Conferences
Since 2001, the research network has been organising an annual international and interdisciplinary conference in the second half of the year at different universities in Europe and with different hosts, focusing on various topics related to advertising and business communication. The conference proceedings are published in the network’s publication series of the same name, “European Cultures in Business Communication” (Springer VS).
Current conference
Opportunities and challenges of business communication through AI
22. – 24. Oktober 2026, RWTH AACHEN
Upcomming conference
Chancen und Herausforderungen der Wirtschaftskommunikation durch KI
22. – 24. Oktober 2026, RWTH AACHEN
Kontakt: EUKO2026@isk.rwth-aachen.de
Past conferences
The 25th interdisciplinary annual conference of the European research collaboration EUKO (European Cultures in Business Communication) took place from October 23 to 25, 2025, at the University of West London. It aimed to uncover the various mechanisms through which storytelling in the broader sense influences audiences and drives business communication.
Storytelling: The power of stories and narratives in business communication and media discourses
Storytelling is a cornerstone of human culture, from ancient oral traditions to modern media. It is a fundamental aspect of human communication, deeply rooted in our history and psychology. Engaging narratives can synchronise the brains of the storyteller and the audience, creating a shared experience. This phenomenon, known as the transportation- imagery model, allows audiences to immerse themselves in the story, altering their perceptions and attitudes. Additionally, prototypical narratives can emerge in society, shaping how new phenomena and future developments are addressed from a culturally sensitive perspective.
In business communication, storytelling is used to create emotional connections with audiences, whether that’s consumers, employees, investors, or other stakeholders. (Branded) storytelling transcends traditional promotional communications by crafting compelling narratives that resonate on a deeper level. By understanding and harnessing the psychological and emotional aspects of storytelling, brands can create advertisements and other communications that not only capture attention, but also foster engagement and long- term loyalty. As people increasingly reject overtly commercial messages, seeking authentic and meaningful interactions with brands, the role of storytelling is critical to business success. On a broader level, media plays a crucial role in forming narratives, providing a backdrop against which specific storytelling for target audiences can emerge.
This year’s EUKO conference aims to uncover the mechanisms through which storytelling, in its broadest sense, impacts audiences and enhances business communication. It will provide insights for both academics and industry professionals to craft the next generation of compelling narratives that resonate with those consuming them.
We welcome presentations that investigate various aspects of storytelling, including but not limited to:
- Theoretical frameworks and models of storytelling in branding and business relationships
- Case studies of (un-)successful storytelling in business communication
- Visual storytelling (e.g., storytelling as part of brand design)
- Generational storytelling – stories for Millennials, Gen Z, Gen Alpha, etc.
- Cultural and intercultural dimensions of storytelling
- Digital storytelling and its influence on brand perception and customer relationship
- Narratives on AI in societal developments
- New technology and storytelling (e.g., Virtual Reality as a tool for immersive brandedstorytelling; The impact of AI on branded storytelling through personalised communication)
- Storytelling as part of anti-advertising and disruptive design
- Data-driven storytelling
- Storytelling and law
- Storytelling in entrepreneurial branding (e.g., founder stories)
- Internal communication – stories told within organisations
- Storytelling and Employer Branding
- Storytelling as method for (market) research
- Storytelling as part of content marketing
- Storytelling for services and service management
- Storytelling in a B2B / C2C context
- The psychology of storytelling – creating impactful and memorable communication
- Genre and narrative types of storytelling in business communication
- Storytelling for equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI)
- Ethical considerations in storytelling
We welcome contributions from all academic disciplines. We are particularly looking forward to presentations that bridge research and practice, as this year’s EUKO is a dedicated Knowledge Exchange event. We therefore encourage contributions from brands, agencies and freelancers to share their industry insights via case studies, client work and/or live projects. Our aim is to bring together diverse perspectives and insights from scholars, practitioners and industry experts to advance the understanding of how storytelling can shape and enhance business communication and audience engagement.
The 24th interdisciplinary annual conference of the European research cooperation EUKO (European Cultures in Business Communication) will take place from Thursday, 24 October to Saturday, 26 October 2024 at the Technical University of Nuremberg. EUKO 2024 is organised by the AMP Faculty and the Innovation Communication Research Focus and is supported by the Faculty’s Friends Association. The annual conference is aimed at researchers and students as well as practitioners from various disciplines who bring together their research results and best practice examples under a common range of topics. Contributions will be held in either German or English.
For detailed and up-to-date information, please visit the conference website.
“Progress, innovation, vision – scenarios, images, metaphors and linguistic concepts of the future in business communication. An interdisciplinary perspective”.
For companies, associations, think tanks, politicians and, more generally, anyone who expresses themselves, positions themselves or is addressed in economic discourse, references to future developments in their own organisation, the future of industries or the economy, socio-technical futures in social discourse, and the forecasts, scenarios and roadmaps of political actors are becoming increasingly important. In order to be attractive to young talent, retain their core workforce and expect loyalty from them, actors in economic discourse must represent and communicate their perspectives on the future visually, narratively and stylistically. Given the diverse facets of the current polycrises, simply referring to an established narrative of progress seems outdated and rather counterproductive.
All actors in economic discourse are required to adapt and expand their communication strategies, channels, styles and content in order to compete in the communication arena and address the various stakeholders. What is needed are visions of the future and sustainability, the communication of innovations, proof of one’s own ability to relate to stakeholders, and, on the part of politicians, the communicative framing of desired developments in the economy.
EUKO 2024 is dedicated to the changes in the discourses of the economy, companies and actors, which are expressed in new or adapted visual languages, styles, forms of commentary, narratives or methods and channels. We are looking for theory-oriented or empirical contributions from the fields of linguistics, marketing or public relations, communication science, innovation and future research, or the social sciences. Contributions from the practical experience of companies, associations, and politics are also welcome.
The contributions to EUKO 2024 will be published as conference proceedings with a peer review process in the publication series of the same name by the network “European Cultures in Business Communication” (Springer VS).
Contact
If you have any questions, please contact Prof. Volker M. Banholzer.
The 23rd interdisciplinary conference of the EUCO research network took place in Lucerne in 2023. The theme was “Next Generation Communication: Communication in a Changing World.” The symposium aims to bring together researchers and practitioners from different disciplines and foster a lively exchange of ideas. Papers were presented in either German or English.
Since 2001, the EUCO research network has organized an annual international and interdisciplinary conference in the second half of the year at alternating universities in Europe, with different host institutions, on various key topics in advertising and business communication. The conference proceedings are published in the eponymous publication series of the network “European Cultures in Business Communication” (Springer VS). For more information on the EUCO research network, please visit: www.wirtschaftskommunikation.net
The EUCO 2023 was organized by the Institute for Communication and Marketing IKM. We dealt with current topics in the field of marketing, communication and digital management. In education and further training, we relied on the latest findings from science and discuss current challenges from everyday business life. Practical relevance and interdisciplinarity are our priorities. The IKM designs and implements applied research and development projects in close cooperation with practice partners who benefit directly from the knowledge gained.
New Generation Communication: Communication in a Changing World Communication of the new generation is upon us. It was not long ago that the idea of remote working or of machine learning seemed like futuristic endeavors—the stuff of science fiction. Yet now, the prospect of using various communication technologies to work for us has never been more feasible. We are navigating connected ecosystems, using data technologies and algorithms to keep pace with an ever-shifting business world. Organizational structures and the ubiquity of location-independent communication tools are continuing to transform where we work, when we work, and how we work. “New Generation Communication” is in short innovative, dizzying, and dynamic. However, if we were to speak of the future of communication in just these terms, we run the risk of isolating or even intimidating those who believe themselves to lie in the margins of the technological landscape. For this reason, the 2023 EUKO conference envisions “New Generation Communication” not as a product of technology, accessible only to the few with the technical know-how, but as a facilitator of dialogue for an inclusive community—a social interface that enables the very human desire to come together with our different experiences and expertise and engage in meaningful conversation with one another.
We aim to create a space for the exchange of ideas about what the new generation holds for communication in its various media, modes, and forms. This might involve conversations in marketing and client relations, in understanding how companies deal with changing customer experience requirements in hybrid marketing content design. There is also much potential for discussions concerning the advent of open-source natural language processing programs, and in finding ways we as communication professionals can work with such technologies rather than seeing them as competitors. There may be still more opportunities for dialogue when considering the effects of new and algorithm-driven media sources on perceptions and constructions of reality, and how to account for biases that are invariably present in data.
Based on a broad understanding of “communication” and “new generation,” we welcome contributions from all scientific fields. We are particularly looking forward to presentations that bridge research and practice, as well as those that address the interface between sustainable value creation and digital innovation.
Some areas of interest may include but are not limited to developments and insights in the following areas:
- Marketing and customer interaction possibilities
- AI’s role and limits in gaining customer insights and generating content
- Digitalizing language and communication
- Society’s adaptation to digital innovations
- Psychology of digital transformation
- Agile methods to drive change
- World of work and its transformation
- Research in communication using technology
22nd interdisciplinary conference of the European Cultures in Business and Corporate Communication (EUCO) research network from 6 to 8 October 2022 in Hamburg
The 22nd interdisciplinary conference of the EUKO research cooperation, which was run as a European collaboration, took place in Hamburg in 2022 under the umbrella theme of “Diversity in Business Communication”. The symposium brought together researchers and practitioners from various disciplines under a common range of topics. Papers were presented in either German or English.
For detailed information, please refer to the call for papers below and the conference website.
Diversity in Business Communication
Diversity means variety or difference. What is subsumed under the term diversity can vary depending on the context. Lately, diversity of media and opinions has been discussed in many countries due to current events and developments. In addition, the diversity of media and opinions is discussed in many countries due to current events and developments. What these various discourses have in common is that there is a warning against the loss of diversity or diversity is declared worth preserving.
In relation to socio-political fields, diversity mostly refers to the protection of the dimensions defined by European legislation: gender and gender identity, ethnic origin and nationality, age, physical and mental constitution, religion and belief, sexual orientation and social origin. In regard to these fields of application, a constant change can be observed in society: Gender roles, family models and ways of life are changing. Over a quarter of Germany‘s population immigrated themselves or have at least one parent who was not born in Germany. Around 7% of Germans identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans or queer.
This social diversity also changes the expectations on companies as well as the total of customers’ different needs and wishes. It changes the way we live, work and communicate with one another. The consequences these changes have on business communication and how corporate and marketing communication deal with this diversity will be the topic of the conference.
A broad understanding of the terms “diversity” and “communication” is assumed. Lecture topics with new approaches and studies that link both topics are particularly welcome. It should be explicitly mentioned that contributions from all academic fields – linguistics and communication studies, economics, sociology, psychology, law, etc. – are welcome, both in the fields of foundational research and applied research.
Examples of interesting topics can include developments and findings in the following areas:
- Diversity, inclusion and social sustainability as objects of communication
- Changes in communication caused by diversity
- Diversity of media and opinion
- Ethnic marketing and advertising
- Gender marketing – traditional gender roles in marketing
- Gender shift – changes in gender roles and stereotypes
- Gender and diversity-sensitive communication in language and images
- Diversity Marketing – between mass and individual marketing
- Social Washing – abuse of the idea of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)
- Gender equality and accessibility in the workplace
- Diversity in HR communication
- Inclusive, accessible or universal communication
- Purple Washing – feminist criticism of marketing strategies
- Legal peculiarities of diverse communication
- Psychological aspects of diversity for communication
- Best practice examples
- and much more
Conference chair
Prof. Dr. Silvia Boßow-Thies, Professor of Business Administration, specialising in marketing, email: silvia.bossow-thies@fom.de
Prof. Dr. Marcus Stumpf, Professor of Business Administration, specialising in Marketing and Brand Management, email: marcus.stumpf@fom.de
21st International and Interdisciplinary Annual Conference of the Research Network European Cultures in Corporate and Business Communication (EUKO/EUCO), Åbo Akademi University/Finland 28-30 October 2021
The papers dealt with areas of activity in business and corporate life or with more fundamental theoretical issues or combine both in the scope of the topics above, whereby the methodological question is open.
The above outlined topics were considered as such or from the perspective of their sub-areas, but they were also networked and dealt with in a cross-thematic manner. The congress welcomed contributions with different social topics in the field of corporate and business communication. Particularly welcome are also contributions with an interdisciplinary scope, which dealt with specific needs and challenges of communication activities in, of, about or with companies.
As the congress was a result-oriented congress the organisation will strive at developing an international research project together with interested participants out of the thematic spectrum. This was done on a special meeting platform as an in-congress-workshop during the congress days.
Possible thematic areas of the conference in the scope of the main theme:
- re-design of work processes in the context of COVID-19
- development of work life balance
- ways of networking
- interpersonal discourses in organisations
- communication and cooperation in digital worlds
- social developments in digital settings
- internal communication design in corporations in the course of the pandemic
- cultural implications in new ways of communicating
- effective communication with contact groups
- smartworking
- possibilities and challenges in the context of ”new work”
- environmental embedding/impact of companies on the social environment
- expert-layman communication in dynamic developments
- interactive new orientations in old and/or new media
- development of identity and inclusion in social communities
- challenges and opportunities in the intersection of analog and digital contacts
- textual strategies in multidisciplinary contexts
- development of language use and terminology in professional domains
- strategies of optimising comprehensibility
- culture sensitive factors of multimodal communication design
- impact of social influences on organisational communication practices
- trends in marketing, advertising and/or PR
- rhetorics in corporate communication
- development of brand cultures
The rapid development of communication technology and the increasing distribution and use of digital devices and solutions in the fields of advertising and PR influence in many ways how advertising and PR are handled and received. In addition, it influences the way we act and react as senders and receivers and how we perceive advertising and PR. Where advertising and PR begin and end can be unclear when media and textual boundaries are blurred, at least from a reception point of view.
These changes raise many questions concerning for example communicative, media-related, functional, linguistic, and ethical boundaries, transitions, and new formats; how do language use, multimodality, genres, contents, discourses, IT affordances/possibilities, reactions, and perceptions of advertising and PR activities develop in the digital age? These and other issues form the starting point for this conference – a forum for the presentation and exchange of new approaches, studies, and results from academic and business practice. We cordially invite contributors from both academia and industry. The focus will be on contributions from a communicative, linguistic, marketing-theoretical and sociological perspective, but contributions with other perspectives on advertising and PR in the digital age, such as economic, legal, and psychological approaches are also welcome. Of particular interest are presentations on the topics below, separately or in combination, but also studies on other aspects of advertising and PR in the digital age are possible and desirable as long as they relate to boundaries and their pluralization. Conference languages are German and English.
Topics in Advertising & PR in the digital age – boundaries, transitions, and new formats:
- Mediality
- Digitality
- Social media
- Multimodality
- Conceptualizations
- Language use
- Rhetoric
- Discourse
- Genres
- Ethics
- Marketing 4.0
- Culture
- Co-creation
- Monitoring
- Influencers
Mobility is a key characteristic of current economic life and shapes it in key areas: companies operate globally, their employees work in multicultural teams, and products are sold all over the world. The resulting dynamics interact closely with language and communication, which on the one hand form the basis for coping with ever-increasing international interdependence, but on the other hand are also subject to the influences of the now changed conditions of communication. The mobility of companies, people and products thus implies the mobility of and within language and communication.
Contributions from the following subject areas, for example, are of interest:
Changes in internal and external corporate communication
- Changes in language requirements and language policy in companies
- Internationalised reporting (standardisation of terminology and text types)
- Support for international customers and suppliers (e.g. call centres, social media, etc.)
- Virtualisation through new communication media and practices in the internal area
- Automation of communication processes (e.g. in logistics, customer service, etc.)
Implications of the increasing mobility of individuals
- Working in multicultural teams (multilingualism vs. lingua franca in the workplace)
- Communicative competence beyond language skills
- Communication – migration – integration
- Trends in modern recruiting
- Internal mobility
Developments in product communication
- Local vs. international advertising
- Innovative forms of advertising
- International naming
- Communicative processes in product development and design
- Mobility (solutions) as a product
Contact:
Dr Elisabeth Peters
Department of Foreign Language Business Communication WU | Vienna University of Economics and Business Welthandelsplatz 1
1020 Vienna
Elisabeth.Peters (@) wu.ac.at
The history of advertising is rich in change – for “old” brands, a change in brand communication has become necessary across the various communication media (from early advertising papers to advertising columns to daily newspapers in the early stages, to radio, television and the internet today). Due to their lack of shelf life, foodstuffs used to be sold loose by local merchants; newspaper advertisements were therefore initially intended to draw attention to the merchant’s display. Today, packaging is even part of the brand message, and the creation of logos and figurative marks contributes significantly to brand building. The opening up of national and international markets presents companies with the challenge of adapting their communication strategies to the new markets. Of course, competition from national brands and the growing strength of private labels at home and abroad is also important here, although there are hardly any qualitative differences between everyday products.
Another important factor in the history of advertising is the reflection of social developments, which is evident in changes in advertising strategies. For example, advertising in the 1950s was dominated by traditional gender roles, and cartoons were typical of this decade, making it clear that advertising was aimed at the family as a whole. Advertising in the 1960s, on the other hand, reflected the questioning of the values of the parent generation and was characterised by internationality and modernity. With regard to the German market, differences between the FRG and the GDR are of course still interesting, but in principle, a comparison with other national markets and the problems associated with brand communication in connection with the increasing development of international markets in the 1970s are also of particular interest.
The conference aims to shed light on the development of advertising in its history in general, but also on the change in the advertising strategies of individual brands in their history and the comparison of the advertising measures of “old” and “new” brands from a linguistic, marketing-related and communication policy perspective. Of interest are, for example, contributions that take one or more of the following aspects into account:
- Diversity of advertising media and relevance of packaging design (see, for example, early advertising media: enamel, cardboard, tin cans)
- Use of colour in advertising (black and white vs. colour advertising, print vs. TV)
Cooperation with artists (especially for advertising posters) - Text-image relationship in advertising history (information content, involvement) Regional, national or international relevance of advertising and brands
- Use of stereotypes and national images, social differences, taboos and taboo breaks (see especially in the context of internationalisation strategies)
- Increase in competitive intensity with product quality convergence (see interchangeability)
Changes in media and brand impact (see also, for example, brand loyalty, brand knowledge, brand perception) - Differences between market launch advertising and reminder advertising (see also, for example, product innovations)
- Integrated brand communication (see earlier examples such as characters, collectible pictures)
- New advertising formats: sponsorship, merchandising, experiential worlds, in-store experiences, guerrilla marketing, content marketing, etc.
- Advertising and changing values (see, for example, the role of Christianity in Christmas)
- Changes in brand communication depending on economic developments (see industrialisation, global economic crisis, economic miracle, oil crisis)
- Changes in brand building, brand management, creation of brand awareness (brand recall, packaging, logo, name)
- Changes in brand image (see quality promises to consumers, see also customer loyalty through consumer advice) and marketing strategy with and without a change in the product
- Humour and storytelling in advertising
- Changes in the creation of brand names (see also pronunciation, strategic significance), logos, etc.; see also the problem of imitation of brand names or slogans
- History of advertising in international comparison
Contact:
Professor Sabine Heinemann
Institute of Romance Studies
University of Graz
Merangasse 70
A-8010 Graz
Tel: 0043/316/380 25 04
Email: sabine.heinemann@uni-graz
17th interdisciplinary conference of the European Cultures in Business and Corporate Communication (EUKO) research network from 19 to 21 October 2017 at the FOM University of Applied Sciences for Economics and Management, Frankfurt am Main.
The seventeenth interdisciplinary conference of the EUKO research cooperation, which was run as a European collaboration, took place in Frankfurt am Main in 2017 under the umbrella theme of “Communication and Digitalisation”. The symposium represented an attempt to deliberately bring together researchers and practitioners from different disciplines under a common range of topics. Papers were presented in either German or English.
For detailed information, please refer to the call for papers below and the conference website.
Topic: Communication and Digitalisation
The term digitalisation, often referred to as the digital revolution, refers to the autonomisation, flexibilisation and individualisation of existing (business) processes brought about by digital technologies and innovative business models. As a result of this development, trends such as big data and cloud computing have emerged over the years, along with the enormous growth in the use of mobile devices and the emergence of intelligent, self-controlling processes.
In increasingly digital communication, the number of channels and platforms is growing. WhatsApp, Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, commercial blogs – to name just a few external channels – compete for the attention of different target groups. Added to this are companies’ own digital channels: corporate blogs, wikis, digital press rooms, online forums and traditional e-mails. There seem to be almost no limits to the possibilities for digital communication. How do corporate and marketing communications deal with this complexity? What, where, when and how well does it work, where can which target groups best be reached, and what technical possibilities are there for producing and distributing content? These and other questions will be the subject of the conference.
The conference will be based on a broad understanding of the two terms “communication” and “digitalisation”. Presentations with new approaches and studies that link both topics are particularly welcome. It should be explicitly mentioned that contributions from all scientific fields – communication sciences, economics, computer science, psychology, engineering, law, etc. – are welcome, both in the area of basic research and in the area of applied research.
Examples of interesting topics include developments and findings in the following areas:
- Digitalisation as a subject of communication
- Changes in communication due to digitalisation
- Communication to reduce reactance towards digital communication
- Legal peculiarities of digital communication
- New business models and digital transformation of corporate communication
- Potential of digital technologies for advertising and business communication
- Digital media in internal and external corporate communication
- User requirements for digital media
- Changed media consumption due to the digital
- transformation of the media
- and much more
16th Interdisciplinary Conference of the European Cultures in Business and Corporate Communication (EUKO) Research Network from 27 to 29 October 2016 at TU Dresden/Germany
In 2016, TU Dresden (Germany) hosted the 16 th annual interdisciplinary symposium of the European research network EUKO. This year’s conference was devoted to the subject area “Communication and Technology” and aims at bringing together practitioners and scholars across disciplines. Presentations were held in English or German.
Every year, since 2001, the research network EUKO has organized an international and interdisciplinary conference at different Universities all across Europe. The research network publishes annual conference proceedings in its own book series „Europäische Kulturen in der Wirtschaftskommunikation“ (Springer VS). More information about the research network EUKO is provided at the end of this call for papers and can be found on http://www.wirtschaftkommunikation.net.
Conference Topic: Communication and Technology
The terms “communication” and “technology” are understood in a broad sense. Lectures and workshops with new approaches or studies, which combine these two terms, were particularly welcome. Please note that conceptual, as well as empirical contributions from any field of science – e.g., communication sciences, computer science, psychology, economics, engineering sciences, legal sciences, etc. – were invited.
Examples of interesting topics may be new developments / insights in the following areas:
- Technology as Communication Subject
- Technological change or technological innovation as communication subject
- Communication as means to reduce resistance for complex and / or new technologies / technical services
- Communication methods and approaches to explain technology
- Communication of technology by frontline employees
- Personal Communication of frontline employees of technical services (B2C) or customer engineering / sales (B2B)
- Communication of industrial goods (industrial communication) or of technical sales
- Presentation of complex technical services to increase sales
- Presentation of complex technical services to facilitate customers’ use
- Industry 4.0 – Communication 4.0?
- High-tech-communication
- Human-Machine-Communication
- Legal specifics of human-machine-communication/technically-aided communication
- Legal boundaries for the human-machine-communication/communication using technology
- Resistance for human-machine-communication
- Specific Aspects
- Expectation management for technological innovations
- Communication at (technology-oriented) trade fairs
- Instruction manuals
- Communication to improve customer integration for technical services
- Technology as topic of customers’ word-of-mouth communication for technical services
- Communication in the field of tension „engineering versus economics“
- Country-specific particularities of communicating technology
- Linguistic particularities of communicating technology
- Importance of language for developing technology
- Tasks and roles of employees in communicating technology
- Approaches from behavioral sciences / psychology to communicate technology
- Legal specifics for communicating technology or in the human-machine-communication / communication using technology
- Legal boundaries for communicating technology or for the human-machinecommunication / communication using technology
- Communicating innovations in the area of information technology and computer science
- Methods of verbal and non-verbal communication of technology
- Technical solutions for the optimization of communicating technology (e.g., using apps)
- Personal solutions for the optimization of communicating technology: transfer experts
- Organizing communication using technology, e.g., technical communities, discussion forums, …
- Communication in the case of technical break downs
- Ethical aspects of communicating technology
- Peculiarities of communicating internal and external key performance indicators in technology-oriented companies
- Communication and leadership: Peculiarities in technically oriented enterprises
Contact
Prof. Dr Florian Siems
Dresden University of Technology
Faculty of Economics
Chair of Marketing
01062 Dresden
Tel.:
Marie-Christin Papen, M.Sc.
Dresden University of Technology
Faculty of Economics
Chair of Marketing
01062 Dresden
Tel.: +49 351 463-33534
marie-christin.papen@tu-dresden.de
Research Network “European Cultures in Business Communication” (EUKO)
The international and interdisciplinary annual conference took place from 29 to 31 October 2015 at the Georg Lichtenberg House at the Technical University of Darmstadt.
“Stereotypes and Knowledge Representations in Marketing and Advertising”
In advertising research, a recurring theme is the extent to which advertising picks up on, influences and reinforces social trends, or even creates, redefines and establishes them. In any case, advertising should be understood as a form of cultural control that – whether intended by marketing or not – produces socio-political and cultural effects.
The concept of stereotypes promises insights into the question of which condensed offers of orientation and identification are currently/historically used by companies in their marketing and communication strategies, both within specific cultures and across cultures. The concept of knowledge representation (e.g. frames, mental concepts or mental models) broadens the field of research even further, allowing less stereotypical units to be identified through reconstruction.
The organisers therefore hope to receive contributions on the concept of stereotypes, representations of knowledge and their role in marketing and advertising – whether as part of strategies to attract attention and persuade, as an expression of effects, or as (unnoticed, unintended?) reinforcement of images of humanity and other mental concepts in social discourse. This means that both the linguistically and visually represented instruments of cultural control and their socio-political and economic effects are of interest.
Presentations on the following topics are conceivable:
- Theoretical and methodological positioning of and suggestions for stereotypes, representations of knowledge and other reconstructions of cultural control.
- Considerations and plans in marketing/advertising practice regarding the use of stereotypes.
- Effects of the use of stereotypes in marketing and advertising.
- Reconstructions of individual stereotypes and representations of knowledge in advertising and marketing communications in connection with socially relevant discourses.
- Linguistic/visual/multimodal design (use vs. consolidation) of stereotypical images of people and values (e.g. age stereotypes, gender stereotypes, sociotypes).
- Cultural and/or industry-specific characteristics of certain stereotypes or representations of knowledge.
- Participation of various actors (e.g. including customers) in the discursive construction of stereotypes or reconstruction of actor-specific representations of knowledge.
As always, emphasis will be placed on bringing together a wide variety of disciplines for discussion, facilitating an exchange of practice and theory, and giving young academics the opportunity to report on current projects related to these topics.
Contact:
Prof. Dr. Nina Janich, Dr. Nina Kalwa, Dr. des. Lisa Rhein
The 14th Interdisciplinary Symposium of the European Cultures in Business Communication (EUKO) research collaboration took place from 23 to 25 October 2014 in Turku (Finland).
The congress brought together researchers and practitioners from the field of international and intercultural business communication to discuss the latest research findings and exchange relevant practical experiences. These arise from the constantly changing role of new media in communication design from a cross-media perspective.
Bringing together experts from various relevant disciplines resulted in a special interdisciplinary added value. The conference also aimed to promote the beneficial implementation of the findings through dialogue between theorists and practitioners. The conference thus saw itself as a results-oriented event seeking answers to current questions, which will serve as a basis for inspiration and participation for all interested parties.
A. Fundamental questions
- Where does corporate communication stand today in theory and practice?
- How can the uniformity of integrated corporate communications be achieved despite the diversity of the media landscape, and what options are available for measuring the success of cross-media campaigns?
- In the wake of the cross-media penetration of corporate communications, can areas such as advertising, PR, public relations, CSR, etc. still be distinguished?
- What fundamental intercultural challenges does international corporate communications face today?
- What interdisciplinary issues are associated with the cross-media design of corporate communications?
- How does cross-media development affect the question of distinguishability between internal and external corporate communications?
- How can culture-specific characteristics in corporate communications be identified?
B. Social and other media
- How do social media affect the design of communication?
- Have internal communication structures for companies changed in the course of technological development?
- Who controls/shapes corporate communication in an age of increasing importance of social media?
- How can target group communication be optimised in the wake of the development of new/social media?
- What opportunities do social media offer users to help shape corporate communication?
- What role does advertising communication play in the social web and to what extent can it be controlled by companies?
- What linguistic/stylistic features or developments are associated with the increasing use of the social web?
- What functional, stylistic or macrotextual differences can be observed in the way target groups are addressed in the various media in an international comparison?
- What legal conditions exist in the field of advertising communication? Country comparison possible.
- What role does non-verbal communication play in social and other media in different countries/regions?
C. Innovations in communication through social media
- What role does storytelling play for companies in coordinating online and offline activities?
- What new niches in advertising communication are emerging as a result of technological developments?
- What opportunities/challenges arise from the increasing role of social media for integrated communication?
- What role do mediators such as agencies, associations, etc. play in shaping corporate communication?
- How can consistent brand management be achieved across different media?
- Does communication in social media lead to new ways of communicating?
D. Culture-specific and intercultural issues
- How can culture-related differences in communicability with target groups be identified and implemented for cross-cultural communication?
- How can cross-media promote the acceptance of a specific corporate culture among employees in different national cultures?
- What opportunities does cross-media offer for changing corporate cultures?
- Specific examples of cross-cultural/culture-contrasting studies on target group approaches.
- What role do various dimensions such as national culture, corporate culture or industry culture play in the communicability of brand profiles?
- Which culture-related aspects influence communication with target groups in the online and/or offline sphere?
- How do cultural specifics come into play in communication in selected media channels?
- Is the relationship between verbal and non-verbal communication industry-specific?
The 13th Interdisciplinary Symposium of the European Cultures in Business Communication (EUKO) research cooperation took place in Eichstätt from 11 to 14 October 2013.
Modern advertising appeals to all of the recipient’s senses: visually through static or moving images, text and typographical design; acoustically through spoken or sung text, music and sounds; haptically through surface textures, e.g. on packaging, stationery and advertisements; olfactorily through scents and smells; and gustatorily through samples. In the field of multisensory marketing, there has recently been increased consideration of how these various semiotic resources can be merged into holistic worlds of experience. Previous advertising research has focused on the relationships between text and image; the 13th EUKO conference aims to also examine the other modalities and semiotic resources.
The 12th Interdisciplinary Symposium of the European Cultures in Business Communication (EUKO) research collaboration took place from 4 to 6 October 2012 in Salzburg (Austria).
The environment and market position of companies are characterised by ongoing change and increasing risks. These changes are, among other things, the result of advancing internationalisation and the corresponding increase in the interdependence of economic activities, deeper market integration and increasing competition, shorter product life cycles and innovation cycles, and changing and contradictory expectations on the part of stakeholders.
Company management is therefore facing new challenges: the only constant in companies seems to be permanent change. Traditional business management concepts are only partially suitable for describing, understanding, explaining and overcoming the resulting pressures to adapt and change, as well as the associated risks. New strategies for dealing with change, uncertainty and risk are therefore required. Openness to innovation and learning processes in communication, organisation and management play a very important role in this context.
The conference therefore aims to bring together theory and empirical evidence, science and practice, academia and business, to exchange views on the communicative aspects of economic and corporate communication under conditions of change, uncertainty and risk, and to provide an overview of the diversity of theories and methods across disciplines.
The 11th Interdisciplinary Symposium of the Research Cooperation took place from 10 to 12 November 2011 at the Aarhus School of Business, Aarhus University, Denmark, and was organised by the Institute for Language and Business Communication.
Sustainability is a buzzword that permeates business, social, environmental, economic, political and other discourses. Unlike other buzzwords, however, the essence of sustainability should ensure that the term will far exceed the average lifespan of buzzwords. Definitions of sustainability vary depending on discipline, approach and research tradition, and sustainability is usually addressed in connection with the economy, the environment, climate change, social compatibility and/or globalisation. At this symposium, we would like to shed light on the communicative aspects of these and other forms of “sustainability”:
How are sustainability and economic and corporate communication linked? Could the connection be seen as strategic communication about corporate sustainability initiatives? Or should the link be seen as communication that is – rhetorically and in terms of content – responsible, ethical and therefore long-lasting? How does communication contribute to creating and maintaining sustainability? And how should business and corporate communication be designed to compensate for existing inequalities in societies and organisations rather than perpetuating them?
The purpose of the conference is to question, explore and determine both the communicative dimensions of sustainability and the sustainability dimensions of economic and corporate communication.
The 10th EUKO conference was hosted by the Turiba School of Business Administration in Riga (Latvia). The Faculty of Public Relations invited all interested parties to participate in the conference from 20 to 22 August 2010.
The overarching theme of EUKO 2010 was: “Local aspects of European business communication”. The conference languages were English and German.
The 9th Symposium on European Cultures in Business Communication was organised by the ZHAW School of Management and Law in Winterthur and took place from 26 to 28 August 2009 at the university’s premises in Winterthur. It focused on new media and how they influence business communication.
The 8th Annual Conference of the international research cooperation ‘European Cultures in Business Communication (EUKO)’ took place from 24 to 27 September 2008 at the Technical University of Darmstadt.
In times of product levelling, large mergers and globalisation, brands – both product brands and corporate brands – are becoming increasingly important for business communication: brands are no longer just the subject of advertising messages, they increasingly serve as social orientation, they accompany us in everyday life, they ‘live’ – and that also means that brands communicate and brands bear responsibility.
Advertising and public relations are the areas of corporate communication in which communication primarily takes place with and about brands. Both communication domains are researched by economics, sociology and psychology as well as by linguistics, communication and media studies. However, the inter- or transdisciplinarity that has been much touted for years often remains an empty buzzword: What is missing is mutual recognition or even a constructive exchange between the disciplines with regard to terminology, theoretical approaches and research methods as well as practical implementation options. From a linguistic and communication science perspective in particular, there is still a lack of a sound methodology for researching advertising and PR communication, which can only be developed meaningfully in dialogue with practitioners and other sciences.
The aim of the conference was to bring together theory and empiricism, science and practice, academia and business in order to exchange views on current issues and problems of concrete brand communication in the context of advertising and public relations and to provide an overview of the diversity of theories and methods across disciplines.
Keynote speaker for the topic of ‘Brands and Advertising’:
- Prof. Dr. Günter Schweiger from the Vienna University of Economics and Business, Chair of Advertising Science and Market Research, President of the Austrian Advertising Science Association.
- Brand expert Bernd M. Michael, BMM Büro für Markenarchitektur Düsseldorf, until 2006 partner and chairman of the agency Grey Global Group Europe, Middle East & Africa, until 2003 president of the European Association of Communication Agencies EACA.
For the topic of ‘Brands and Public Relations’:
- Prof. Dr. Peter Szyszka from the Zurich University of Applied Sciences in Winterthur, Professor of Business Communication at the Institute for Applied Media Studies.
- Claudio Montanini, founder and managing partner of the agency PSM&W Kommunikation Frankfurt and marketing director of the Marketing Club Frankfurt. Mr Montanini will invite representatives from various well-known companies to a panel discussion on the topic of brands and corporate social responsibility.
The 7th international and interdisciplinary symposium “European Cultures in Business Communication” (EUKO) took place from 14 to 16 November 2007 at the Salzburg University of Applied Sciences.
The idea behind this theme was as follows: for many years, separate areas of research (e.g. customer communication, employee communication, etc.) have been established for various stakeholders, in each of which communication is a topic or sub-area. The aim of the conference in Salzburg was to bring together representatives from these different areas – we are convinced that, in addition to their interest in new developments in their own field of research, participants can gain new inspiration for their own approaches and work from the other areas and the communication approaches developed there, and learn a great deal for themselves.
The symposium was an attempt to deliberately bring together researchers and practitioners from different disciplines under a common range of topics, and therefore deliberately assumes a broad definition of stakeholders, including stakeholders such as customers, employees and network partners. Contributions could be made in either German or English.
The 6th interdisciplinary symposium European Cultures in Business and Corporate Communication (EUKO) took place from 15 to 17 November 2006 at Åbo Akademi University (Finland).
The sixth interdisciplinary symposium of the European research cooperation took place in 2006 in the southern Finnish city of Turku/Åbo under the umbrella theme “Diversity As Intercultural Challenge”. The symposium was an attempt to bring together researchers and practitioners from different disciplines under a common theme. Contributions could be made in either German or English.
The 5th interdisciplinary symposium European Cultures in Business and Corporate Communication (EUKO) took place on 18-19 October 2005 at the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts (Switzerland).
Business communication faces a variety of challenges in science and practice that require new approaches and innovative methods. To discuss these and future challenges as well as current research findings with you, we invite you to participate in the fifth interdisciplinary symposium of the research cooperation “European Cultures in Business Communication” in Lucerne. This year, as in previous years, an interdisciplinary dialogue will provide a forum for exchanging and deepening insights from individual disciplines with a focus on a specific topic in the field of business communication and examining their applicability.
The 4th interdisciplinary symposium European Cultures in Business and Corporate Communication (EUKO) took place from 14 to 16 October 2004 at Radboud University Nijmegen (Netherlands).
The 3rd interdisciplinary symposium European Cultures in Business and Corporate Communication (EUKO) took place from 6 to 8 November 2003 at the University of Regensburg (Germany).
The 2nd interdisciplinary symposium European Cultures in Business and Corporate Communication (EUKO) took place on 23-24 August 2002 at the Aarhus School of Business (Denmark).
Following the founding meeting of the cooperation in Åbo, Finland, the second symposium took place in 2002 in a somewhat smaller circle in Aarhus. At that time, of course, no fixed “sections” had yet been formed, but nevertheless, focal points emerged whose contours were later consolidated: business communication in media and public relations, for example, advertising, corporate identity, and foreign language requirements. Claudia Böttger, for example, used the shareholder letter as an example to illustrate developments in financial communication, and in the “Advertising” section, Dagmar Neuendorff illustrated the acceleration of the narrative pace in Finnish television commercials. In addition to these contributions, which took account of the overall theme through their diachronic approach ( ), the symposium also found room for synchronic presentations, such as the study of internal e-mails by Rogier Crijns, Nina Dörner and Philip Lang. Marianne Grove Ditlevsen presented a very promising project dedicated to the close interconnection between communication and economics (and economic efficiency), critically discussing the hitherto largely neglected question of the connection between language quality and economic success. Overall, the symposium gave participants the opportunity to continue ideas from the previous symposium, take up new questions and thus build on the foundations laid in 2001.
The first interdisciplinary symposium of the cooperation took place in 2001 in the Finnish city of Åbo/Turku at Åbo Akademi University.
Participants came from various European countries such as Germany, the Netherlands, Denmark, Finland, France and Slovakia. The symposium covered the areas of intercultural communication, intercultural psychology, cultural theory, corporate culture and internal corporate communication, external corporate communication in both the business-to-business sector and various marketing areas, such as advertising and public relations within the context of European cultures. In addition, linguistic and text-theoretical aspects of business communication in general and specialist language theory in particular were also discussed.