, 2010). In contrast, Denmark is known for uncomplicated wedding
procedures (Visit Denmark). Due to this fact, it is possible to get married in a very fast way,
in as little as two days. Moreover, the administration is very flexible and DIW can boast an
agreement with the city hall that makes it possible to have any type of wedding procedure
as quickly as possible. Consequently implying the stress-free and bureaucracy-free wedding,
it can be considered as one of the types of USP acknowledged in the marketing literature
which can be associated with both offering the highest quality service and offering the best
customer service (Kotler, cited in Hindle, 2009). Referring to the word count tool we can
identify the following frequent used words which apply: ‘merchant’, ‘court’, ‘wedd’, ‘day’,
‘knot’, ‘marry’, ‘beautiful’, ‘romantic’. Word ‘wedd’, ‘day’, ’knot’, ‘merchant’ and ‘court’
highlight the setting of the wedding procedures and are often accompanied by positive
attributes such as ‘beautiful’ and ‘romantic’. This supports our findings that a simple and
easy legal procedure is emphasized in the Facebook marketing strategy.

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Image 5: (2;1, 26/03/2015, 07:43)
The lovely Louise and Alan from Ireland eloped to Ærø last week to tie the knot in our Old
Merchant's Court. All photos by Camilla Jørvad
1. The image presents a couple sitting by the one side of the table and a woman placed on
the opposite side. The room is spacious and bright, walls are white. The floor is made from
dark wood and decorated with two dark-red carpets. Other elements in the room are: a pot
with greenery in the left corner, chandelier and a big painting on the wall behind the table.
The painting (S)presents an overview of a village. The table and chairs are made from dark
wood (S) and have an antique look (O).It is possible to spot a ring box (S) on the table along
with a bouquet of flowers (S) and candles.