Abstract

Iconic branding sidesteps the emphasis on heavy messaging and multi-channel marketing that drive most marketing strategies by delivering cultural messages that resonate quickly with consumers. These iconic elements draw on semiotic representations, storytelling, folklore, myth and popular culture that infuse the branding process. This presentation outlines my extant research on exploring this topic for Denmark, Cuba, Chile and Argentina, and outlines an ethnographic methodology for connecting consumer brand preferences for national products in these countries. 

Short CV

Dr. Scarpaci former Director of the Latin American Studies Program at The University of Iowa, the former chair of the Department of Marketing and Management at West Liberty University (USA), and is presently Emeritus Professor of Virginia Tech and Executive Director of the Center for Cuban Culture + Economy. His most recent co-authored book, Marketing without Advertising: Brand Preference and Consumer Choice in Cuba (Routledge) sets the stage for the cross-national work driving his AIAS Fellowship at AARHUS. He is a five-time Fulbright award recipient to Colombia, Chile, and Uruguay and is the recipient of the Carl O. Sauer Award for Lifetime Achievement given by the Conference of Latinamericanist Geographers, the recipient of the American Library Association’s “Choice” book award for his co-authored book, Havana: Two Faces of the Antillean Metropolis (University of North Carolina Press). The U.S. National Science Foundation, The Social Science Research Council, and The National Institutes of Health have also supported his research, among others. 

Joseph Scarpaci's project at AIAS.

What is a Fellows' Seminar?

The AIAS Fellows' Seminar is a session of seminars held by the AIAS fellows or by other speakers proposed by the fellows. In each seminar, one fellow will present and discuss his/her current research and research project, closing off with a question and discussion session.

All seminars are held in English and open to the public. Registration to the seminar is not necessary. Read more about the AIAS Fellows' Seminar here.