conquering consumer space marketing strategies for a branded world

[...]... my consumerspace CHAPTER 1 Now Entering Consumerspace Welcome to a Branded World Welcome to consumerspace, where reality is branded Where we avidly search for the products and services that will define who we are and who we want to be Where we are what we buy—literally This book is about that branded reality In the pages to come, we’ll explore what that means, both for those who buy the dream and for. .. an existing customer than to win a new one Building long-term bonds with consumers became the mantra Branding is back Loyalty is in Don’t panic This book is not about relationship marketing nor about micromarketing, permission marketing, 1:1 marketing, liberation marketing, or naked marketing Those are all terms used by some smart people to describe strategies for talking to a consumer base that has... we happily pay a premium for brands with foreign cachet, whether Chanel or Haagen Dazs (a ¨ made-up name for a product that’s really produced in New Jersey) Japanese brands like Hello Kitty and Pokemon sell out all over the world THE BOTTOM LINE Global brands are the new currency The rise of multinational corporations that distribute recognizable, branded goods around the world is creating a globalized... video game Cool Borders 3, characters ride past Butterfinger candy bar banners and wear Levi’s jeans while attempting to beat opponents’ times that are recorded on Swatch watches A Sony PlayStation game called Psybadek outfits its main characters in Vans shoes and clothing According to a Sony executive, ‘‘We live in a world of brands We don’t live in a world of generics If a kid is bouncing a basketball... year to Turok He is the hero of a video game about a time-traveling American Indian who slays bionically enhanced dinosaurs The company hopes to turn each of the chosen few into an ambassador for the game, since at the least, each warrior wannabe will have to patiently explain the new moniker to friends, loved ones, and curious strangers According to a company spokesman, they will be ‘‘ walking, talking,... would cost the average citizen there his or her entire yearly salary As one analyst observed, ‘‘ as former subjects of the Soviet empire dream it, the American dream has very little to do with liberty and justice for all and a great deal to do with soap operas and the Sears Catalogue.’’14 So, the United States is clearly a major entrant in the race to brand our selves However, our global consumer culture... Conquering Consumerspace Whether in the form of Italian shoes, German autos, or American sneakers, brands are the fundamental building blocks of modern society That’s because these icons are bought for what they mean, not for what they do Let’s see why Products as Symbols Brands carry meaning largely because they place us in social categories Contrary to ‘‘rational’’ economic perspectives on purchase... His walking motion is characterized as a ‘swagger.’ He is made of dough and has mass.’’16 The Pillsbury Dough Boy is one of many commercial characters that have taken on a life of its own The genesis of this creative activity can be traced to 1886, when the Quaker Oats man first appeared on boxes of hot cereal Quakers had a reputation in nineteenth-century America for being shrewd but fair, and peddlers... what marketing experts call a brand community Whether the chatter is about Nikes—or Harleys, Barbies, or Palm Pilots—this scene takes place thousands of times each day In consumerspace, brands are the ties that bind THE BOTTOM LINE Affirmation of group identities is a major motivation to consume Consumers form bonds with others based upon common ownership, and their dedication to a brand may galvanize... In Japan, Starbucks became a household name by teaching young urbanites how to drink coffee in shops featuring comfortable sofas and American hip-hop music rather than taking tea in dimly lit parlors Some Japanese pay the equivalent of one-half million dollars for shrunken versions of U.S homes The more avid fans of American popular culture have been known to stage cookouts around imported brick barbecues .