Brand Culture

This fascinating book shows that neither managers nor consumers completely control branding processes – cultural codes constrain how brands work to produce meaning. Placing brands firmly within the context of culture, it investigates these complex foundations. Topics covered include:the role of consumption brand management corporate branding branding ethics the role of advertising.This excellent text includes case studies of iconic international brands such as LEGO, Nokia and Ryanair, and analysis by leading researchers including John M.T. Balmer, Stephen Brown, Mary Jo Hatch, Jean-Noël Kapferer, Majken Schultz, and Richard Elliott. An outstanding collection, it will be a useful resource for all students and scholars interested in brands, consumers and the broader cultural landscape that surrounds them.

"An impressive book that does much to reconcile the glaring disconnect between the revealed cultural lives of brands and dominant views of how branding works. Positioned squarely at the intersection of theory and practice, and informed by a wide array of perspectives and disciplines, the book is invaluable for practitioners and researchers who have struggled with the contextural, mutable, and co-created realities of the brand. This necessary and useful counterpoint truly advances our understanding of the why and how of brands."Susan Fournier, author, brand consultant, and Professor of Marketing at Boston University"For better or for worse, brands have become potent sites of cultural expression and contest... Brand Culture is a pioneering and ambitious collection that helps unveil how brand symbolism works."Douglas Holt, L'Oréal Professor of Marketing, Saïd Business School, University of Oxford"Brand Culture makes a hefty nudge in the direction of a paradigm shift in brand management theory. Accessible and insightful, this collection of analyses and case studies clearly shows why branding must be understood first and foremost as a cultural process."Craig J. Thompson, Churchill Professor of Marketing, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 'An impressive book that does much to reconcile the glaring disconnect between the revealed cultural lives of brands and dominant views of how branding works. Positioned squarely at the intersection of theory and practice, and informed by a wide array of perspectives and disciplines, the book is invaluable for practitioners and researchers who have struggled with the contextual, mutable, and co-created realities of the brand. This necessary and useful counterpoint truly advances our understanding of the why and how of brands.' - Susan Fournier, author, brand consultant, and Boston University,USA

Jonathan E. Schroeder is Professor of Marketing at the University of Exeter, UK, and Visiting Professor in Marketing Semiotics at Bocconi University, Milan. His research focuses on the production and consumption of images.Miriam Salzer-Mörling is Associate Professor at the School of Business, Stockholm University. As a branding consultant she has specialized in the development of the ‘corporate soul’ and communicative strategies for both public and commercial organizations.