Mexico City, April 4, 2024 - What challenges and opportunities do brands face in the current context of consumerism? In order to provide a guide and a framework for researchers and practitioners in the field of brand management, Dr. Enrique Murillo Dr. Enrique MurilloProfessor of the School of Business at the University of California, Berkeley, USA Universidad Panamericana and Dr. Ceridwyn King of Purdue University in Indiana edited A Research Agenda for Brand Management in a New Era of Consumerism.
This was an opportunity that presented itself in September 2021, when the British publisher Edward Elgar Publishing approached Dr. King, who in turn brought Dr. Murillo on board, and invited them to edit a volume that brings together the state of the art of brand management research for an academic audience interested in research.
A necessary work for marketing
Dr. Murillo recalls that he and Dr. King were convinced that there was a need for a book that identified and explained important brand management issues that have been on the rise in the last two decades.
"For example, brand communities, conscious branding, nonprofit branding and internal branding. Hence, Elgar's offer was very attractive to us, as it was to the authors of the chapters when we invited them to participate," states the academic about the work that was finally published in September 2023.
"Each of the 32 participating authors concluded their chapter with a map of future possibilities for their specific topic. With such a wide variety of future possibilities for innovative research, and with the accelerated change we see in consumer societies, it is difficult to summarize in a few words the most promising directions," says the researcher.
Evolution of consumerism and impact on brands
Consumerism is not new, according to Dr. Murillo, it was born along with the Industrial Revolution, which allowed the mass production of consumer goods at affordable prices. However, he points out that some features of the consumerism practiced by millennials are new .
"Kantar Consulting (a leading market research company) mentions that the imperative of this generation can be synthesized in the phrase 'Live large, carry little'. Millennialconsumers demand fun, convenience and new experiences, but they no longer consider it necessary to own a lot of material things to achieve these goals," explains Murillo.
He also states that this change in consumer value propositions "has also generated dramatic changes in the brand management function, which is primarily responsible for formulating and communicating these value propositions to new consumers.
An opportunity to upgrade
He confirms that the professional community recognizes and seeks to adapt quickly to the changes introduced by millennials. However, he knows that the academic community is often slower to detect these trends and to systematically investigate them .
"I think every contemporary marketing and brand management professional requires continuous updating on the most recent research findings because the pace of change at the present time is dizzying."
Hence, he recommends reading A Research Agenda for Brand Management in a New Era of Consumerism: "Of course, a single book cannot cover all the content desirable for an informed professional, but I think our volume offers a very good synthesis written by experts of international stature".
He also hopes that the reader who approaches this publication, either for professional practice or for mere interest, "will be able to take advantage of all the potential of the subject" .
Interested in purchasing the book? Find it here:
https://www.elgaronline.com/edcollbook/book/9781803925516/9781803925516.xml
