What doesbrand mean? historical-analysis method and construct definition

This article addresses the meaning of the term brand means by presenting a method of historical analysis and construct definition based on information in theOxford English Dictionary. The method’s use is demonstrated in an analysis of the original meanings that underlie the term’s usage both as a single word and in compounds such as brand competition, brand personality, brand reputation, and so forth. Literal (denotative) definitions and metaphoric (connotative) associations are examined to explain the use of brand to refer to a physical entity and/or a mental representation. The method is also theoretically grounded in the disciplines of philology (the history of words), poetics, rhetoric, and the philosophy of science. The historical-analysis method is applied to the meanings of brand, starting with its original usage about 1,500 years ago and culminating with the definitions used by authors in this special issue. Barbara B. Stern (bbstern@aol.com) is Professor II of marketing at Rutgers Business School. She was awarded her Ph.D. by the City University of New York. Her articles have appeared in leading marketing journals such as theJournal of Marketing, theJournal of Consumer Research, theJournal of Advertising, theJournal of Advertising Research, theJournal of the Academy of Marketing Science, and others. In addition, she is a coeditor of the journalMarketing Theory and the author of numerous articles in the proceedings of conferences of the Association for Consumer Research, the American Marketing Association, and the American Academy of Advertising. In 1995, she was a co-chair of the American Marketing Association Summer Educators’ Conference, and in 1997, she received the Outstanding Contributions in Advertising Research Award from the American Academy of Advertising. Her primary research interest is the adaptation of literary theory and methods to the analysis of advertising, marketing, and consumer text.