ÂÜÀòÉç¹ÙÍø

 : : : Posting

 

: : revisit

---

Journal of Research in Interactive Marketing
Special Issue – Anti-Branding

A primary duty of a Brand Manager is developing identities and perceptions that enhance consumer acceptance of a brand. Although some consumers accept marketer-generated brand identities easily and are able to integrate such identities into their lives, others have a hard time accepting such marketer-generated brand identities and meanings (Thompson, Rindfleisch and Arsel 2006; Berthon, Pitt and Campbell 2008). As a result, some of today’s tech-savvy consumers started to re-brand such corporate brand meanings on their websites, blogs, or social networking spaces (Krishnamurthy and Kucuk 2009). Many companies are facing the reality of losing the control to forge their own brands’ identities. These companies struggle to re-negotiate meanings with consumers in today’s technologically dynamic and challenging environments. It is clear that today’s consumers are not passive recipients of marketer-generated messages and meanings any longer. They are now very engaged players acting as alternative or equal market agents to corporations in marketplaces (Urban 2004; Kucuk and Krishnamurthy 2007).

Recent research also suggests a link between the levels of consumer organized anti-branding activities on the Internet and corporate brand values (Kucuk 2008; Krishnamurthy and Kucuk 2009; Kucuk 2010). In other words, such anti-branding activities may play an active role in consumers’ brand preferences and consumption. These kinds of powerful consumer anti-branding activities have never been seen in this magnitude in business and marketing history. Thus, consumer-generated anti-branding activities need to be investigated closely by branding and marketing academicians and practitioners in order to reach a better understanding of anti-branding activities and the impact on today’s and future markets.

Full information available at

---