Special Session: The (Co-)creation of Brand Heritage: An Abstract

In the last 15 years, marketing research has significantly advanced the definition, the measurement and the operationalization of brand heritage. Originally developed at a corporate brand level in a Northern European context (Urde et al. 2007), this concept has been adapted to many other contexts since. Conceptually, brand heritage has been adapted for the study of product brands (Hudson 2011; Merchant and Rose 2013; Pecot and de Barnier 2017). Methodologically, it has generated both qualitative (Hakala et al. 2011; Rindell et al. 2015) and quantitative works (Pecot et al. 2018; Rose et al. 2016).

The aim of this special session is to present the most recent advancements on the fabrication of brand heritage and its related tensions. Mario Burghausen focuses on a cultural institution as a corporate heritage brand, whose heritage is co-created by multiple stakeholders. He introduces the role of hybrid stakeholders to designate the membership department and its members as partners and value creators. Brad Hudson and George Wyner explore an in-depth case study of Lionel model trains, and the way the current management combines the brand’s heritage with cutting-edge innovations. Joshua Butcher and Fabien Pecot look at how Champagne brands and Champagne consumers make the brands’ heritage visible on Instagram.

The three papers address a different kind of tension related to the fabrication or operationalization of brand heritage: the role of hybrid stakeholders, the articulation of brand heritage and innovation, and the visualization of brand heritage on social media. Altogether, this session will significantly advance research on the internal management of brand heritage, at both the corporate and product level.