When innovation met renovation: back to the future of branding

2015 ◽  
Vol 33 (5) ◽  
pp. 634-655 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephen Brown

Purpose – Retro-marketing is rampant. Throwback branding is burgeoning. Newstalgia is the next big thing. Yet marketing thinking is dominated by the forward-facing discourse of innovation. The purpose of this paper is to challenge innovation’s rhetorical hegemony by making an exemplar-based case for renovation. Design/methodology/approach – If hindsight is the new foresight, then historical analyses can help us peer through a glass darkly into the future. This paper turns back time to the RMS Titanic, once regarded as the epitome of innovation, and offers a qualitative, narratological, culturally informed reading of a much-renovated brand. Findings – In narrative terms, Titanic is a house of many mansions. Cultural research reveals that renovation and innovation, far from being antithetical, are bound together in a deathless embrace, like steamship and iceberg. It shows that, although the luxury liner sank more than a century ago, Titanic is a billion-dollar brand and a testament to renovation’s place in marketing’s pantheon. It contends that the unfathomable mysteries of the Titanic provide an apt metaphor for back-to-the-future brand management. It is a ship-shape simile heading straight for the iceberg called innovation. Survival is unlikely but the collision is striking. Originality/value – This paper makes no claims to originality. On the contrary, it argues that originality is overrated. Renovation, rather, rules the waves. It is a time to renovate our thinking about innovation. The value of this paper inheres in that observation.

2020 ◽  
Vol 37 (5) ◽  
pp. 579-590
Author(s):  
Jessica Keech ◽  
Maureen Morrin ◽  
Jeffrey Steven Podoshen

Purpose The increasing desire of consumers for socially responsible luxury products combined with fluctuating supplies in consumer markets are leading various industries to seek alternative sources to be able to meet the needs of its customers. One possible solution that may meet the demands of the future is lab-grown products. Because these products confer multiple benefits, this study aims to investigate the most effective ways to appeal to consumers by aligning the benefits of the products with their values as marketers seek to find effective promotion for these items. Design/methodology/approach We examine the effectiveness of an ethical positioning strategy for two types of luxury lab-grown (synthetic) products among high versus low materialism consumers in three experiments. Findings Findings suggest that a positioning strategy stressing product ethicality is more effective for low materialism consumers, whereas the strategy is less effective, and may even backfire, for high materialism consumers. The impact on social status consumers perceive from a lab-grown product explains why this effect occurs among low materialism consumers. Therefore, marketers should take caution and use specific appeals for different segments based on values such as consumers’ materialism levels. Originality/value If lab-grown products represent the wave of the future, it is important to understand how consumers will respond to this emerging technology and how promotion strategies may enhance their evaluation.


foresight ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. 95-108 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jean-Baptiste Gossé ◽  
Dominique Plihon

Purpose – This article aims to provide insight into the future of financial markets and regulation in order to define what would be the best strategy for Europe. Design/methodology/approach – First the authors define the potential changes in financial markets and then the tools available for the regulator to tame them. Finally, they build five scenarios according to the main evolutions observed on the financial markets and on the tools used by the regulator to modify these trends. Findings – Among the five scenarios defined, two present highly unstable features since the regulator refuses to choose between financial opening and independently determining how to regulate finance in order to preserve financial stability. Three of them achieve financial stability. However, they are more or less efficient or feasible. In terms of market efficiency, the multi-polar scenario is the best and the fragmentation scenario is the worst, since gains of integration depend on the size of the new capital market. Regarding sovereignty of regulation, fragmentation is the best scenario and the multi-polar scenario is the worst, because it necessitates coordination at the global level which implies moving further away from respective national preferences. However, the more realistic option seems to be the regionalisation scenario: this level of coordination seems much more realistic than the global one; the market should be of sufficient size to enjoy substantial benefits of integration. Nevertheless, the “European government” might gradually increase the degree of financial integration outside Europe in line with the degree of cooperation with the rest of the world. Originality/value – Foresight studies on financial markets and regulation are quite rare. This may be explained by the difficulty to forecast what will be their evolution in the coming decades, not least because finance is fundamentally unstable. This paper provides a framework to consider what could be the best strategy of regulators in such an unstable environment.


2016 ◽  
Vol 44 (7) ◽  
pp. 713-730 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gopal Das

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the antecedents and consequences of trust in online shopping from an e-tail branding perspective. Design/methodology/approach – A structured questionnaire was used to collect data online from Indian e-tail shoppers (n=309). A structural equation modelling (CB-SEM approach) was used to analyse the data. Findings – The results found e-tailer awareness, e-tailer associations, and e-tailer perceived quality as antecedents of trust in online shopping. The results also showed online trust positively influences the behavioural intentions, namely, purchase intention, repurchase, and recommendation. Originality/value – This study examines the applicability and branding and brand management principles in an e-tail branding context. Theoretical and managerial implications of these results are further discussed.


Author(s):  
Silvia Gherardi

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the ten years of the journal through a personal reflection. Design/methodology/approach – A review of the articles published in the last ten years. Findings – I argue that what has distinguished QROM in these ten years are two distinctive features: reflexivity on practices of qualitative research, and openness to the application of qualitative methods to unusual research topics. Originality/value – The main limit of the paper resides in the subjectivity of the person who has read the articles. Other readers may have different opinions and may have chosen different criteria.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jacqueline Burgess ◽  
Christian Jones

Purpose This study aims to contribute to research into narrative brands by investigating if the lack of closure in the ambiguous season two’s ending of the Australian television series, Wanted, constituted a brand transgression. Design/methodology/approach Comments on posts about Wanted from social media accounts associated with the series were downloaded and analysed using thematic analysis informed by non-participatory netnography. Findings Audiences found the ambiguous ending of Wanted season two disappointing and it did not fulfil implied promises and their expectations, which fits the description of a brand transgression, and so they engaged in behaviours indicative of a brand transgression such as spreading negative word of mouth online. The ambiguous ending could have been a cliff-hanger to lead into a third season that was not guaranteed when the final episode aired, or the ending for the entire series. Although a third season was eventually made and positively received by audiences, viewer numbers declined by nearly a third, illustrating the importance of brand management for narrative brands. Practical implications This research has implications for the creators of television series, particularly if they do not know if it will be renewed. Not providing audiences with their expected closure can constitute a brand transgression and damage the narrative brand’s residual brand equity and potential earnings from streaming or a revival at a later date. Originality/value Prior research has focused on audiences’ responses to definitive endings, rather than ambiguous endings, which is the focus of this research. Furthermore, narrative brands are still an under-researched context.


2018 ◽  
Vol 17 (4) ◽  
pp. 186-192
Author(s):  
Wendy Silver

Purpose Organizations will need HR departments that take bold new approaches if they are to weather the uncertainty and changes on the horizon. This paper aims to discuss what makes an organization or a leader BRAVE, and examples of HR professionals and organizations leading the way are provided to help readers bravely shape their own organizations. Design/methodology/approach This paper draws upon various real-life examples of organizations whose HR departments are leading the way. Findings Organizations need BRAVE HR professionals and leaders to create, implement and communicate key initiatives to ensure companies make decisions that support workplace cultures that people choose to join and remain a part of. Originality/value No amount of technology can replace the forward-thinking thought, communication and action that being BRAVE requires. This paper will help HR professionals gain a braver perspective.


2017 ◽  
Vol 25 (3) ◽  
pp. 181-189 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew Hines ◽  
Alexandra Whittington

Purpose A research project exploring emerging student needs explored six aspects of student life: living, learning, working, playing, connecting and participating. Design/methodology/approach A modified version of the University of Houston’s “Framework Foresight” method was used to explore the future of six aspects of future student life. The resulting scenarios were analyzed for their implications, including the use of the World Café technique, and ultimately led to the identification of nine emerging student needs. Findings Nine specific emerging needs of future students could be used strategically by institutions of higher education to guide and inform planning and to generate innovative ideas for university offerings. Specific examples of offerings that would meet the projected future needs are recommended. Research limitations/implications In terms of research limitations, the paper is focused on the needs of students and does not purport to be an exhaustive analysis of all of the issues influencing higher education. It views the future of higher education through the lens of students and their emerging needs. Practical implications The paper is intended for educators, researchers and administrators to provide insight on how the needs of students, their key customers, are evolving. Originality/value This piece explores student life in its totality as way to more accurately identify student needs in the future.


2016 ◽  
Vol 44 (4) ◽  
pp. 137-140
Author(s):  
Gemma Burke ◽  
Erin Duncan ◽  
JL Smither

Purpose The paper aims to show how using a resource-sharing service can help you provide more resources to your users. Design/methodology/approach This paper discusses interlibrary loan challenges and opportunities, specifically with reference to WorldShare Interlibrary Loan. Findings This paper describes the service that connects libraries to the largest cooperative resource-sharing network with more than 10,000 borrowing and lending libraries worldwide, the possibilities for the future, facts and figures and how libraries around the world have used the solution successfully. Originality/value This paper looks at how WorldShare Interlibrary Loan can help libraries overcome the challenges that they face regarding resource sharing.


2014 ◽  
Vol 48 (1) ◽  
pp. 53-75 ◽  
Author(s):  
Manca Noč ◽  
Maja Zumer

Purpose – The purpose of this research was to examine the number and type of sources cited by featured articles from the Slovene Wikipedia with the purpose of assessing their quality. A sample of random articles was also procured in order to give a clearer picture of the content of the Slovene Wikipedia. Design/methodology/approach – A research was conducted on 122 featured articles from the Slovene Wikipedia from 2009, 2010 and 2011. The following aspects of the articles were analyzed: topic and originality of the article and number, language and type of sources cited. Findings – The results have shown that most of the featured articles are adapted from the English Wikipedia, the most common topics being science, sports and history. Based on these results the authors have concluded that despite some deficiencies the featured articles on the Slovene Wikipedia are of much higher quality compared to random articles. Research limitations/implications – The biggest research limitation is the ever changing nature of Wikipedia and its articles, which hinders the process of analyzing results and relying on these results to be relevant in the future. Originality/value – This is the first such research of the Slovene Wikipedia that deals specifically with citation analysis of featured articles. Results of this research offer valuable information to both editors of featured articles and users, as they point out certain deficiencies, which can be eliminated.


2018 ◽  
Vol 17 (6) ◽  
pp. 275-281 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael A. Couch ◽  
Richard Citrin

Purpose This paper aims to describes how properly designed and executed leadership development can make a difference, an approach the authors call intentional development. Design methodology/approach By building unique connections among recent advancements in human capital management and neuroscience, this paper proposes the components that any organization can use to significantly improve the return on their investment in leadership development. Findings It is estimated that US companies spend over US$13bn annually on leadership development. Match that number to the abundant research that finds most leadership development to be ineffective, and the conclusion is a phenomenal amount of waste. The situation does not need to be that dire. Originality/value Following the practices of yesterday are not sufficient to build leaders needed for now and the future. It is time to retool leadership development.


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