Country Profile and Media Channels

After significant research into where the largest population of Inuits actually reside, we found that Greenland, the largest island in the world just off the coast of Canada (governed by Denmark until 2009) was the country to focus on.

The island has arctic and sub arctic climates where the temperature never exceeds 10°C even in the warmest months. This is great for our moisturiser product, as cold weather all year round ensures that there will always be a need for a heavy duty, all natural moisturiser to protect the Inuit family's skin from harsh conditions.

The languages spoken in the country are mainly Greenlandic (a form of the Inuit language, Inuktitut) and Danish. Greenlandic is the most commonly spoken language and is taught in schools.

Th island has a population of approximately 56,700, of which Inuits account for 88% and the other 12% is made up of Danish and other nationalities. 60% of the population live in West Greenland's six largest towns, the other percentage live in either one of the over 120 settlements, trading posts or sheep stations.

Media


Despite the huge distances and extreme, vast landscape of the island, communications are well developed in Greenland.

98% of households own a radio, 97% own a television and there are 11,700 internet connections.

The internet service provider is the same as the sole telephone service, and it's owned by Tele Greenland.

Kalaallit Nunaata Radioa (KNR) Greenland Broadcasting has responsibility for both television and radio channels in the country. It boasts a respectable number of television programmes as well as five AM and 12 FM radio stations. Cabling undersea also connects Greenland to foreign TV programmes.

Internet


Similar to other Inuit communities across Canada, Russia and the USA, Inuits in Greenland have become reliant on the internet as a form of communication between communities. Due to them often living in very remote locations where mobile signals often fail due to the high altitudes and TV is unobtainable, the internet is the most reliable technology available.

Services such as email and Skype are becoming more and more essential to everyday living, while young Inuits are wising up on pop culture and celebrity news. The internet has become essential to them for entertainment purposes as well. However, studies have shown that recently elders in the Inuits communities are using the internet to bridge gaps between the loss of old traditions and the younger members of the community. Through the internet the elders are teaching the youth about the "old ways" and by doing so are keeping their way of life alive and reigniting the youths passions for their people.

Young Inuits, who learn to use computers and the internet at school or college are teaching their elders how to use the technology and connect to the internet. Some older members of the community are too frail, old or immobile to leave home, so the internet serves not only as communication but as a form of entertainment for them also.

The majority of the Greenlandic Inuits are internet literate, so this would be a great platform through which to launch our product's campaign. The internet is a cheap way to create a campaign, though as we intend to create our own website for the campaign, this will obviously cost to design and set up. The website will be really important as it will form the basis from which we will create a brand identity and a place where customers can experience the brand beyond the product.

Since broadcasting is another popular media channel in Greenland, we propose to use radio advertisement as a secondary channel for our campaign, but this will run alongside the website campaign. This is explained in more detail on Hannah's blog.

Obviously, when creating the website and the sound bites for radio we will use a Greenlandic interpreter and translator to help communicate our messages in the local language.

The main area we are hoping to target initially is an area called Qaanaaq, which is in the north west of the island and is home to the greatest number of remote Inuit settlements. This would be the best area to conduct our campaign from for the trial period. Also, being very close knit communities, the Inuits like to discuss things and relay information to one another. Word of mouth is something we need to having working in our favour, Therefore, the more Inuit settlements that we can target in one go initially the better the chances are of our campaign being a success.