The death of the brand. Challenges facing international brands in the 21st century - an analysis with examples and recommendations

Diploma Thesis from the year 2003 in the subject Communications - Public Relations, Advertising, Marketing, Social Media, grade: 75, University of Leeds (Trinity & All Saints College), course: Media Dissertation, 129 entries in the bibliography, language: English, abstract: For better or for worse, we live in what has been called a brandscape - a branded world - today. We are at a time in history when brands go beyond being business platforms to becoming symbols of our times. An increasing proportion of our lives is mediated by brands like McDonald′s, Sony and Budweiser, which often reflect the changing values of our society. Brands are more than just advertising, they are part of our culture. Think of Andy Warhol and Campbell′s Soup and Norman Rockwell and Coca-Cola. Think of the digital brandscape with Google, Facebook and YouTube - brands knowing more about who we are, what we look like, who our friends are and what our dreams and wishes are, than any other brand, organisation or company, ever knew before. Products, people, countries - Britain, for example, tried to become a brand with its "Cool Britannia" slogan - and companies are all racing to turn themselves into brands - to make their image more likeable and understandable. Furthermore, brands dominate our working lives, and corporate logos are now in every civic space, from schools, universities and playgrounds to hospitals and art galleries. And this brandscape can be considered to be global: walk down a...