Post WWII Consumerism Research from 'An All Consuming Century'

Research from 'An All Consuming Century: Why Commercialism Won in Modern America' - Gary Cross 

The Depression consuming America’s psyche, as well as WWII. ‘Held tight to old consuming habits and dreams.’. Longed for their luxuries. After the war they exceeded their original purchasing levels, post-war period saw massive increase in prosperity.

Mid 1930s

The depression was an opportunity for more aggressive marketing, going into that the American people truly wanted to buy, but couldn’t afford.
During the depression companies were looking more towards the future of their products, using this as a selling point. Expensive brands saw large decline in purchasing and suffered as a consequence.

Post WWII – 1960s

it was predicted that post war America would spend more money on personal activities such as holidays, cars and meals out. The idea of ‘enjoy now, pay later’ arose. Frustrating for brands.

By 1970s Advertisers began to be more sophisticated about reaching the target audience. Would advertise on TV at particular times to appeal to that audience. E.g. Products for adults would be advertised in the evenings when children weren’t around. For children the prime time was Saturday morning tv. With increased knowledge into who was watching TV when, brands could place their ads more strategically with little fear of “wasting a commercial”, so more money was put into advertising.

TV had reached 28% of households by 1981, increase in digital ads starts here (digital age?)

Growth of suburbs in the US as a result of younger families moving to the suburbs = suburban growth (rapid). Chains in the centre were losing their customers to the suburban shopping strip (1960). To compete main street ‘dime-store’ chains had opened up whole new discount marts in the suburbs, provided free parking and bought in bulk to save costs. This impacted other larger companies/brand to do the same so they didn’t fall behind.

The relationship of a product to a person began to form in the 60s/70s, people began to develop a sense of individualism, so brand and companies has to rear away from the idea of creating something that suited the ‘nuclear family’ advertised in most 1950s ads. Possessions started to link people to a message, present a lifestyle to the audience.

Post WWII Consumerism General Research

Wartime products pulled USA out of the depression.
Saw an increase in spending power, American consumers were praised for spending as they were contributing to the successes of American life. Seen as a patriotic thing to do.
Eager to spend after the war, lack of goods to buy. During this time more young people were getting married and having children at unpredictable rates. New rights bills allowed young families to buy homes, this resulted in the growth of suburban areas, as young families were buying houses more and more moved to the suburbs, causing dramatic growth of suburban areas.

People wanted:

• Cars - due to suburban growth, people needed to get around.
• Televisions
• Washing machines
• Refrigerators
• Vacuum cleaners

All of which were signs of modernising the everyday. They were resulting machines of the WWII technological advancements.

Leading advertisements were focusing on mums with new babies. 

Due to the increase in spending after WWII ad agencies focused on maintaining the demand, the number of ad agencies increased after the war.

https://www.thoughtco.com/the-post-war-us-economy-1945-to-1960-1148153
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/tupperware-consumer/

What is Branding?

What is Branding/a Brand?

When did company’s transition to being a brand?

Was there a particular brand that started this trend?

Brands originating from needing to distinguish themselves from other products after the standardisation of quality, ‘brand manager’ would give the product an identity so it can stand out again other products and increase sales. (Marc De Swaan Arons, 2011)

A brand is a visual identity of a company or product, purely used to sell product/device/service. Uses visual expression such as a logo or consistent design. A brand can be used more widely, but is kept within the restraints of business, such as creating a customer experience when see a particular brand, so the importance of staff etc is included.

States the work brand has become ‘one of the most overused (and misused) in the business lexicon.’ (The Business of Brands, By Jon Miller, David Muir)

The idea that now brands can be seen as pretty much anything, major celebrities are deemed as a brand, as well as car companies, clothing companies, supermarkets, films etc. Branding in finding a USP, packaging it well, and making sure there are people there who want it. (13) (Brands and Branding By Stephen Brown).

Supporting the theory that brands are more than a product or visual identity. Presents forward many relationships/ interactions between customer and company, suggest that the relationship is what impacts a brand more. Also investigate the impact of the experience a customer has on the validity of a brand - similar to Miller and Muir, but not as narrow. Not only the impact on the customers, but the wider community who see/experience the brand passively. (Keller and Lehmann (2004)).

The name being most key element of a brand, more so than the visuals , as it’s the element that should never change even if other elements do. Brands provide guidance for the consumer, helps them to navigate a market. - Thus supporting the importance of every relationship element between customer and brand. What makes a brand successful is the consumer, the brand needs to meet their expectations. (Tom Blackett, Brands and Branding (2003))

Visual identity (graphic components provide system for identifying a brand) of a brand is key as it is what we first see, make judgements based on this. The basic elements of a brand identity are: Logotypes, Symbols, Colours and Typefaces. A brand also has a verbal identity (make a brands language more distinctive, and therefore recognisable), the basic elements being: the name, a naming system for products, sub brands and groups, a strapline, tone of voice principles, the use of stories. (Tony Allen and John Simmons, Brands and Branding (2003))

Logotypes are the crossover of the verbal and the visual within a brand. Can become recognised as clearly as a symbol e.g. andersand, but the band needs to be established for the logotype to work like that of a symbol. (Micheal Evamy, Logotype (2012))

Typography should communicate the fundamentals of a brand (‘the DNA of a brand’), it emphasises the message a brand wants to communicate, as well as provide continuity within a brand. (Frederic Vanhorenbeke, Branding Typography, Gingko Press (2013))

From Brands and Branding by Stephan Brown

STUDY TASK 5 - Branding Initial Research

Lean Branding: Creating Dynamic Brands to Generate Conversion

The idea of a brand being more than just a logo, or advertisement. A brand is a concept, is a community, a group of people all being exposed to an idea and choosing to follow, to like or dislike. Whether people identify with the brand or not, a sense of self within a brand might be created.

The idea of brands being for one person is false, brands are for the people, not for those designing - needs to be taken into consideration. 

Designed with target audience in mind, use info about audience to shape design - then test and see if it appeals, develop, test, develop, test until audience has strong relationship to brand.

- Coca Cola, strong connotations of red, Christmas adverts, etc. 

 - Nike, 'just do it', the tick, related to sport celebrities e.g. Serena Williams, strong characters, strong following.

Keller and Lehmann (2004) - Brands and Branding. Research findings and future priorities.

What is branding? - the product, 'anything that can be offered to a market to satisfy what they want.' Kotler and Keller (2015)

Important things in branding:

Brand Positioning - 'setting the direction for marketing agencies.', key associations within target audience, making sure the audience is able to find who they are at the right moments.

Brand Intangibles - things other than physical objects (e.g. ads) being associated with a brand. Using lifestyle, inspirational imagery, to promote a specific way of being, and therefore a specific product to support that.

Brand Personality - The idea of the audience being a part of the wider picture. The personality of a brand will affect people differently depending on the situation/setting, people associate a brand with where they saw it advertised. For example, coca-cola sponsoring the london eye = big company, popular, trustworthy, reliable etc. Placement of ad connotes personality of brand.

Brand Relationships - Various dimensions in feeling towards a brand, consider brand-customer relationships, as well as brand loyalty. If brand has a strong relationship with customers, can target specific groups to make products appeal more.

Brand Experience - the importance of successful customer service within a brand, think about the visual experience a customer has with the brand as well.