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(2) any peoples lives in so many different ways. Our brand portfolio has
made us leaders in every field in []
Salvi, Rita (Editor); Tanaka, Hiromasa (Editor). Linguistic Insights, Volume
146 : Intercultural Interactions in Business and Management.
Bern, CHE: Peter Lang AG, 2011. p 77.
http://site.ebrary.com/lib/bue/Doc?id=10600096&ppg=79
Copyright 2011. Peter Lang AG. All rights reserved.
brands. Its a privilege we do not take lightly. Brands trusted across the globe
with 400 brands spanning [] contains information on some of our bestloved brands, the company structure and corporate social [] impact. Weve
always believed in the power of our brands to improve the quality of
peoples lives and [] Another theme that can be detected is the importance
the company places on social relationships with its stakeholders through the
presence of people in all lists. The following are examples of its use: (3) (4)
(5) life may be more enjoyable and rewarding for the people who use our
products, (in the B, C, ME, UK, US versions) (6) household chores,
improving nutrition, enabling people to enjoy food and take care of their
homes, their [ ] (B, C, UK, US) Our Vision is to help people feel good,
look good and get more out of life with brands and services that are good for
them and good for others. (ME) Unilever products touch the lives of over 2
billion people every day whether thats through feeling great... (B, C, N,
UK, US) The company does not view its customers simply as partners in a
cash nexus, but as individuals with personal needs and wants and the
companys task is to improve their quality of life. The verb touch in (6) is
particularly significant, as it suggests a soft and respectful, rather than an
aggressive, hard-selling approach on the part of the company towards its
customers. A frequent collocate of people is, in fact, help(ing) , once again
reflecting Unilevers caring and thoughtful approach to business. (7) (8)
At Unilever we aim to help people in their daily lives. (B, N, UK) And
throughout weve created products that help people get more out of life
cutting the time spent on household chores, improving nutrition, enabling
people to enjoy food and take care of their homes, their clothes and
themselves. (B, C, UK, US)
Salvi, Rita (Editor); Tanaka, Hiromasa (Editor). Linguistic Insights, Volume
146 : Intercultural Interactions in Business and Management.
Bern, CHE: Peter Lang AG, 2011. p 78.
http://site.ebrary.com/lib/bue/Doc?id=10600096&ppg=80
other end of the cash nexus, but as people with real needs who want to draw
pleasure from the use of their brands. Another interesting frequency profile
emerged for the Alive domain which ranked among the first six in all the
subcorpora. It lists life , lives , alive and live , which appear in expressions
like the following: (12) (13) (14) We help people feel good, look good and
get more out of life with brands and services that are good for them and
good for others. (B, C, N, UK, US) (15) We share the same commitment as
the entire Unilever organisation to add Vitality to life , with brands and
products that help people to look good, [] (UK) (16) [] of our brands to
improve the quality of peoples lives and in doing the right thing. (B, C, N,
UK, US) [] others view it more broadly as a healthy state of body and
mind of feeling alive . (ME) [] are the homes where our consumers and
employees live and thrive. (UK) The company places life/lives as a core
theme, to be understood in terms of health, quality of life, well-being and
happiness. As early as 1998 Esrock and Leichty (cited in Maynard / Tian
2004: 286) showed that most corporate websites expressed concerns about
questions of social responsibility. But Unilever seems to have gone one step
further, as the pages about the companys history in the Bangladesh and UK
versions say:
Salvi, Rita (Editor); Tanaka, Hiromasa (Editor). Linguistic Insights, Volume
146 : Intercultural Interactions in Business and Management.
Bern, CHE: Peter Lang AG, 2011. p 80.
http://site.ebrary.com/lib/bue/Doc?id=10600096&ppg=82
Copyright 2011. Peter Lang AG. All rights reserved.
(17) With consumers becoming more socially, environmentally and civically
motivated, we are increasingly embedding sustainable thinking into our dayto-day activities. (B, UK) Sustainable thinking is not only embedded in the
companys activities, but is also deeply embedded in its corporate discourse.
Sustainability and broader issues of Corporate Social Responsibility are not
just themes to be discussed. They are integrated into the discourse in such a
way that customer satisfaction becomes a very broad concept which includes
the impact that the companys products will have on the lives of people, their
quality of life, physical health and ultimately their happiness. This is
captured in the following expression using alliteration to make it playful and
catchy: (18) From sumptuous soups and sensuous soaps that make you feel
fabulous, our products all have one thing in common. They help you get
more out of life. (C, ME, UK, US) The companys mission statement about
how brands add Vitality to life is grafted onto the question of the
logo is also present in some of the subsection titles, the heading of each
webpage is highlighted in orange. The background is white, giving a light
and airy appearance to the website. This could suggest a predominantly
feminine audience 3 or a preference on the part of the multinational to
remain neutral towards colour which is culturally loaded. All in all, the
multimodal potential of the website is only minimally exploited. Animation
is limited to the logo (in some versions only) where each icon lights up in
turn and is enlarged as the explanation of its significance appears. Two
options of photographs are offered on the opening page of the section by
clicking on arrows to the left or right of the visible photo. Nevertheless,
there is a surprisingly limited number of images in the website; in fact, some
pages do not 3 Koller (2007:120) points out the social significance of colour,
whereby a dark colour range is typical of the packaging of products aimed at
male target groups.
Salvi, Rita (Editor); Tanaka, Hiromasa (Editor). Linguistic Insights, Volume
146 : Intercultural Interactions in Business and Management.
Bern, CHE: Peter Lang AG, 2011. p 86.
http://site.ebrary.com/lib/bue/Doc?id=10600096&ppg=88
Copyright 2011. Peter Lang AG. All rights reserved.
have any at all. Almost all of the images are close-ups of ordinary people,
children or adults, alone or in groups. As in the opening page, they are
usually smiling and enjoying themselves, reflecting the declared interest of
the company in people and its aim to satisfy their needs, whether they be
consumers, employees or members of communities. Although some pictures
represent the ethnic groups living in the specific locations, some pages have
the same standardized images appearing regardless of the geographical
site. Furthermore, the people in these images appear in abstract settings that
cannot be easily identified. The absence of setting makes them more
idealized (Machin/Thornborrow 2003:459), thus focusing attention on the
state of general well-being and happiness conveyed through the universal
meaning of their smiles. As a result of this limited use of semiotic modes,
the website relies heavily on the written text rather than images, as the
linguistic analysis has shown. 4. Discussion The presence of 92 versions of a
corporate website would seem to suggest an interest in diversifying and
tailoring the image and message to local contexts. However, both the
linguistic and visual analyses have shown a tendency to project a single
identity of the corporation throughout the globe. One way in which a
monolithic corporate image can perhaps be successfully and effectively
projected to all corners of the world is through the use of abstract concepts
which can seem convincing, but remain vague. A message expressed through
catchphrases in the website, Adding vitality to life , Creating a better future
every day, can be universal and fit all contexts, as it will be differentially
received and interpreted at a local level (Robertson 1995: 38). The word
Vitality can mean many things (energy, power to live, vital force,
enthusiastic vivacity) and consequently each visitor to the website can give
his own readSalvi, Rita (Editor); Tanaka, Hiromasa (Editor). Linguistic Insights, Volume
146 : Intercultural Interactions in Business and Management.
Bern, CHE: Peter Lang AG, 2011. p 87.
http://site.ebrary.com/lib/bue/Doc?id=10600096&ppg=89
Copyright 2011. Peter Lang AG. All rights reserved.
ing of it. We also have different expectations, hopes and ambitions,
depending on our station in life, but we can all agree with the objective of
the catchphrase Creating a better future , though what it actually means will
depend on an individuals personal situation and attitude. Where differences
do emerge, the question arises as to why local aspects are introduced. For
example, the Code of business principles is mentioned in the Purpose and
principles subsection in all versions, but only in the Nigerian one is the Code
of Business principles presented in full (though there is a link to the Code in
the Caribbean version). Many of the paragraphs begin with the expression
Unilever is committed to [...], Unilever strives [...], Unilever believes [...],
Unilever companies are encouraged to [...], All Unilever employees are
expected to [...], expressing a certain urgency on the part of the company to
convey its total commitment to ethical practices. Information about Unilever
Nigeria Plc also specifies how much Nigerians possess of its equity
holdings. The Nigerian website is, in fact, the most localised of the six, with
phrases referring directly to Nigeria even when in other versions they are
given as global: (24) (25) Every day, across the country, people reach for
Unilever products. (N) Every day, around the world, people reach for
Unilever products. (B, UK) To understand exactly why the Nigerian version
has such significant differences in its focus, both in terms of content and
self-reference, would require a deeper investigation into the situation of
Unilever in Nigeria and perhaps also the particular political and cultural
context and this is clearly beyond the scope of this chapter. But it may in
part be explained by the fact that what is referred to as local is often already
included in the global (Robertson 1995: 35). Certain aspects or topics may
simply be given greater emphasis and weight in one version, but