JUST DOING IT: An Explorative Study of Collective Brand Relationships within A Postmodern Marketplace

The Agenda

  Summary of findings   New route: The cultural brand perspective:

 Brands as icons  The marketplace as a myth market

  The relationship between Nike and culture:  Reinventing the American Dream  Nike’s role in today’s myth market  The future: Anti-branding

Summary of Findings

Problem statement

“This thesis explores how the collective relationships between NBRO Running and Nike manifest themselves at the communal level, and which symbolic meanings members of NBRO Running ascribe to those relationships within a context of postmodernism”

Summary of Findings

  Relationships as a brand community  Consciousness of kind  Rituals and traditions  Moral responsibility

  Relationships as a consumer tribe  Linking value  Tribal capital

  Brand meaning perspective  Brand loyalty  Give-and-take meanings

The Cultural Brand Perspective

Current: The communal perspective

New: The cultural brand perspective

(Heding et al. 2009: 183-210)

Brand

Consumer Consumer

Culture Branding

Brand meaning

Brand Meaning

Assumptions: Brands as Icons

(Schroeder 2009: 124) (Heding et al. 2009: 210)

Identity value (contribution to self-expression)

Identity brands (‘storied’ brand)

Iconic brands (cultural storytellers)

Cultural icons (Powerful symbols) John Wayne, JFK,

Jordan, Rambo, Elvis, Oprah, Steve Jobs, Jack Welch, Bruce Springsteen, Martha

Apple, Nike, Harley, VW, Coke, Bud

Reebok, Pepsi, Saab, Coors, IBM, Dewars. etc.

Assumptions: Marketplace as Myth Market

Cultural contradictions (experienced as desires and anxieties)

Populist world (authentic living outside the commercial sphere)

Consumer myth e.g. the self-made man myth

(film, music, politics, ads etc.)

National ideology (a system of ideas)

Collective identity projects

Source Material

Holt 2004

Nike: Reinventing American Dream

Early 1970s: Endorsement strategy

“Rebel with a cause”: John McEnroe as rebel

Late 1970s: The post-war (picnic) American dream unravels

The US economy enters recession looking for ways to revive the American Dream

Late 1970s: Nike antidote: Combative solo willpower ideology

“There is no finish line”: Celebrating the individual athletic determination

Nike: Reinventing the American Dream

1980s: The ideological opportunity expands

Corporate America as a strong force looking for ways to realize the American dream

Late 1980s: The “Just do it” myth – challenging Americans to up their game

“Revolution” –photos of “pure” athletes succeeding in sports

Early 1990: The African-American ghetto as populist world

“Spike and Mike” - fighting your way out of the “hood” – metaphor of work

Nike in Today’s Myth Market

2013: “Just do it” myth - offering a rebellious pathway to a healthy lifestyle

Populist world: the rebellious and authentic hero from NBRO Running

Health fixation ideology

The Future: Anti-brandning movement

“Just do it” myth >< doppelgänger brand image

(Adbusters 2015) (Thompson et al. 2006)

Conclusive Remarks

  The cultural brand perspective:  brands as brand icons  Marketplace as a myth market

  The relationship between Nike and Culture:  Nike: Reinventing the American Dream  Nike in today’s myth market  The future: anti-brandning movement

JUST DOING IT: An Explorative Study of Collective Brand Relationships within A Postmodern Marketplace

References

  Heding, T., Knudtzen, C., F., Bjerre, M. (2009). Brand Management: Research, Theory and Practise. Routledge: London.

  Holt, D., B. (2004). How Brands Become Icons: The Principles of Cultural Branding. Harvard Business School Publishing Corporation: Harvard

  Holt, D. B., Cameron, D. Cultural Strategy: Using Innovative Ideologies to Build Breakthrough Brands. Oxford University Press: New York

  Michael Jordan, John McEnroe Nike TV Commercial "Revolution”. (2006, September 26). Retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iMXhtFik-vI

  NIKE ADS WITH JOHN MCENROE – PART 1. (2010, October 2). Tennis-buzz. Retrieved from: http://tennis-buzz.com/nike-ads-with-john-mcenroe-part-1/

  NIKE PORTLAND WAS HERE! (2013, December 16). NBRO Running. Retrieved from: http://www.nbrorunning.com/blog/

  Schroeder, J., E. (2009). The Cultural Codes of Branding. Marketing Theory (9), 123: 123-126   Taube, A. (2013, September 1). 5 Nike Ads That Shaped The Brand's History. Business Insider.

Retrieved from: http://www.businessinsider.com/25-nike-ads-that-shaped-the-brands-history-2013-8?op=1&IR=T

  There Is No Finish Line. (2012, March 29). Gap International Blog. Retrieved from: http://www.gapinternational.com/blog/there-is-no-finish-line/

  Thompson, C., J., Rindfleisch, Arsel, Z. Emotional Branding and the Strategic Value of the Doppelgänger Brand Image. Journal of Marketing, (70): 50-64

  Unswooshing. (2015, April 21). Adbusters. Retrieved from: https://www.adbusters.org/spoofads/unswooshing.