Post-Modernization And The Evolution Of Branding

Traditionally, branding has been seen as a managerial process with a focus on “consistency, coherence, and control”. There are tangible and intangible elements making up a “single reality”, with the consumer being recognized as a submissive end user. However, with the emergence of post-modernization - an extensive movement where no limitations, specific terms, or unconditional truths exist - in the mid to late twentieth century, came the rise of the postmodern consumer and sociocultural based branding.

“The postmodern consumer is; influenced by not only rational thought but also the language used; they are adaptive and malleable; progressive and symbolic; fragmented and experience various alternatives. ” According to Massi, M. et. Al, the postmodern consumer is “no longer willing to commit or conform to any unified and consistent idea, system or narrative. ” It should not be a surprise then, that postmodern branding, or sociocultural based branding, manipulates these characteristics by going beyond the “single reality” of intangible and tangible elements to stimulate a new “virtual” reality. The consumer becomes recognized as a interactive subject, in other words, they become a part of the continuous construction of the meaning and consumption of the brand. In the following paragraphs we will be analyzing and attempting to validate the statement “In the context of postmodernity, branding has evolved from a closed, firm controlled managerial process to an open, consumer active sociocultural one”, via three examples from over the course of the post-modernization. Two of which – Coca-Cola and Apple - will focus on the integration and use of the open, consumer active sociocultural method, while the last – Microsoft - will focus on what happens when a brand has not evolved from a closed, firm controlled managerial process.

In 1985, after a fifteen consecutive year drop in market share, The Coco-Cola Company made the announcement that it was changing its recipe for its flagship soft drink Coca-Cola, in the aim of regaining the market share back from its competitors. After seventy-nine days of consumer outrage and anguish, The Coco-Cola Company re-issued the original formula and the soft drink industry as they knew it had been reformed. The seventy-nine day time period had re-vamped consumers’ memories about Coca-Cola, and with the return of the original formula, The Coca-Cola company realized that its flagship product was beyond being just a soft drink. It was from here that the brand was opened up from its traditional closed firm – controlled managerial process and into the world of a consumer - active sociocultural one. The brand’s identity became a “co-made global social phenomenon”. With its foundation being built upon the universal culture of friends and family, and its vision - to share and bring happiness to those around you-, the brand integrated itself within the everyday culture and life of its consumer; embodying the consumer.

Today the company has the vision and statement of Live Positively in response to the postmodern consumers’ concerns (i. e. , reducing and recycling packaging), and in the goal to redesign the consumers’ way of life to include sustainability. Its slogan and campaign “Taste the feeling”, is in the attempt to market all of its Coca-Cola products under one brand, and showcase the brand’s commitment to choice. In a time where the brand’s market share was declining, Coca-Cola took a risk that ended with valuable insight. Taking this insight, they evolved from the closed managerial based brand that they were, to the successful and memorable open, sociocultural brand that we all know today.

Unlike The Coca-Cola Company, Apple Computer Incorporated – formerly Apple Computer Company- has always been a postmodern brand. It should be noted that the postmodern consumer does not care so much about the product as they do about how the product will revolutionize their lives. Apple understood this, and in return, focused on “Enhancing life through innovation and technology” (i. e. , “virus proof” software, or the colorful, plastic shells of the IMac G3 and IBook G3). The language the company utilizes helps to define the brand’s identity as a whole; the company displays in its’ advertisements a vision of “Think Different” (regardless of the fact that this specific slogan has been retired since 2002, beneath this however is the underlining core message of creativity. For example, in the commercial for the iPad Pro, the child in the advertisement asks “what’s a computer?”. This question encompasses the vision of “Think Different” and the core message of creativity, through the underlining message that the iPad Pro can replace a computer. The common elements of “Think Different” and “creativity” can be seen amongst the brand’s many lines of products in their innovative and creative advertisements. The company has become a “cult leader”, and is now worth over 1 trillion USD – a first for public U. S. companies. It is not just a company to its fans - those who see the mythology of Apple- but the legacy of two guys, who brought the power of computers to ordinary everyday people from the inside of a garage. We can draw conclusions from above, that the Apple brand follows an open, consumer active sociocultural process.

In comparison to both Coca-Cola and Apple, Microsoft follows a closed, firm controlled managerial process in branding. The brand focuses on coherence, consistency, and control in the form of its software programs and operating systems, in which there is uniformity throughout. i. e. , the brand’s Microsoft Office software programs all have the same underlying layout and practicality. Due to this the Microsoft brand has the distinctive position of being the leading edge in this specific style of software programs as opposed to its’ competition. However, the brand is not a lifestyle but a product that is used or “consumed”, with its consumers passively accepting what is given. While Microsoft has a large number of consumers, it is not a “cult leader” as the brand has no recognizable mythology and as such does not form the bond of comradery with its consumers. The brand -unlike the other brands that follow the open, consumer active sociocultural branding process - produced its own meaning or purpose through the use of the brand’s recent slogan “Empowering us all”, which implies that the company’s software, operating systems, and technology has empowered the world. Despite the brand being developed in a postmodern society, the Microsoft’s use of the closed, frim controlled managerial branding process is effective with its net worth, as of May 2018, valued at 753 billion USD.

Within this report we analyzed three major brands, Coca-Cola, Apple, and Microsoft. We have discussed the events that lead to Coca-Cola evolving from a closed, frim controlled managerial branding process to a more open, consumer active sociocultural one. We have talked about how Apple was a postmodern developed brand, utilizing the open sociocultural branding process from the start. We’ve mentioned how both of these companies are widely successful, with Coca-Cola rising again after the events in 1985, and Apple’s net value worth at 1 trillion USD. Finally, we talked about Microsoft, a major company that follows the closed, firm controlled managerial process for branding, and how despite this, its’ net worth is in the upper half of 700 billion USD. The analysis brings forth the conclusion that branding has not evolved from a closed, firm controlled managerial process to an open, consumer active sociocultural one. Instead, they “coexist” between the many brands in today’s postmodern society, in which; brands that are selling products consider niceties or commodities (i. e. , Microsoft Office, Mr. Clean) follow the closed managerial approach; and brands that are selling an idea, a lifestyle (Apple, Harley-Davidson) follow the open sociocultural approach.