ABSTRACT
This book has considered how brands attempt to confer legitimacy, and how they are themselves subject to processes of critique and justification within a legitimised structure in order to achieve authenticity. Earlier it was noted how Boltanski and Thevenot (2006) developed a justificatory framework comprising of six different ‘common worlds’: 1) Inspired World, 2) Domestic World, 3) World of Fame, 4) Civic World, 5) Market World, and 6) Industrial World, each of which was argued to represent common orders of worth which support judgement and justification narratives and positioning. It is possible to take these worlds and identify links to some of the brand narratives highlighted in the research in this book. The BBC, for example connects with the private domestic world, by highlighting the way it reaches out to its users in their own communities: ‘In the course of the year we reached and passed the 100th in our series of public meetings’ (BBC Annual Report 1985:3); and by adapting its production processes to include private creative content from audiences. Apple’s connection with people’s private worlds could be argued to be the way its products seek to empower users and ‘increase the productivity and creativity of people’ (Kawasaki 1991:6). From its initial inception Apple’s brand positioning reflected the inspired world, incorporating the notion that the brand is ground-breaking, world-changing and inspirational, even to the point that working on new product design was seen by staff as an ‘exalted mission’ (Isaacson 2011). The BBC also leans on inspirational justification with its narrative of supporting Britain’s cultural heritage: ‘It remains a marvellous organisation, regarded with huge affection for the vital cultural role it plays in the life of this country’ (Luckhurst 2006). Often positioned as an arbiter of taste and cultural aspiration, in a seemingly oxymoronic positioning of different criteria, the BBC also leans on the world of fame. The single most frequently occurring narrative from the BBC annual reports was its wide audience appeal: ‘Every week, just over half of the adult population tunes into BBC Radio for music, comedy, drama, news, discussion and documentaries’ (BBC Annual Report 1995/96:22). For Apple, the promotion of its brand as well known and iconic appears to have been controlled and deliberate, with reports of three hour weekly brainstorms focusing on brand messages (Isaacson 2011) and significant investment in advertising and product launch events. The use of Steve Jobs’ fame as an iconic symbol was also deliberately used to build 145the Apple brand by representing ‘American innovation and entrepreneurial cunning’ (Levy 2000:17), and arguably the same type of narrative is used by Mark Zuckerberg in presenting himself as the face of Facebook.
