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Article
Publication date: 31 August 2021

Fred Beard, Brian Petrotta and Ludwig Dischner

Contemporary practitioners of content marketing (CM) often suggest their discipline is an ancient one, yet mainly limit its origins to the custom-published magazines of the late…

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Abstract

Purpose

Contemporary practitioners of content marketing (CM) often suggest their discipline is an ancient one, yet mainly limit its origins to the custom-published magazines of the late 1800s. The purpose of this paper is to synthesize some of the many definitions of CM and to report the first scholarly history of its development and practice.

Design/methodology/approach

This study’s purposes led to the following research questions: To what extent were CM strategies and tactics used before the 20th century? How have the uses and characteristics of CM changed or remained the same over time? Sources included general histories focusing on the earliest uses of advertising and promotions and edited book chapters and journal articles on the histories of branding and early print advertising, marketing and advertising practices in ancient and medieval periods and the development of consumer cultures around the world.

Findings

Research findings support three conclusions: CM existed much earlier than often acknowledged; has emerged as a unique marketing discipline, strategically and tactically distinguishable from the others (e.g. advertising and sales promotion); and possesses objectives, strategies and tactics that have remained remarkably consistent in practice across the millennia.

Originality/value

The research supports several insights to the history of marketing and the practice of CM. Some of the CM strategies and tactics identified in this paper, for instance, have previously been concluded to be part of advertising’s history. Findings also reveal that many of advertising’s American pioneers actually used CM to persuade 19th-century businessmen to adopt widespread advertising. In addition, the emphasis on interactive, digital media in CM definitions offers a likely explanation for the recent enthusiasm behind CM as a response to global trends in consumer preferences and global competition, as well as why contemporary CM practitioners have often failed to recognize they are practicing a “new” discipline that has actually been in use for thousands of years.

Details

Journal of Historical Research in Marketing, vol. 13 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1755-750X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 20 November 2017

D.G. Brian Jones and Alan J. Richardson

The aim of this study is to explore the attempts by early twentieth century cyclecar manufacturers in the UK and USA to segment the personal transportation market and to position…

1157

Abstract

Purpose

The aim of this study is to explore the attempts by early twentieth century cyclecar manufacturers in the UK and USA to segment the personal transportation market and to position early cyclecars through the development of unique product attributes and advertising. More specifically, the authors speculate about early twentieth century British cyclecar marketing strategies that implicitly recognized a sports car segment and positioned cyclecar brands to meet the needs of that segment.

Design/methodology/approach

The primary source material for this research is a sample of 205 print ads and articles from the early twentieth century (1912-1921) specialty magazines devoted to cyclecars in the UK and USA. We combine the content analysis of the sample of ads with a critical reading and interpretation of a sub-sample of those same ads.

Findings

Between 1910 and 1921, a new form of personal transportation was developed that combined the technology of motorcycles with the utility of automobiles. Known as “cyclecars”, these vehicles were typically constructed from off-the-shelf motorcycle parts and assembled in small batches by a myriad of manufacturers. Current scholarship suggests that the cyclecar craze of the 1910s ended with the introduction of low cost “real” automobiles such as the Ford Model T, Austin 7 and Morris Oxford. We use the content analysis of cyclecar advertisements to construct a brand-positioning map of this emerging segment of the transportation market. We argue that while the core cyclecar positioning was in direct competition with small economically positioned cars such as the Ford Model T, a significant part of the market, primarily centered in the UK, could be considered as for sports cars. That segment of the cyclecar market, along with the development of cyclecars into urban delivery vehicles, continued over time and has re-emerged today in a range of three-wheeled sports cars, including the updating and continuation of the British Morgan 3 Wheeler model which was launched during the heyday of cyclecars.

Research limitations/implications

The authors can only speculate about the impact of the Ford Model T in this study. Further research on that issue is needed.

Originality/value

This is the first historical study of cyclecar marketing. Most of what little has been published about cyclecars focuses on their design and technology.

Details

Journal of Historical Research in Marketing, vol. 9 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1755-750X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 16 February 2015

Patrizia Battilani and Giuliana Bertagnoni

The main aim of our study is to demonstrate that the Italian way to marketing included not only the “advertising artists” but also what can be labelled as the social network…

1054

Abstract

Purpose

The main aim of our study is to demonstrate that the Italian way to marketing included not only the “advertising artists” but also what can be labelled as the social network approach, which was mainly used by cooperative enterprises. Focussing on the case study of the Granarolo co-operative, the paper discusses the social network method of marketing as it emerged during the 1950s and 1960s in Italy.

Design/methodology/approach

The research draws on different types of primary sources, including co-operative business records, interviews, publications, newspaper articles and advertisements.

Findings

In the age of mass consumption, the Granarolo co-operative developed an original marketing strategy based on social networks. This strategy can be considered a kind of community brand based on shared values pre-existing to the brand itself and a kind of viral marketing put in place before the electronic revolution.

Research limitations/implications

The research focusses on the Granarolo case study. It can be extended to other co-operative enterprises. However, it is unknown whether the anticipation of viral marketing has also been used by private enterprises.

Practical implications

The marketing strategies analyzed in the paper could be a interesting solution for undertakings strictly connected and rooted in their local community or in their Web community.

Social implications

In today’s world of the Web, this physical constraint no longer exists, and the social method of marketing exceeds the regional and even the national level. In conclusion, this was an innovative method of marketing and advertising that came into being, ahead of its time, about a half a century before modern Web-based social networks were conceived, yet uses the same concepts, hence its extraordinary originality.

Originality/value

This study is the result of an original research which tries to highlight what we could label the Italian way to marketing. Taking into consideration the first two decades of the Granarolo history and focussing on the marketing strategy, our contribution seeks to examine how the social networks approach worked and in what it differs from today brand community and viral marketing.

Details

Journal of Historical Research in Marketing, vol. 7 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1755-750X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 15 August 2016

Susie Khamis

This study aims to examine and contextualize the growing salience of nostalgic motifs in the promotion of Bushells Tea from the early 1980s to the early 1990s. It aims to analyze…

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to examine and contextualize the growing salience of nostalgic motifs in the promotion of Bushells Tea from the early 1980s to the early 1990s. It aims to analyze the ironic foregrounding of a rural aesthetic as a strategic evasion of growing concerns in popular media about the globalization of the Australian economy and the concomitant “takeover” of iconic Australian brands, including Bushells, by multinational corporations.

Design/methodology/approach

This article draws on three main materials: a collection of Bushells advertisements (from newspapers, magazines and television), promotional materials, rare press clippings and company memos/briefs, which were loaned to the author for the purposes of this research by Unilever Australasia (Sydney, Australia); contemporary press reports that document popular reactions to the rapid globalization of the Australian economy in the early 1990s; and biographies of key personnel and organizations.

Findings

Despite its gradual takeover by a multinational corporation, the Bushells brand was marketed in ways that evoked an “authentic” and nostalgic nationalism through imagery that drew on the nation’s rural past, reproduced a rustic aesthetic and sentimentalized a pre-globalized era.

Originality/value

This article constitutes original interdisciplinary analysis of how one of Australia’s most iconic and historically dominant brands (Bushells Tea) was marketed during one of the most tumultuous periods in its history. Through examination of rare archival material and contemporary press reports, the analysis makes a valuable contribution to the understanding of brand marketing history in Australia.

Details

Journal of Historical Research in Marketing, vol. 8 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1755-750X

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 22 June 2015

Marica Mazurek

A singular place (a destination) is a product with multiple characteristics and multifunctional utility for different customers; however, some places offer the same type of…

Abstract

A singular place (a destination) is a product with multiple characteristics and multifunctional utility for different customers; however, some places offer the same type of utility and compete for the same customers. For this reason, the competitiveness of a place as a livable space, a space for investments, tourism, etc. has caused the emergence of the innovative managerial approaches to place governance. One such approach, which has been primarily used in production and which could be applied also in destination management, is the concept of branding.

The chapter summarizes the impact of place branding (our main focus) and place marketing (in more broad concept) on destinations, underlines the importance of culture and history in a place branding concept and highlights the importance of creation of partnerships in destinations by envisioning some useful concepts of co-operation in tourism destinations with a goal to create a positive image.

Details

Marketing Places and Spaces
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78441-940-0

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 14 June 2019

Nazife Karamullaoglu and Ozlem Sandikci

This paper aims to understand how social, cultural and political economic dynamics inform packaging design. Specifically, it focuses on one of the oldest Turkish pasta brands

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to understand how social, cultural and political economic dynamics inform packaging design. Specifically, it focuses on one of the oldest Turkish pasta brands, Piyale, and seeks to understand the impact of the changes in the macro-institutional structures on its packaging practices over the course of almost a century.

Design/methodology/approach

The analysis is mainly based on data collected through archival and documentary research. The archival data are gathered from various sources including the personal archives of the former managers, advertisements published in the popular magazines of the time and industry reports and documents. Data are analyzed using a combination of compositional and social semiotic analysis.

Findings

The analysis indicates four distinct periods in the brand’s history. The design elements and visual identity reflect the social, cultural, political, economic and technological changes shaping the Turkish society in these different time periods. The findings show that a socio-historically situated analysis of a brand’s packaging design transformation reveals the complex relationship between design and culture and provides clues to the market-society interface.

Originality/value

This study provides a comprehensive historical analysis of the visual identity evolution of the oldest Turkish pasta brand Piyale and contributes to research on packaging histories in the non-Western markets.

Details

Journal of Historical Research in Marketing, vol. 11 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1755-750X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 15 May 2017

Sidney Jay Levy

This autobiography sums up the life story of one of the contributors to the history of inquiry and instruction in the field of marketing, with special attention to the historical…

Abstract

Purpose

This autobiography sums up the life story of one of the contributors to the history of inquiry and instruction in the field of marketing, with special attention to the historical developments that have influenced the study of consumer behavior and the concept of branding.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper is an autobiographical essay, a personal history.

Findings

The reminiscence illustrates the way life experiences evolve, showing the interaction among personal growth, education, career choices and work experience that led to Professor Levy’s contributions to the field of marketing education and its research literature.

Originality/value

The paper describes a unique life, and an unusual explication of the personal life sources of influential ideas. It is novel in its large perspective and integrative narrative, and the unusual exposure of its various conceptual issues and links. It should be of interest to marketing historians, managers and scholars of marketing education.

Details

Journal of Historical Research in Marketing, vol. 9 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1755-750X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 16 July 2019

Yavuz Köse

This paper aims to investigate the introduction of Nescafé, a brand of the Swiss multinational company Nestlé, into the Turkish market and examines the formative period…

1387

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to investigate the introduction of Nescafé, a brand of the Swiss multinational company Nestlé, into the Turkish market and examines the formative period (1952-1987) before it succeeded to become the most popular and leading coffee brand in Turkey. By that it aims to draw attention to Turkey as an interesting case in point for the study of the history of marketing practices in a non-Western context.

Design/methodology/approach

This study deploys a variety of largely unexplored material ranging from archival sources to newspaper reports and advertisements. In the first part, archival sources provided by the Nestlé archives (AHN) will be analyzed to present the company’s marketing strategy. As the amount on advertisements between 1952 and 1984 remained modest, the second part is devoted to the analysis of Turkish media reports to discuss Nescafé’s public perception.

Findings

The paper demonstrates that during the period under consideration the instable political and economic environment was pivotal for Nescafé’s marketing. Nestlé in the early years used similar strategies as in the West advertising Nescafé as a premium product for the upper middle-class. Due to import restrictions, it was a scarce and high-priced product. Nescafé succeeded to become a highly esteemed and sought-after product because it stood for Western modernity and prosperity. The study argues that it was not primarily Nestlé’s marketing that resulted in Nescafé’s considerable brand recognition but its public “visibility” through media reporting.

Research limitations/implications

This study is a preliminary attempt to investigate the history of instant coffee and its marketing in a non-Western market. The paper is mainly focused on Nescafé because it was and still is the most important brand in Turkey. Further, this paper brings into spotlight a country with distinct sociopolitical and cultural particularities which distinguish it from Western countries and allow to scrutinize how marketing practice and thought may develop in a non-Western setting. Further research is needed as Turkey's specific marketing environment is far from being thoroughly investigated.

Originality/value

By focusing on Turkey, this paper provides an insight into the specific ways Nescafé was marketed, consumed and perceived in a non-Western market. By that it allows to consider how multinational companies responded and adapted to a culturally, politically and economically challenging environment.

Details

Journal of Historical Research in Marketing, vol. 11 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1755-750X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 30 September 2014

Mario Burghausen and John M.T. Balmer

The repertories of the corporate past perspective is introduced and articulated and is placed with the corporate communications and corporate marketing domains. The framework…

1602

Abstract

Purpose

The repertories of the corporate past perspective is introduced and articulated and is placed with the corporate communications and corporate marketing domains. The framework consolidates and expands the comprehension of multifarious actualisations of the past as a corporate-level phenomenon. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

Design/methodology/approach

A literature review, which draws on the extant corporate heritage literature within corporate marketing and corporate communications along with other salient perspectives within social sciences, is integrated into a conceptual framework of past-related corporate-level concepts.

Findings

The paper advances the extant literature by making a distinction between instrumental and foundational past-related corporate-level concepts. A framework is introduced and articulated detailing seven different modes of referencing the past of an organisation: corporate past, corporate memory, corporate history, corporate tradition, corporate heritage, corporate nostalgia, and corporate provenance.

Research limitations/implications

The paper clarifies the current state of this nascent field of corporate marketing and communication scholarship concerned with the historicity of corporate-level phenomena and advances the conceptual understanding of the multiple ways in which links with an organisation's past can be understood and scrutinised offering an integrated framework of seven conceptual lenses for future research.

Practical implications

Managers, by more fully comprehending the repertoires of the corporate past, are, the authors argue, better placed to discern whether the past is of material benefit to their organisations. If so, the repertoires of the corporate past perspective may enable managers to more effectively manage, maintain, and capitalise on their organisation's past in multiple ways.

Originality value

This paper is substantively informed by both the corporate heritage literature and the salient literature from the social sciences. The introduction of a repertoire of the corporate past framework, arguably, represents an important contribution to the domain.

Details

Corporate Communications: An International Journal, vol. 19 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1356-3289

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 2 November 2012

Stephen Hardy, Brian Norman and Sarah Sceery

The purpose of this paper is to review and explore topics that might constitute a history of branding in sport and might also contribute to understanding today's sport branding

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to review and explore topics that might constitute a history of branding in sport and might also contribute to understanding today's sport branding practices.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper employs both secondary and primary sources on a range of sports across centuries of time and space. The paper also employs Mayer's principles of multi‐media learning.

Findings

The paper finds that sport brands have a long history driven by entrepreneurs and organizations through rule‐making, equipment, distinct names, and employment of new technologies.

Originality/value

The paper identifies a series of topics that merit closer scrutiny by historians whose research might inform contemporary scholars and practitioners of sport marketing.

Details

Journal of Historical Research in Marketing, vol. 4 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1755-750X

Keywords

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