BRANDS & CONSUMER CULTURE, 30 CREDITS, 317V0024_2425_9F

Description of the Task

Brands are the primary vehicles for the expression of ideology and culture.Brands are increasingly multi-sensory in nature and connect with consumers on a variety of levels. For a marketplace icon of their choice, students will create and develop a new multi-sensory brand concept, presented through a set of professional brand guidelines that presents their brand’s cultural and design strategy, ideological principles and connection with an identified demographic.

A “marketplace icon” refers to an iconic material product. A physical product that has been reimagined, reinterpreted and re-created time and time again and endures with classic appeal. To challenge you, we have developed a list of 5 marketplace icons to choose from. You must choose one of these products, and develop a brand for this product. The 5 marketplace icons you may choose from are;

1. Denim Jeans
2. The Baseball Cap
3. Lipstick
4. A Bag
5. The Football Boot
6. Fragrance

There are some key stages in this process, as they relate to the Learning Outcomes of the module.

Stage 1: Choose a Marketplace Icon (LO1)

Before creating a brand, students must develop a critical appreciation of the the relationship between consumers (identity) and brands in a globalised marketplace culture. Students will engage with and respond to the complex ways in which consumers think about and use brands in the negotiation and expression of identity in an evolving consumer society. For your chosen iconic product, begin to think about and develop your ideology, while researching the history and cultural narrative of your chosen marketplace icon.

Stage 2: Apply a Cultural Strategy (LO2)

Begin to critically analyse how material objects and subsequently, brands, can embody cultural ideologies and for what purpose. Begin to mind map and curate a professional brand using the cultural innovation framework, a culturally responsive branding strategy proposed by Douglas Holt

(2010). Use this theoretical framework to help mind map the beginnings of an interesting, ideological brand.

Stage 3: Multi-Sensory Design (i) (LO3)

At this stage, we are interested in “aestheticizing our ideology” through the development of a brand name, logo, colour palette and typography (that embody and express your ideology). Students will develop their creative process while simultaneously underpinning their creative decisions with aesthetic/design theory.

Stage 4: Multi-Sensory Design (ii) (LO4)

Begin to develop and envisage your brand as a multi-sensory, “living thing”. Students will apply the philosophies of multi-sensory branding to their concepts, as they elaborate on the various sensory touchpoints with which they can engage with their audience and push the boundaries of conventional thinking and brand strategy.

Within the design stages, the creative and development process is also a point of focus, as are the overall aesthetic design and ‘voice’ of your brand as a ‘living thing’, underpinned as it will be by relevant brand theory and design philosophy as discussed throughout the module.

Formative Assessment (Due Friday 1st November)

As an interim “check in”, students will submit a formative piece of work on Friday 1st November. This will consist of 1-2 slides with;

1. Marketplace Icon
2. Ideological Stance (Brand Concept) (100 words)
3. Brand Name & Logo.

Referencing:

Referencing others’ work is an integral part of good academic practice and allows for your contributions to be made within a more communal conversation of the topic. Within all your summative assessments you are required to reference throughout using the MMU Harvard Referencing system.

Further guidance can be found on Moodle and here:https://www.mmu.ac.uk/library/referencing-and-study-support/referencing/mmu-harvard. Further information on referencing will be provided in taught sessions.

AI Statement:

The use of generative AI is permitted in this assessment, so long as it is used in accordance with the instructions provided in the ‘Are you allowed to use AI in assessments?’ section of the AI Literacy Rise Study Pack. All submitted work must be your own original content.

General Guidance

All tables and diagrams are included in the word count. Front cover, contents page and reference list is not included in the overall word count. Students can submit -/+10% of the allocated word count with no effects on final mark. Marks will be deducted if students exceed the word count +10%. Please note the effect on the final mark shown in the table below:

It is advised that the appendices are used only for descriptive narrative and more in-depth definitions/theoretical explanations. Critical analysis, evaluation and application should be provided in the main body.

Please refer to the university policies on assessment and late submission found here:

https://www.mmu.ac.uk/student-life/course/assessments

It is strongly advised that if you are experiencing any issues or concerns, personal or academic, that you seek help and support from your personal tutor in the first instance.

Below is a brief summary of material that captures the themes we will be discussing over the course of this module. Specific information on preparatory material, such as chapters, articles, documentaries etc., are provided in the relevant week by week on Moodle.

Students are expected to engage with these materials in advance of the taught sessions. Further references will be provided in taught sessions relative to the theme being covered.

Books:

Aaker, D.A., 2012. Building strong brands. Simon and Schuster. Brown, S. (2016) Brands and Branding, Sage Publishing.

Holt, D.B. and Holt, D.B., (2004) How brands become icons: The principles of cultural branding. Harvard Business Press.

Holt, D. and Cameron, D., (2010) Cultural strategy: Using innovative ideologies to build breakthrough brands. Oxford University Press.

Journal Articles:

Barwise, P. and Meehan, S., 2010. The one thing you must get right when building a brand. Harvard business review, 88(12), pp.80-84.

Brown, S., Kozinets, R.V. and Sherry Jr, J.F., 2003. Teaching old brands new tricks: Retro branding and the revival of brand meaning. Journal of marketing, 67(3), pp.19-33.