> BOOK REVIEW STRAP


head head


Martin Kornberger’s latest book is a comprehensive and thought-provoking exploration of the history and power of brands, writes Irene Dehaene


THE BRAND BUSINESS


head B


Brand SocietybyMartinKornberger Publisher:CambridgeUniversityPress ISBN:978-0521726900


60 Marketing Age Volume 4 Issue 3 2010


rands are all around us, pervasive and influencing us in ways we’d rather not admit on occasion. In this book, Brand Society,Martin Kornberger traces the development of brands from legitimised advertising through to an art form, which Warhol turned it into. He looks at brands as both marketing and management tools as well as from the sociological per-


spective. In a world where long dominant social signifiers such as religion, family,


class and nationality have become less important, brands ‘re-enchant’ the world. They ignore the traditional lines of segregation and enable individu- als to construct their own identity on the basis of their consumption pat- terns. Brands, Kornberger suggests, have become a resource for identity formation and a means to actualise your inner self (drawing on Maslow’s hierarchy of needs). Kornberger argues that brands have moved us on from measuring soci-


ety by our standard of living. Now society can bemeasured by our lifestyle, or how we shape our lives through the consumption of brands. He builds on research to showthatwe don’t choose brands in isolation but rather that our consumer personality – or our lifestyle – is the sum total of what we consume and therefore illustrates the importance of how brands influence one another.“Brands position themselves as pieces of themosaic that con- stitutes a lifestyle,” he writes. Brands have power; they seduce, convince and stimulate and therefore


influence our actions. Interestingly, Kornberger points out that increased abundance in the western world does not constitute freedom, but choice between limited alternatives. He moves on to examine how brands have become a new way of think-


ing about andmanaging organisational identity. The brand has become the hook on which to hang the company’s values and messaging. In today’s society, organisations walk a fine line between imitation and innovation.


“While every organisation strives for a unique identity, it has to remain sim- ilar to its competitors in order to be seen as a viable alternative,” suggests Kornberger, adding that the brand provides the space for this movement. Finally, Kornberger tackles the most interesting and most recent phe-


nomenon in relation to brands.With the advent of communication technol- ogy, brands are no longer ‘owned’ by their organisations, but by the com- munities or tribes that identify with them. Social media technology means that the brand nowextendsway beyond the boundaries of the organisation. Consumers and users have become actively engaged inwhat brands stand for. Brands therefore give rise to virtual communities around the globe – think of what it means to be an Apple user.Marketers need to consider the implications of not being able to fully control their brands anymore and how they embrace their brand communities. Ultimately, Kornberger shows how brands have the power to transform


both organisations and the lifestyles of individuals. Brands are a new way of organising production and managing consumption. Kornberger’s BrandSocietyis both academic and pragmatic. It is well


founded in academic research, but also draws on real life case studies that are modern and up to date. It is a thought-provoking book that draws on examples from Edinburgh city’s brand through to Google. It does not pre- tend to have all the answers but rather stimulates us with some very per- tinent questions.


Irene Dehaene is director at Incite Marketing.


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64  |  Page 65  |  Page 66  |  Page 67  |  Page 68