Branded Spaces

This article comprises a series of critical reflections on some current directions in marketing, with reference to empirical material from a case study of the promotion of a series of live music events. In particular, it highlights a key theme in contemporary marketing: the attempt to approach consumers in an expanded range of everyday spaces. This, in turn, is related to a heightened emphasis on branding, which derives from a complex of factors including a perceived fragmentation and diversification of media audiences and new ideas about the best ways of structuring and stabilizing markets. Within this scenario, the case study is presented as an example of ‘experiential marketing’: one of a range of possible strategic choices in the attempt to insinuate marketing practices more deeply into the lives of consumers. In addition, the case study shows how these spatial practices may be connected to electronic marketing technologies, such as databases, consumer websites and‘viral marketing’campaigns, in an attempt to extend the scope of emotional or affective bonds forged between consumers and brands. The article concludes by arguing that whilst such strategies may not always succeed in their stated aims, their emergence should nonetheless be taken seriously as an important development in the mediation of production and consumption.