Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Add Some Glam? An Essay on the Aestheticization of Media Brands

  • Chapter
Handbook of Media Branding

  • 3310 Accesses

Abstract

When glamour can sell candidates and cruises, roadsters and real estate, when glamour describes stocks (so called glam stocks vs. value stocks) and rock (glam rock vs. progressive rock) and when football seasons are full of glam transfers: why should the brands of publishing houses, social media platforms, TV series or magazines not also profit from a glam component? As the re-entry (Spencer-Brown, 1972) of magic into brand management, glamour helps media companies to break free from the classical brand engineering concept and offers an aestheticization that might add value—and allure. But it also asks for a reinterpretation of some cherished concepts as glamorous brands are defined through a punctum, an extra, a rainbow-moment—and those are difficult to plan, predict, and produce. Certainties might fade away, but in return (media) brands could stand out.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 129.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 169.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 169.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Notes

  1. 1.

    Pomo is an abbreviation of postmodern and SDL the Service Dominant Logic of marketing. Both concepts focus on consumer integration and are important theoretical foundations for social brand/consumer engagement concepts (Cova, 1997; Wood & Allan, 2003) and famous myths, such as “marketers do not control the brand—the consumer does”.

References

  • Aaker, J. (1997). Dimensions of Brand Personality. Journal of Marketing Research., 34(August), 347–356.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Anderson, N. H. (1981). Foundations of information integration theory. New York: Academic.

    Google Scholar 

  • Anderson, C. (2008). The end of theory: The data deluge makes the scientific method obsolete. Wired. Retrieved from June 27, 2008, http://archive.wired.com/science/discoveries/magazine/16-07/pb_theory

  • Barthes, R. (1981). Camera Lucida—Reflections on photography. New York: Hill and Wang.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bauman, Z. (2000). Liquid modernity. Cambridge: Polity Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bauman, Z. (2004). Identity. Cambridge: Polity Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Beinhocker, E. (1999). Robust adaptive strategies. Sloan Management Review, 40(Spring), 95–106.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brown, S. (2005). Wizard!: Harry Potter’s brand magic. London: Cyan.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brown, S., & Hackley, C. (2012). The greatest showman on earth. Is Simon Cowell P.T. Barnum reborn? Journal of Historical Research in Marketing, 4(2), 290–308.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Castiglione, B. (1959). The book of the courtier. New York: Anchor Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cova, B. (1997). Community and consumption. Towards a definition of the “linking value” of products or services. European Journal of Marketing, 31(3/4), 297–316.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cova, V., & Cova, B. (2001). Exit, voice, loyalty and … twist. In S. Beckmann & R. Elliott (Eds.), Interpretative consumer research (pp. 25–45). Copenhagen: Handelshøjskolens Forlag.

    Google Scholar 

  • Darby, M., & Karni, E. (1973). Competition and the optimal amount of fraud. Journal of Law and Economics, 16, 67–88.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Davay, N. (1989). Baumgarten’s aesthetics: A post Gadamerian reflection. British Journal of Aesthetics., 29(2), 101–115.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Di Maggio, P., & Powell, W. W. (1983). The iron cage revisited: Institutional isomorphism and collective rationality in organizational fields. American Sociological Review, 52, 147–160.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ellis, B. E. (1998). Glamorama. New York: Knopf.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ferguson, H. (1999). Glamour and the end of irony. The Hedgehog Review, Fall, 9–16.

    Google Scholar 

  • Firat, F., Dholakia, N., & Venkatesh, A. (1994). Marketing in a postmodern world. European Journal of Marketing, 29(1), 40–56.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Förster, K. (2015). An audience-centered perspective on media brands: Theoretical considerations, empirical results and ‘White Spaces’. In G. Siegert, K. Förster, S. Chan-Olmsted, & M. Ots (Eds.), Handbook of media branding. Heidelberg: Springer.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fournier, S. (1998). Consumers and their brands: Developing relationship theory in consumer research. Journal of Consumer Research, 24(3), 343–373.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Freeland, C. (2000). The naked and the undead. Boulder: Westview Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Friedman, M. (1975). There’s no such thing as a free lunch. LaSalle: Open Court.

    Google Scholar 

  • Grant, J. (2006). The brand innovation manifesto. Chichester: Wiley.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gundle, S. (2008). Glamour. A history. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Holbrook, M. (1981). The esthetic imperative in consumer research. In E. Hirschman & M. Holbrook (Eds.), Symbolic consumer behavior (pp. 36–37). New York: Association for Consumer Research.

    Google Scholar 

  • Holbrook, M. (1995). Consumer research. Thousand Oaks: Sage.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Holert, T., & Munder, H. (2004). Glamour-genealogies: An introduction. In T. Holert & H. Munder (Eds.), The future has a silver lining (pp. 17–37). Zürich: JRP Ringier Kunstverlag.

    Google Scholar 

  • Holt, D. B. (2002). Why do brands cause trouble? A dialectical theory of consumer culture and branding. Journal of Consumer Research., 29(June), 70–90.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Holt, D., & Cameron, D. (2010). Cultural strategy. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hunt, S. D., & Morgan, R. M. (1995). The comparative advantage theory of competition. Journal of Marketing, 59(1), 1–15.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ingvar, D. H. (1985). Memory of the future: An essay on the temporal organization of conscious awareness. Human Neurobiology, 4, 127–136.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ivanov, D. (2011). Glamour capitalism. Voporsky Economiki. 7 (English translation from author by mail).

    Google Scholar 

  • Jacobellis v. Ohio (1964). US supreme court. 378 U.S. 184. 1964.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kano, N. (1984). Attractive quality and must-be quality. Hinshitsu Journal of Japanese Society for Quality Control, 14(2), 39–48.

    Google Scholar 

  • Keller, K. L. (1993). Conceptualizing, measuring, and managing customer-based brand equity. Journal of Marketing, 57(1), 1–22.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Keller, K. L., Sternthal, B., & Tybout, A. (2002, September). Three questions you need to ask about your brand. Harvard Business Review, 80, 80–86.

    Google Scholar 

  • Klein, B., & Leffler, K. B. (1981). The role of market forces in assuring contractual performance. Journal of Political Economy, 4, 615–641.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kuka, D., Gasteier, K., & Bluemelhuber, C. (2014). Einführung in die Methode Preenaction. Berlin: Springer Gabler.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kumar, V., Jones, E., Venkatesan, R., & Leone, R. P. (2011). Is market orientation a source of sustainable competitive advantage or simply the cost of competing? Journal of Marketing, 75, 16–30.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lash, L. (1988). Discourse or figure? Theory, Culture & Society, 5(2–3), 311–336.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lewis, S. (2009, January 23). American apparel backs Butt magazine. DailyXxtra. http://dailyxtra.com/canada/news/american-apparel-backs-butt-magazine

  • Lipovetsky, G. (2005). Hypermodern times. Cambridge: Polity Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Luhmann, N. (1995). Social systems: Outline of a general theory. Stanford: Stanford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • McCracken, G. (1990). Culture and consumption. Bloomington: Indiana University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ngai, S. (2012). Our aesthetic categories. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ots, M., & Hartmann, B. J. (2015). Media brand cultures: Researching and theorizing how consumers engage in the social construction of media brands. In G. Siegert, K. Förster, S. Chan-Olmsted, & M. Ots (Eds.), Handbook of media branding. Heidelberg: Springer.

    Google Scholar 

  • Park, J. K., & Roedder John, D. (2010). Got to get you into my life. Do brand personalities rub off on consumers? Journal of Consumer Research, 37, 655–669.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Postrel, V. (2013). The power of glamour. New York: Simon & Schuster.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ries, L. (2012). Visual hammer. Kindle DX version. Retrieved from www.Amazon.com

  • Roach, J. (2007). It. Ann Arbor: The University of Michigan Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rosa, J., Patton, P., & Postrel, V. (2004). Glamour. California: San Francisco Museum of Modern Art.

    Google Scholar 

  • Salzer, M., & Strannegard, L. (2004). Silence of the brands. European Journal of Marketing, 38(1/2), 224–238.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Scherer, H. (2015). The Groucho Marx dilemma in media branding. Audience as part and signal of media brands. In G. Siegert, K. Förster, S. Chan-Olmsted, & M. Ots (Eds.), Handbook of media branding. Heidelberg: Springer.

    Google Scholar 

  • Serres, M. (2008). Le Mal propre. Polluer pour s’approprier? Paris: Editions le Pommier.

    Google Scholar 

  • Shakar, A. (2001). The savage girl. New York: HarperCollins.

    Google Scholar 

  • Simonin, B., & Ruth, J. (1998). Is a company known by the company it keeps? Assessing the spillover effects of brand alliances on consumer brand attitudes. Journal of Marketing Research, 32(February), 30–42.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sinha, I., & Foscht, T. (2007). Reverse psychology marketing. Houndmills: Palgrave.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sloterdijk, P. (2009). Rules for the Human Zoo: A response to the letter on humanism. Environment and Planning: Society and Space, 27, 12–28.

    Google Scholar 

  • Spencer-Brown, G. (1972). Laws of form. New York: Julian Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • van Nes, I. (2013). Dynamic identities. Amsterdam: BIS publishers.

    Google Scholar 

  • Vargo, S. L., & Lush, R. F. (2005). Evolving to a new dominant logic of marketing. Journal of Marketing, 68(January), 1–17.

    Google Scholar 

  • Whitehouse, H. (1996). Jungles and computers: Neuronal group selection and the epidemiology of representations. The Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute, 2(1), 99–116.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wipperfürth, A. (2005). Brand hijack. Marketing without marketing. New York: Portfolio.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wood, J., & Allan, B. (2003). Everything you want. Oxford: Capstone.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. The Berlin University of the Arts, Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf, Germany

    Christian Bluemelhuber

Authors
  1. Christian Bluemelhuber
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Christian Bluemelhuber .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. IPMZ Institute, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland

    Gabriele Siegert

  2. Institute of Journalism, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria

    Kati Förster

  3. College of Journalism and Communication, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, USA

    Sylvia M. Chan-Olmsted

  4. Transformation Center MMTC-Media Management, Jönköping International Business School, Jönköping, Sweden

    Mart Ots

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2015 Springer International Publishing Switzerland

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Bluemelhuber, C. (2015). Add Some Glam? An Essay on the Aestheticization of Media Brands. In: Siegert, G., Förster, K., Chan-Olmsted, S., Ots, M. (eds) Handbook of Media Branding. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-18236-0_8

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation