Branding, Consumerism, and Contemporary Marketing: A Critical Perspective

Notably brands and branding distinguish and position businesses’ market offerings in relation to competitors’. They constitute parts of the core elements of the marketing system that contribute to how businesses satisfy their customers. Hence, branding is inextricably linked to the marketing philosophy of creating and delivering value to the customers. In fact, it plays key roles in the notion of value co-creation between businesses and their customers. Although they have characteristics that distinguish them from physical products, service offerings also benefit significantly from the use of banding. Besides, as the marketplace consumption behaviour keep changing, the areas of application of branding have also evolved into many more areas than it used to be such as branding in the not-for-profit activities, branding of political ideologies, personal branding, branding in the religious context, branding in a digital age, and branding in the metaverse among others. This chapter explores these issues critically to open the discourse of the brands, branding, and consumerism in this book.