Brands and Their Meaning Makers

This article by Allen, Fournier, and Miller argues that traditional branding theory — rooted in cognitive psychology and information processing — is insufficient for understanding brands in today's marketplace. The "received view" treats brands as knowledge structures in consumers' minds, controlled primarily by marketers. The authors propose an alternative "emergent paradigm" that sees brand meaning as co-created by three key actors: corporations, consumers, and broader culture. Culture shapes brand meaning through historical events, media, and social movements (as seen with Harley-Davidson and Martha Stewart), while consumers actively construct and sometimes subvert brand meanings through identity projects, brand communities, and resistance movements like culture jamming. The authors also highlight how new marketing practices — branded entertainment, buzz marketing, blogs, and integrated media — challenge existing theories. They call for consumer researchers to move beyond brand attitude as the central construct and embrace narrative, authenticity, and meaning transfer as more fitting frameworks for the complex, dynamic branding landscape of the modern era.