I am interested in how strategic communication can contribute to more sustainable and resilient societies. I incorporate diverse theories and qualitative methods from strategic communication, place research, media studies, and cultural studies. My research predominantly focuses on the communication of places and communicative approaches to resilience.

The communication of places and place branding

One theme that has long captivated me is the intersection of place, communication, and branding, which I have explored through various publications with different colleagues. These studies examine how the identities, communication, and brand values of locations are shaped and negotiated through cultural, political, and communicative processes. A recurring idea in the publication is that places are not fixed entities but are dynamic and performative—continually created and recreated through narratives, rituals, and interactions.

In “The Magic of Place Branding” (Cassinger & Eksell, 2017), place branding is viewed as a ritualistic process where identity transitions occur through practices such as renaming, managing ambiguity, and building trust. Instead of a linear planning approach, branding develops in overlapping phases, driven by cultural rituals and the creation of meaning. This aligns with Cassinger et al.’s (2016) study on nation branding, which illustrates that nation branding is politically rooted and institutionally translated, as seen during the Danish cartoon crisis. Here, nation branding is not a top-down process but a dynamic negotiation within specific policy contexts. A similar approach informs Eksell and Fjällhed’s (2019) work on supranational branding in the Nordic region. Their analysis highlights how historical cooperation, cultural values, and diplomacy foster the development of a collective Nordic identity while maintaining national distinctions. These studies collectively reveal how place identity is co-constructed through negotiation, alignment, and the interplay of multiple narratives.

Eksell and Månsson (2020) further examine the performative aspects of place-making through tourists’ practices. Tourists influence place identity through both planned and spontaneous actions, demonstrating how meaning is produced in lived, mediated experiences. Inclusive place branding is addressed in Eksell and Månsson (2025), which investigates potential barriers faced by domestic tourists with foreign backgrounds. The study identifies challenges such as language barriers, limited local knowledge, and exclusion from communication networks, arguing that inclusion is an ongoing process intertwined with lived experience and participatory representation. Finally, Andersson and Eksell (2025) explore how convention bureaus communicate value propositions in the post-COVID era. Using discourse theory, we demonstrate how values like personal interaction, sustainability, and flexibility are discursively constructed and continuously negotiated.

Overall, these studies portray place as communicatively mediated, relational, and dynamic; ritualised and performative; contextually grounded; and normatively charged, providing an interdisciplinary perspective on how place is created, contested, and communicated.

Communicative approaches to resilience

Another area I have explored involves communicative perspectives on resilience, developed through both conceptual contributions and empirical, place-based studies. These works demonstrate that resilience in places is not merely spatially defined, but rather discursively and communicatively constructed in negotiations of vulnerability and adaptation.

Central to this research is the idea that communication is fundamental to destination resilience. In “Exploring the constitution of resilience in places” (Eksell & Månsson, 2024), a media place approach is introduced, reimagining destinations as dynamic, media-saturated processes—places as “verbs.” Resilience is viewed as a dynamic, evolving state influenced by media flows, political contexts, and local knowledge.

In “Stakeholder Communication as a Strategy for Resilient Destinations” (Eksell & Hohlfeld, 2022), communication is viewed as transformative, with stakeholder inclusion and the development of communicative infrastructure being key to achieving resilience. The chapter advocates for a normative shift in destination governance—moving from rhetoric to genuine participation and collective ownership.

This communicative perspective is further examined in empirical research on Destination Management Organisations (DMOs). Månsson & Eksell (2024) demonstrate how DMOs adopted new roles during the COVID-19 pandemic, employing proactive communication, network-building, and intelligence gathering to foster both planned and adaptive resilience. DMOs are portrayed as evolving actors—shifting from marketing agents to stewards of place-based resilience.

Media’s constitutive role is also evident in “Contested Places” (Månsson & Eksell, 2020), which analyses media narratives in Sweden during the pandemic. The study illustrates how media both reflect and influence spatial meaning, rebranding rural destinations as “safe” while intensifying issues like crowding.

Together, these works emphasise that communication shapes and redefines resilience, the significance of media and narrative in place perception, and the importance of stakeholder involvement for resilience. Collectively, they offer a multidimensional, interdisciplinary view on resilience thought, linking communication, governance, and transformation.

Presently, I am involved in a relatively limited number of courses at both the undergraduate and postgraduate levels in strategic communication. In recent years, I have served as Course Director for the Brand Communication course in the Bachelor’s Programme in Strategic Communication. I have also been responsible for a course in project management within the same programme.

I regularly teach qualitative research methods, particularly ethnographic approaches, in the Master’s Programme in Strategic Communication. During the spring of 2026, I will be responsible for a methods course in the Bachelor’s Programme in Strategic Communication.

In addition, I continuously supervise students writing their theses at both bachelor’s and master’s levels.

During the autumn semester of 2025, I will be the Course Director for an elective course on sustainability communication offered within both the bachelor’s and master’s programmes in strategic communication.

Commissioned research and education

Over the years, I have been involved in commissioned research and education in various capacities. Research In 2024, a colleague and I conducted commissioned research on the World Heritage site of Tanum Rock Carvings. The study included both a quantitative survey and qualitative interviews with visitors. The overall purpose was to conduct a target group analysis and evaluate the site's communication efforts and future needs. The internal report serves as an input for the site's future development, strategic priorities, and decision-making processes.

In 2021, a colleague and I worked together as companion researchers for Visit Sweden. The project was part of a commissioned research initiative aimed at supporting Visit Sweden’s efforts on its “staycation” campaign, launched during the Covid-19 pandemic when the organisation received a new mandate to promote Sweden domestically. Our work focused on two main tasks: analysing a target group and evaluating the campaign's reception. Data collection involved surveys and focus group interviews. The research was documented in an internal report for organisational strategic development. However, the interview study has been published in a publicly available open-access report in Swedish: “Semester på hemmaplan? Personer med utländsk bakgrunds resvanor och turismkonsumtion i Sverige” (Eksell, Månsson & Kalderén, 2022), accessible via Lucris.

In 2013, I evaluated the “Drink Tap Water” (Drick Kranvatten) project for Sydvatten, a communication initiative aimed at increasing high school students’ awareness, attitudes, and behaviours regarding tap water consumption. Data collection involved interviews with pupils and teachers who participated in the project. Additionally, I examined data from a quantitative survey conducted by an external consultancy before the project’s launch.

Education

In 2015, I served as course coordinator for a course in Strategic Communication, tailored for communicators at Region Skåne. Together with a team of colleagues, we designed a curriculum based on the organization’s specific needs. The course addressed key topics such as strategic communication, branding of public organizations, communication planning, change communication, and the use of social media in public sector communication.