Liz Boswell proposes we begin by dividing brand subversion in Not-For-Profit vs For-Profit... Rogue Brand Subversions & Brand Appropriation
If your brand has been hijacked or subverted and You need "reverse branding" help... reach me on Twitter. I can help you diffuse energies faster than you can do alone... @BenMack
Rogue Brand Subversions (Not-For-Profit)
1984...WHO ELSE REMEMBER THESE BUMPER STICKERS?
Brand Parody and Brand Vandalizing For entertainment purposes – the spoof is comic relief making light of “serious” things, talking about things that are sacred for profit & entertainment. (Martha Stewart Living Spoof Magazine) Brand Vandalizing can be categorized together with the
Parody or Spoof – the motive is sheer joy of iconoclasm and desecration. This is another form of entertainment. (Disney Vandalism)
Stakeholders: Consumers, Cultural Critics, Politically or Artistically Motivated Outsiders, profit-motivated entertainers
Brand Satire – For protest purposes and/or bringing things to light about the subject, conscious-raising and political messaging. This is slightly darker than the lighter-hearted parody or vandalism. (Ad Busters Magazine, MindBomb.tv)
Stakeholders: Cultural Critics, Politically or Artistically Motivated Insiders
Brand Hijacking - The Willful Imposter – The purpose of hijacking a brand is to interact with the natural audience of the brand – to provoke a different response to the brand. (The Yes Men)
Stakeholders: Politically or Artistically Motivated Outsiders
Brand Appropriation (For-Profit)
Artists and others appropriate brands for aesthetic reasons. (Warhol, Dali)
Stakeholders: Consumers, Cultural Critics, Politically or Artistically Motivated Outsiders, profit-motivated entertainers
Similar Animal: Commercial Counter-Branding
Parasitic Branding - The creation of deliberate brand confusion, usually for the purposes of attaching to that brand’s profit stream. (Seattle’s Best)
Stakeholders: Competitors, Vendors, other industry stakeholders, (Manufacturers, Retailers or Ad Agencies)
Brand Plagiarizing – Simple copycat of any brand equity elements for profit. (The Yellow Pages; when ALL of the competitors plagiarized the brand cues, they became category generic cues. Fashion Knock-offs)
Stakeholders: Competitors, Vendors, other industry stakeholder, (Manufacturers, Retailers or Ad Agencies)
Controlled Parallel Branding (Counter Cultural) Companies try to generate news and end-run the subversion by creating “parallel brands” and hosting the “means of production” for its consumers: Subservient chicken – Burger King (show website & discuss uses) Whassup – Budweiser (show website & discuss uses)
The company creates a brand that lives separately,which can do things that the regular brand “can’t. This is the “idiotes” position in literature. Discuss the usefulness of this to a company.
Stakeholder: The Original Brand Maker (Manufacturer, Retailer or Ad Agency)
