This post evaluates a big shift in marketing in the 1980s. As Klein (1999) explains, marketing developed from ‘being the manufacturer’ to ‘being the name who cells it’ (p. 26). People became less interested where the products come from and feel more comfortable with the recognition and emotional attachment to a brand. As Klein notes: “The role of advertising changed from delivering product news bulletins to building an image around a particular brand-name version of a product,” (p.27). Regular supermarket brands became more popular because the quality was almost the same and the prices lower than companies with the ‘real’ brands, who needed to show their uniqueness. This led to luxury and originality in the brand marketing and design of products. Brands tell a story showing the history of company. For example; Ben and Jerry’s knew how to be recognizable, among many other ice-cream brands, standing out with a different marketing strategy in the 1980s. Like Waits (2017) tells, Ben and Jerry’s positioned itself as set-off against the strong divisions between liberals and conservatives who were just starting to appear in America. Like this, the brand identified themselves as loving and peaceful having a harmonious story and culture around their products. Moreover, it shows how the beginning of cultural branding reached the society.
Holt (2004) introduces the concepts of ‘cultural branding’ and ‘iconic brand’. According to him, iconic brands have distinctive and preferable associations, which gain people’s interest and emotional attachment. These qualities are the consequence of successful myth making (p. 34). The identity myths respond to customers’ desires and anxieties, providing an escape from the real life to imaginary world. Products help people to become who they want to be. Moreover, brands stay iconic by adapting to the changes in society, and myths are essential providing the identity value by directly addressing society’s changes and tensions (p. 38). Therefore, “an iconic brand is an identity brand that approaches the identity value of a cultural icon,” (p. 11).
Especially, Ben and Jerry’s is a symbol of independence and a better world by making local and environmental ice-cream, but also being part of different social movements. Holt shows four authors who tell the brand stories: Companies, cultural industries, intermediaries and customers (p. 3). The customers play the key role by sharing the story and providing collective understanding of it, which is the base of brand creation. Importantly, people reconstruct their identities in relation to historical changes in the nation: Ben and Jerry’s acted upon global economic and social matters. Holt argues credibility and the functioning of a brand is dominated by psychology and economy. An essential characteristic to an iconic brand, is to act like cultural activists what Ben and Jerry’s is doing by aiming for a global difference through their products (2004). They have the courage to reshape people’s values and be part of the cultural changes involving society’s identity desires (p. 9, 2004). Ben and Jerry’s can be identified as a symbol of universal harmony.
The difference of Ben and Jerry’s to traditional brands: The conventional ones consist of a set of abstract associations, like fitting adjectives ignoring the messiness of society, but cultural branding does the opposite (Holt, p. 37, 2004). It is not only about the slogan and logo but the customers experience the story of product through the brand what sells it experiencing the identity myth (p. 36). A successful story can be distinct from the branded features. Ben and Jerry’s had a radical approach, which provided ethical and humanitarian principles but also cultural liberalism (Lee, 2009). It created kind of a hippie-subculture and, like Holt argues, the significance of a brand as a historical actor in society has been used effectively.
Klein (1999) argues that since the 1990s logos branded the outside-culture. Culture became overly marketed in every platform, which concerns her integrating advertisements and art into culture. It is the cultural expansionism: Cultural branding seeks for iconography the brand can be reflected to (1999). This way culture become like ‘extensions’ for brands, which become the main target being culture themselves (p. 48). Klein shows the illusion of capitalism during the globalization, which raises the exploiting labour, and the big companies can protect their imago’s spending more money on logos. The workers’ conditions diminish the good image. This separates the quality of product and the brand image, trying to present the brand as a lifestyle. The focus is more on the marketing than production, showing how capitalism is about expansion and capacity. As she criticizes the production of global corporations and their brand-central marketing, Ben and Jerry’s have been judged it was sold to a bigger company Unilever. In 2000, the global giant got the homemade and humoristic ice-cream company, which did not satisfy all its fans: It lost its independence and social values by replacing two-man’s company to more professional management. The core of company is still captured, like providing jobs for locals. The ice-cream still taste the same as quality and the values remained, but the charm has faded away with its personal and unique management style (Lee, 2009). After all, Klein wants to understand this strategy to learn its influence and Holt want to do better marketing.
References
Holmes, P. (May 9th, 2017) Ben and Jerry’s warning of global warming. [image]. Retrieved from https://www.holmesreport.com/latest/article/ben-jerry%27s-chris-miller-some-people-won%27t-like-your-brand-activism.
Holt, D. B. (2004). How Brands Become Icons. The Principles of Cultural Branding. Cambridge Mass.: Harvard Business School Press. (Chapters 1 and 2) (SB HF 5415.153/ SW HF 5415.153).
Klein, N. (1999). No Logo: No Space, No Choice, No Jobs: Taking Aim at the Brand Bullies. New York: Picador. (Chapter 1 and 2) (SB HF 5415.152/ SB HF 5415.152, https://www.nytimes.com/books/first/k/klein-logo.html).
Kottary, S. (2013, August 8). Ben & Jerry’s selling a brand of social justice and more ‘natural’ products. [image]. Retrieved from https://www.slideshare.net/connectshivak/ben-n-jerry-gnims.
Lee, J. (2009). Ben & Jerry’s: The Meltdown of a Great Brand. The Cult Branding Company. Retrieved at 20.4.2017, from http://cultbranding.com/ceo/ben-jerrys-the-meltdown-of-a-great-brand/.
Waits, K. (2011). 5 Principles of Creating a Cultural Brand. Open Forum. Retrieved at 20.4.2017, from https://www.americanexpress.com/us/small-business/openforum/articles/5-principles-of-creating-a-cultural-brand/.