Synopses & Reviews
Includes bibliographical references (p. 251-265) and index.
Synopsis
"Conquering Consumerspace" reveals the accelerating blurring of traditional boundaries between branded commodities and everyday life.
Synopsis
"Once upon a time, marketers barraged customers with hard-sell tactics. Today, consumers use products to define themselves and others. People are swayed not by corporate-generated hype, but by consumer-generated buzz. That means companies must shift their focus away from marketing to people and toward marketing with them. In ""consumerspace,"" firms partner with customers to develop brand personalities and create interactive fantasies. The winners understand that we buy products not just because of what they do, but because of what they mean. Market share is out; share of mind is in.
Conquering Consumerspace reveals the accelerating blurring of traditional boundaries between branded commodities and everyday life. Solomon’s timely book presents a new way of looking at customers: recognizing them as partners in an ongoing marketing transaction rather than as passive pawns at the receiving end of a sales pitch. Conquering Consumerspace also defines the place of customer feedback in product conception, design, and production, and why customizability is no longer a luxury option but a requirement.
From online ""buzz communities"" to theme stores and product placement to guerrilla marketing, what we consume is inextricably woven into our daily life experience, creating both challenges and opportunities for companies to accelerate and deepen their customers’ relationships with their products, services, and brands."
About the Author
Michael R. Solomon (Auburn, AL) is the author of Consumer Behavior: Buying, Having, and Being, the leading undergraduate text on consumer behavior, now in its fifth edition. He is a director of Mind/Share, Inc., a consulting firm specializing in online consumer research.
Table of Contents
"Preface
1. Now Entering Consumerspace: Welcome to a Branded World
2. What Products Mean in Consumerspace
3. O Pioneers! Scanning Global Youth Culture
4. Here’s Where You Can Stick Your Ad: Customers Talk Back
5. From Pawns to Partners: Turning Customers into Co-Designers
6. Virtual Voices: Building Consumerspace Online
7. The Disneyfication of Reality: Building Consumerspace Offline
8. I Buy, Therefore I Am: Shopping in Consumerspace
9. Trouble in Paradise: Culture Jamming in Consumerspace
10. Simply, Consumerspace
Epilogue: Lessons Learned in Consumerspace"