Development of advertisement and branding goes for many decades but in 21st century it plays a crucial role in the selling production. According to Naomi Klein, this process actively started in the second half of XX century with new inventions which were needed to spread all over the countries and especially in USA (Klein, 1999, p. 27). In her book No Logo (1999) Klein shows the older example about selling the new types of lamps which were electrical and after some time completely changed the oil lamps. For such big changes there were a need in a good advertising and new ways of creating interest.
D. Holt in his book How Brands become Icons. The Principles of Cultural Branding (2004) tells about few ways which were tried by companies. Holt mentions three important but not very useful and independent ways which are mind-share branding, emotional branding and viral branding.
Mind-share branding is about to be known by consumers and have popularity. This type of branding is about mass-communications, provocative images or advertising and other ways to have people’s attention. Holt uses example of Corona Beer to show that mind-branding could be the way to be known but it is not the way to become a cultural icon. Holt is sure that Corona’s iconic value “resided in the particulars of its distinctive myths, not in the abstractions that mind-share advocates emphasize” (Holt, 2004, p. 20). Mind-share branding is too general and abstract to have the possibility to construct a cultural icon.
Next way is emotional branding. Main point of this type of branding is in emotional connection with consumers. Holt shows the example of Coca-Cola advertising where they followed the tendencies of each decade and found the problems which people were passionate about. Coca-Cola focused their attention on the multicultural and racial division. It worked because of its time and perception but Holt is sure that “emotional attachment is the consequence of a great myth” but not just emotional link (2004, p. 34). His view also could be supported with examples of two contemporary advertising. One is a failed video about protest which was made by Pepsi.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=73P9STckPLw
One one hand, it is almost the same what was done by Coca-Cola. It is about unity and peaceful solutions but there is a lot of critics because of it. Coca-Cola did not have such feedback. Maybe, it was less controversial but maybe Pepsi doesn’t have such myth which made the possibility for such advertising.
Much more popular video is from Nike advertising company in Russia. Nike has long story of telling ideas about strengh and will in their promotion videos, they sell such way of life. The second reason of popularity of this advertisement is also an emotional link to shown seen but without first reason this video also could fail.
Final brand strategy which is also not very useful for Holt is viral branding. Viral branding focuses on the paths of public influence and ways how non company actors influence customers to value the brand. This strategy is about consumers and not firms.
Nevertheless, Holt points that most useful way is cultural branding. Main principle is in constructing a cultural icon. Cultural icon is a person or thing which is seen as symbol of something in culture. This could be made with making an identity myth.
This type of branding had few important features. They are:
- Addressing acute contradictions in society
- Performing identity myths that address people’s desires and anxieties
- Performing as activists and leading culture
- Relying on breakthrough performances, rather than consistent communications
- Enjoying a cultural halo effect (“cultural halo effect: the positive impact of high levels of identity value on conventional brand metrics,such as perceived quality and association with key category benefits” (Holt, 2004, p. 11) )
Cultural icon is the way to become famous and to make emotional bonds at one time. However, this development of brands could be seen as negative effect on culture and society. Klein in her book talks about too much advertisements, logotypes and brands all around us (1999, p. 31). Brands, according to Klein, affects culture and could be more important for people than real manufacturing. These consequences Klein sees as dangerous one. It it not just about less pretty view in the city because of billboards and other kinds of advertising. It is about influence on our minds, choice in buying products and culture in a whole.
