PatagoniaPolitics-SchoolofJournalismandMassCommunication.pptVIP

Patagonia PoliticsDouglas HoltMarketing, Culture SocietyUniversity of Oxford(with Jill Avery) Politics of Consumption University of Wisconsin October 2006 Social Mission Brands Central “solution” for global problems? Social enterprise, social entrepreneurship, sustainable business, CSR etc. SMBs led, so much celebrated Ben Jerry’s, Body Shop, Stonyfield, Tom’s of Maine, Patagonia, Red Mgmt books, biz mags Seldom studied Research Interests Social Mission branding How to build powerful SMBs? What are political effects? Extend cultural branding model Authenticity from citizenship-org myths (Holt 2002) Push customer segments (Holt 2004) Commercial Activism Political analogy Yvon Chouinard, iconic mountaineering innovator, Ventura, CA 60s-70s Patagonia tech clothing -- late 70s Took off in mid-80’s amongst UMC $300 million/year Catalogue driven branding $7M vs $1M print ads Patagonia Social Mission In business to help resolve environmental crisis Introduced PCR Synchilla fleece All cotton to organic, Beneficial T line Greenest supply chain in the biz Eco advocacy in catalogue since early 90s 1% of revenue to grassroots activism Left/Green politics Academic literature: literal consumer-citizen model Ethical Consumption (Europe) Mindshare Branding (Aaker, Keller) Social Identity (Bhattacharya, Sen) Brand equity stems from identification with pro-social business policies SMBs conflated with CSR Patagonia’s SMB equity? Academic Brand equity from identification with eco-business policies Popular Understandings Hardcore eco-activism tied to fully committed lifestyle Wannabes BoBos buy Patagonia symbolism, adventure-lite and eco-lite Cultural Branding Model (static) SMBs and Cultural Branding Successful SMBs are identity brands So become iconic via cultural branding mechanisms Similar customer segments to commercial iconic brands Insiders, Followers, Feeders Do hypotheses hold? What does this mean for political effects? Method Genealogy o