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| "There is no Spoon": Towards a Framework for the Classification of Virtual Brands and Management of Brand Precession |
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This paper considers the case of two fictional brands (�Duff Beer� and �Bertie Bott�s Every Flavor Beans�) and one computer-synthesized brand (�Aimee Weber�) and the attachment of these brands to physical products in the real and virtual worlds. The authors contend these cases are not merely manifestations of the "reverse product placement" process but are representative of a wider phenomenon, labelled �brand precession�. The three cases illustrate three orders of brand precession. In the first two orders, the virtual brands foment an aura in the fictional world, which will be leveraged through �tangibilisation� or �productisation� in the real world. In the third order of brand precession (Aimee Weber), commercial translation of the computer synthesised brand is not necessarily dependent on a physical existence in the real world. The authors contend that should such brands be capable of legal protection, the implications for marketing practitioners and researchers may be profound. The paper provides an embryonic classification and framework for the management and the articulation of virtual brands.
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25 April 2012 |
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