other approaches. The following quote illustrates well how data derived from
phenomenological interviews are interpreted in the cultural approach:
Our aim was to identify the most recurrent and robust patterns of underlying
cultural meanings that engendered these identified commonalities. This
hermeneutic mode of interpretation is premised on the idea that a given
consumer is not expressing a strictly subjective viewpoint. Instead, he or she
is articulating a culturally shared system of meanings and beliefs, person-
alized to fit his or her specific life goals and circumstances.
(Thompson et al. 2006, p. 55)This is a typical example of how the researchers of the cultural approach use
methodologies from different scientific traditions for data collection (in this
case the phenomenological/existentialist tradition behind the relational
approach) and ‘elevate’ their findings to a cultural level through a macro-level
analysis. This will be explained in more detail in the methods and data section of
this chapter.
The cultural brand perspective focuses on branding and culture, and it is
characterized by having many layers and opposing views compared to the other
six brand approaches in this book. Not only managerial, but also ethical,
political and philosophical discussions rage in the cultural approach alongside
research into what extent consumers can or cannot liberate themselves from
consumer culture.
Summary
This ‘cluster’ of brand literature introduces the cultural brand perspective where
the brand acts as a cultural artefact, broadening the focus of analysis from an indi-
vidual consumer level to a macro level about the role brands play in consumer
culture. The approach focuses on what brands do to culture and what culture can
do to brands. Core to the cultural approach are brand icons and the countercultural
anti-branding movements. Iconic brands are the ones that have managed to inte-
grate themselves in culture more skilfully than others. At the same time, brand
icons are also subjected to the greatest concerns (regarding cultural imperialism,
cultural standardization and globalization). Core to the cultural approach is the
idea of the marketer deliberately endowing the brand with cultural meaning and
through that playing an active role in consumer culture. The brand is seen as a
storied product putting shared myths relating to cultural identity projects up for
consumption. The cultural approach reveals the mechanisms behind brands
becoming icons. At the same time, the approach also relates to a consumer culture
increasingly concerned with the branded products, pressuring for changes in the
way brands behave. The consumer of this approach is a homo mercans, a market
man woven into the intricate meaning found in cultural consumer objects. How
these assumptions rub off on to theories, methods and managerial implications
will be depicted in the following sections.
212 Seven brand approaches