BRANDS AND SYMBOLS DISCUSSION 4

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BRANDS ANDSYMBOLSDISCUSSION 4
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Brands and Symbols

• Symbols for Sale Levy (1959)
• Revolutionary article for its time.
• Levys basic premise
• Economic man is not always rationale, nor
  economic.
• sellers of goods are engaged, whether willfully
  or not, in selling symbols, as well as practical
  merchandise (Levy 1959 p. 117)
• Today more than ever, symbolism matters.

Brands and Symbols Discussion Slide 1
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Brands and Symbols

• CLASS EXERCISE
• Partner up with another student and interview
  each other about a recent product purchase at the
  grocery store.
• During the interview find out about
• Purchase details (what, where, when, etc.)
• Motivations underlying the product purchase
• Once you have a list of motivations, determine
  those which are functional and those which are
  symbolic.
• Get with a group of students and develop a
  typology of symbolic and functional aspects of
  product purchase.

Brands and Symbols Discussion Slide 2
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Brands and Symbols

• What is a symbol?
• -where an object, action or word, picture or
  complex behavior is understood to mean not only
  itself but also some other ideas or feelings
  (Levy 59, p. 119)
• Symbols serve various functions in marketing.
• Brands can use various symbols to represent a
  product
• Symbols (e.g., American flag) can be used in ads
• Objects (e.g., brands) can possess symbolic
  meaning

Brands and Symbols Discussion Slide 3
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Brands and Symbols

• Semiotics - science of meaning (Arnould et al.)
• Semiosis process of communication by any type
  of sign
• Sign anything that stands for something else
• Brands can serve in such a role
• Symbolic meaning of brands can indicate
• Status and wealth Mercedes or Rolex
• Country of origin Singha beer
• Regional symbols Northwest microbrews
• Group or cultural identity sportsgangs
  communities

Brands and Symbols Discussion Slide 4
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Brands and Symbols

• Some important observations from Levy (59)
• People buy things not only for what they can do,
  but also for what they mean (p. 118)
• Conspicuous consumption acquisition and
  visible display of luxury goods and services to
  demonstrate ones ability to afford them
  (Arnould et al., really Veblen 1899)
• Each person aims to enhance his sense of self,
  and behaves in ways that are consistent with his
  image of the person he is or wants to be (p.119)
• Usually it is hard to evade thinking of
  inanimate things as male or female (p. 120)

Brands and Symbols Discussion Slide 5
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Brands and Symbols

• More observations from Levy (59)
• so are they sensitive to symbols of age
• Most goods say something about the social world
  of the people who consume them (p. 122)
• Symbolic meaning may not be constant
• symbolism can become confined to a social class
  subgroup (p. 122)
• consumers may discover meanings additional to or
  even contrary to the intended meaning (p. 122)
• there are underlying trends that affect and are
  affected by the spirit of the times (p. 124)

Brands and Symbols Discussion Slide 6