The Pirate Archives, William Ready Division of Archives and research collections, McMaster University

2022 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher Long ◽  
Bridget Whittle

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to discuss the history and contents of an archival resource that is of interest to scholars of historical marketing. The Pirate Group Inc. archive, held by McMaster University Library’s William Ready Division of Archives and Research Collections consists of over 27,000 sound recordings and 84 metres of textual records, documenting the work of Pirate, an award-winning Toronto-based advertising company founded in 1990. The comprehensiveness of the archives, which includes tens of thousands of advertising “spots”, gives researchers unprecedented access to the creative forces behind some of the most memorable advertisements produced in Canada. Design/methodology/approach This paper aims to answer the following questions: what is the Pirate Group Inc. and what is their documentary legacy? How can scholars of marketing history benefit from the records contained within the Pirate Group Inc. archive? How can researchers access the material at McMaster University Library’s William Ready Division of Archives and Research Collections? Findings The authors assert that the Pirate Group Inc. archive may be of particular interest to scholars engaged in research on the following topics: Canadian nationalism in marketing campaigns, the advertising history of companies whose histories are under-studied due to a lack of archival resources and the recent history of radio and television political ad campaigns. Originality/value The paper contributes to historical research in marketing by asserting that the Pirate Group Inc. archive has continuing value for further research. The Pirate archive, which allows for unprecedented access into the study of Canadian advertising due to its comprehensiveness and its uniqueness among archival collections from the contemporary era, makes it a strong primary source for marketing historians.

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 239-262
Author(s):  
Mark Tadajewski ◽  
D.G. Brian Jones

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to provide an historical analysis of an important early contribution to the history of marketing thought literature – the six-book series titled The Knack of Selling – which was published in 1913 and intended as an early training course for salesmanship. Design/methodology/approach This research utilized a close, systematic reading of The Knack of Selling series and places it in the professional and intellectual context of the early twentieth century. Books published about marketing are primary source materials for any study of the history of marketing thought. In this case, The Knack series constitutes significant primary source material for a study of early thinking about personal selling. Findings Echoing A.W. Shaw, Watson offers a more sophisticated interpretation of the “one best way” approach associated with Frederick Taylor. Watson’s advice did not entail the repetition of canned sales talks to each customer. His vision of practice was more complicated. Sales presentations were temporally and locationally relative. They were subject to ongoing evolution. As the marketplace changed, as customer needs and interests shifted, so did organizational and salesperson performances. To keep sales talks relevant to the consumer, personnel were encouraged to undertake rudimentary ethnographic research and interviews. Unusually, there is oscillation in the way power relations between marketer and customer were described. While relational themes are present, so are military metaphors. Originality/value This is the first systematic reading of The Knack of Selling that has been produced. It is an important contribution to the literature inasmuch as this book set is not in wide circulation. The material itself was significant as an input into scholarship subsequently hailed as seminal within sales management.


2017 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 66-91 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard A. Hawkins

Purpose This paper explores the development of a luxury retail shoe brand in Belle Époque Vienna. Design/methodology/approach Footwear retailing and marketing history is a neglected area. Unfortunately, no business records have survived from Robert Schlesinger’s shoe stores. However, it has been possible to reconstruct the history of the development of the Paprika Schlesinger brand from its extensive advertising in the Viennese newspaper, the Neue Freie Presse, with the guidance of the founder’s grandson, Prof Robert A. Shaw, Emeritus Professor of Chemistry, Birkbeck, University of London, England. This case study would not have been possible without the digitization of some major collections of primary sources. In 2014, the European Union’s Europeana digitization initiative launched a new portal via the Library of Europe website which provides access to selected digitized historic newspaper collections in libraries across Europe. The project partners include the Austrian National Library which has digitized full runs of several major historic Austrian newspapers, including the Neue Freie Presse. Other project partners which have digitized historic newspapers which are relevant to this paper are the Landesbibliothek Dr Friedrich Teßmann of Italy’s Südtirol region, the National Library of France and the Berlin State Library. An associate project partner library, the Slovenian National and University Library’s Digital Library of Slovenia, has also digitized relevant historic newspapers. Furthermore, the City of Vienna has digitized a complete set of Vienna city directories as part of its Wienbibliothek Digital project. Findings This paper suggests that Robert Schlesinger created one of the first European luxury retail shoe brands. Originality/value This is the first academic study of the historical development of the advertising and marketing of a European luxury retail shoe brand.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jayne Krisjanous ◽  
Christine Hallett

Purpose The aim of this paper is to demonstrate how a historical event packaged as an iconic heritage cultural brand can be marketized and modified over time to ensure brand longevity and continued emotional commitment and loyalty through the leverage of stories and associations more closely aligned with modern-day audiences. The authors do this through examining the marketization of the New Zealand World War 1 (WWI) nurse to today’s audiences. The periods of study are WWI (1914–1918) and then the modern day. The New Zealand Army Nursing Service (NZANS) during WWI has previously had little attention as a key actor in the Australia and New Zealand Army Corp (ANZAC), Today ANZAC is held as pivotal in the birth of New Zealand’s perception of nationhood and as an iconic heritage cultural brand. The history and legend of the ANZAC plays an important role in New Zealand culture and is fundamental to the “Anzac Spirit”, a signifier of what it means to be a New Zealander. Design/methodology/approach A historical case study method is used. The primary source of data is 1914–1918, and includes contemporaneous articles, and personal writings: diaries, letters and published memoirs. More contemporary works form the basis for discussion of marketization as it relates to the NZANS. The article first presents conceptual framing, then the development of the Anzac brand and the history of the NZANS and its role in WWI before turning to discussion on the marketization of this nursing service to today’s audiences and as part of the ANZAC/Anzac brand. Findings Today the story of the WWI NZANS nurse, previously seldom heard, has been co-opted and is becoming increasingly merged as an integral part of the Anzac story. The history of the NZANS during WWI has a great deal of agency today as part of that story, serving many functions within it and providing a valuable lever for marketization. Originality/value To date, there is a scarcity of marketing analysis that examines the marketization of history. By focusing on New Zealand WWI nursing as a contributor to the Anzac story, the authors contribute to the understanding of how marketers package and contemporize history for appeal to audiences through both sustaining and reworking cultural branding.


2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 224-241
Author(s):  
Harini Alladi

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to outline the marketing history of the Godrej Storwel steel cupboard before India’s economic liberalisation in 1991 to find possible reasons for the brand’s iconic status and strong presence in the Indian public memory. Design/methodology/approach The paper uses archival material, secondary sources and the idea of cultural branding to analyse the marketing strategies used at various points in the history of Godrej Storwel. Findings Godrej Storwel found cultural context in the two decades following India’s independence (1947) as a product that addressed the social and economic anxieties of the country, as well as embodied its aspirations at the time. In the following decades up to 1991, the product did not find similar cultural resonance with its consumers. Research limitations/implications The unavailability of sales records of the Godrej steel cupboards meant that certain conclusions could not be made concrete. Social implications Because Godrej Storwel has had such a long lifespan, it serves as a useful medium through which changing trends in marketing in India can be viewed. The paper is a good point of reference for those researching the steel industry, storage product histories and marketing in India and could encourage corporates to archive their histories. Originality/value While a lot of nostalgia surrounds the Godrej Storwel in India, this is the first work that attempts to place the product and its marketing strategies in the context of Indian industry, culture and consumption.


2020 ◽  
Vol 49 (2) ◽  
pp. 133-147
Author(s):  
Dorothy Kass ◽  
Martin Sullivan

Purpose Originally written in the 1990s but unpublished, the paper is now revised; the purpose of this paper is to examine the context of the formation of the Educational Workers League of NSW in 1931 with particular emphasis on the NSW Crown Employees (Teachers) Conciliation Committee and the enactment of its agreement in the worsening economic conditions of the Depression. The aims, reception and possible influence of the League on Federation policy and practice are addressed. Design/methodology/approach Primary source material consulted includes the minutes of the Conciliation Committee’s sittings from September 1927 to July 1929; papers relating to the Educational Workers League held in the Teachers Federation Library; and the Teachers Federation journal, Education. Findings The Conciliation Committee’s proceedings and outcomes had far reaching implications. The resultant salary agreement received a hostile reception from assistant teachers and fuelled distrust between assistants and headmasters. As economic depression deepened, dissatisfaction with the conservative leadership and tactics of the Federation increased. One outcome was the formation of the radical, leftist Educational Workers League by teachers, including Sam Lewis, who would later play key roles within the Federation itself. Originality/value While acknowledging the extensive earlier work of Bruce Mitchell, the paper contributes to a deeper understanding of teacher unionism and teacher activism in the 1920s and 1930s. Apart from brief attention by Federation historians in the 1960s and 1970s, there has been no history of the formation, reception and significance of the Educational Workers League.


2015 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 295-309 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stefan Schwarzkopf

Purpose – The purpose of this article is to introduce the theme of this special issue. In doing so, the paper argues that marketing historical research is in need of a paradigmatic shift. Rather than privilege primary and secondary sources that preserve the perspectives and actions of corporate managers and of marketing academics, marketing historians need to open the historical narratives they construct much more than before to the experiences and voices of ordinary consumers, i.e. of those who actually shop and buy and choose. They also need to do more to incorporate into their narratives examples of the value-creation that consumers themselves enact, both inside and outside the sphere of the market. Design/methodology/approach – By reviewing the state of the marketing historical literature, this paper introduces the “History from Below” school of historical thought into marketing historical research. It also tests to what extent a stronger consumer focus might be able to enrich historical research in marketing. Findings – Although contemporary marketing historiography is characterized by a richness of themes and methodological approaches, there is still a marked difference between the way marketing academics and historians write the history of marketing and consumption. While, surprisingly, the former often tend to ignore the voices of ordinary consumers, the latter often lack the marketing-related “technical” knowledge to fully understand the significance of specific archival sources they discuss. This means that a genuine “People’s History of Marketing” has yet to be written. Research limitations/implications – Findings from the paper will be of value to marketing historians who wish to expand the scope and agenda of their research and help historical research move away from narrow managerial perspectives and other “privileged” accounts of marketing. Originality/value – This paper makes two original contributions. First, it introduces historiographical innovations associated with “History from Below” (social history) into marketing historical scholarship. Second, it attempts to help marketing historians identify alternative sets of primary and secondary sources, e.g. oral history archives, which would allow them to be much more optimistic about their own ability to reconstruct the perspectives of those whose voices are all too often ignored.


2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 294-311 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chinmay Tumbe ◽  
Isha Ralli

Purpose The purpose of this study is to understand the evolution of “marketing” in the public and corporate discourse of twentieth-century India. Design/methodology/approach The paper draws its inferences from an analysis of the digital Times of India and Financial Times historical newspaper databases, the corporate archives of two leading Mumbai-based firms – Godrej in consumer goods and Cipla in pharmaceuticals and oral histories of marketing managers. Findings The paper identifies four eras of “marketing” in twentieth-century India. Era I (1910-1940) saw the emergence of agricultural “marketing boards” and “marketing officers” in the public sector and the growth of Indian and multinational advertising agencies. Era II (1940-1970) witnessed the formation of management and advertising associations and business schools with close involvement of American players. In Era III (1970-1990), there was a paradigm shift as “marketing” grew in corporate discourse and firms began to employ “marketing managers” in “marketing departments”. Era IV (1990-till date) witnessed the explosion of “marketing” in public and corporate discourse alongside the consumption boom in India. The paper shows how “marketing” evolved separately in the public and private sectors and in different phases as compared to that in the West. Research limitations/implications This paper overturns conventional wisdom on marketing history in India, which has so far discounted its significance before 1960 or accorded primary significance to the 1990s’ economic liberalisation programme. Practical implications Findings of this study will be useful to marketing professionals and teachers who wish to learn more about the history of marketing in India. Originality/value The paper uses unexplored archival material and provides the first account on the evolution of “marketing” in public and corporate discourse in twentieth-century India.


2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 107-128 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert Crawford ◽  
Matthew Bailey

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore the value of oral history for marketing historians and provide case studies from projects in the Australian context to demonstrate its utility. These case studies are framed within a theme of market research and its historical development in two industries: advertising and retail property. Design/methodology/approach This study examines oral histories from two marketing history projects. The first, a study of the advertising industry, examines the globalisation of the advertising agency in Australia over the period spanning the 1950s to the 1980s, through 120 interviews. The second, a history of the retail property industry in Australia, included 25 interviews with executives from Australia’s largest retail property firms whose careers spanned from the mid-1960s through to the present day. Findings The research demonstrates that oral histories provide a valuable entry port through which histories of marketing, shifts in approaches to market research and changing attitudes within industries can be examined. Interviews provided insights into firm culture and practices; demonstrated the variability of individual approaches within firms and across industries; created a record of the ways that market research has been conducted over time; and revealed the ways that some experienced operators continued to rely on traditional practices despite technological advances in research methods. Originality/value Despite their ubiquity, both the advertising and retail property industries in Australia have received limited scholarly attention. Recent scholarship is redressing this gap, but more needs to be understood about the inner workings of firms in an historical context. Oral histories provide an avenue for developing such understandings. The paper also contributes to broader debates about the role of oral history in business and marketing history.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ayhan Akpınar ◽  
Canberk Çetin ◽  
Muhammet Ali Tiltay

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to reveal the contributions of the Journal of Historical Research in Marketing (JHRM) to the academic body of knowledge. Pursuant to this objective, the study classifies the publications and citation structure of the JHRM, the nature of the publications’ authorship, the most cited articles and authors and the themes that have been covered from the first day until now (2009–2021). Design/methodology/approach This paper uses bibliometric methodologies to analyze several aspects of the JHRM. Findings The average number of citations per paper is 4.54. The number of articles studying marketing history/practice (163) and the history of thought (158) is almost equal, consistent with the journal’s primary orientation. Compared with other journals, it could be said that JHRM achieved close ranks, especially with those of other historical journals of similar age. The most prolific authors whose articles have been published in the JHRM are used in universities located in the USA. The JHRM is closely connected to top-tier journals in the field. Research limitations/implications This study is limited to one journal (JHRM) only. However, the authors assert that the articles analyzed are representative samples of the entire school of marketing history. Another important consideration is that the value of many critical studies in the social sciences cannot be determined using only bibliometric measurements. Originality/value This paper contributes to the marketing literature from several perspectives. First, evaluating the JHRM in terms of its unique standing shows the scope of the field of marketing history. Second, it serves as a guide for existing and future authors regarding the JHRM and the history of marketing. Third, the JHRM’s contributions provide insights into emerging trends and new opportunities for the entire marketing community.


2020 ◽  
Vol 44 (2) ◽  
pp. 100-118
Author(s):  
Kristin M. Franseen

Beginning with the “open secret” of Benjamin Britten and Peter Pears's relationship and continuing through debates over Handel's and Schubert's sexuality and analyses of Ethel Smyth's memoirs, biography has played a central role in the development of queer musicology. At the same time, life-writing's focus on extramusical details and engagement with difficult-to-substantiate anecdotes and rumors often seem suspect to scholars. In the case of early-twentieth-century music research, however, these very gaps and ambiguities paradoxically offered some authors and readers at the time rare spaces for approaching questions of sexuality in music. Issues of subjectivity in instrumental music aligned well with rumors about autobiographical confession within Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 6 (Pathétique) for those who knew how to listen and read between the lines. This article considers the different ways in which the framing of biographical anecdotes and gossip in scholarship by music critic-turned-amateur sexologist Edward Prime-Stevenson and Tchaikovsky scholar Rosa Newmarch allowed for queer readings of symphonic music. It evaluates Prime-Stevenson's discussions of musical biography and interpretation in The Intersexes (1908/9) and Newmarch's Tchaikovsky: His Life and Works (1900), translation of Modest Tchaikovsky's biography, and article on the composer in Grove's Dictionary of Music and Musicians to explore how they addressed potentially taboo topics, engaged with formal and informal sources of biographical knowledge (including one another's work), and found their scholarly voices in the absence of academic frameworks for addressing gender and sexuality. While their overt goals were quite different—Newmarch sought to dismiss “sensationalist” rumors about Tchaikovsky's death for a broad readership, while Prime-Stevenson used queer musical gossip as a primary source in his self-published history of homosexuality—both grappled with questions of what can and cannot be read into a composer's life and works and how to relate to possible queer meanings in symphonic music. The very aspects of biography that place it in a precarious position as scholarship ultimately reveal a great deal about the history of musicology and those who write it.


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