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Kiwiana: National Identity and Consumption Sean Sands, Monash University, Michael Beverland, University of bath, UK

In this paper, we explore the role of consumption and consumption artefacts (called “Kiwiana”—which refers to those images which have been adopted as symbols of national identity) as part of the recent emergence of a shared national culture. The rich tapestry of art, imagery and consumption objects which comprise Kiwiana serve as a shared identity and act as boundary markers to . We explore how this shared culture is co-created, how consumers, brands, and culture creators all act together to (unconsciously) co-create an ecology of meaning, a shared identity that the group members draw on in shaping their consumption behaviour.

[to cite]: Sean Sands and Michael Beverland (2011) ,"Kiwiana: National Identity and Consumption", in E - European Advances in Consumer Research Volume 9, eds. Alan Bradshaw, Chris Hackley, and Pauline Maclaran, Duluth, MN : Association for Consumer Research, Pages: 491.

[url]: http://www.acrwebsite.org/volumes/1006908/eacr/vol9/E-09

[copyright notice]: This work is copyrighted by The Association for Consumer Research. For permission to copy or use this work in whole or in part, please contact the Copyright Clearance Center at http://www.copyright.com/. Kiwiana: National Identity and Consumption Sean Sands, Monash University, Australia Michael Beverland, University of Bath, UK

Extended Abstract industries including brand managers, artists, designers, authors, Although research has examined how consumers negotiate celebrities, journalists, iconic individuals, academics and local identity via consumption (Arnould and Price 2000; Peñaloza 1994), body and national marketers). Consumer interviews consisted of the role of rituals and brands in reaffirming an individual’s national ten in-home interviews with New Zealanders living outside of New identity (Askegaard, Arnould, and Kjeldgaard 2005), and the role of Zealand, focusing on the historical context and usage of Kiwiana country-of-origin image to brand equity (Beverland and Lindgreen in consumption practices and daily life. In addition to the interview 2002), to date, little research has examined how national identity data and pictures, on the 12 occasions that the authors visited New emerges and what role consumption plays within that process. For Zealand between 2007 and 2009, they captured visual imagery example, the term “” is used globally to refer (positively) to ranging from graffiti art through to advertisements, consumers, New Zealanders. Although many may regard this identifier as deriv- and branded spaces. As well, both authors read (and even authored) ing from New Zealand’s national flightless bird of the same name, articles published in local magazines, newspapers and on websites. the origin of this term and its role actually derive from the shoe The findings identify that consumption images and objects polish brand of the same name. Created prior to World War One in (labelled as “Kiwiana”) play a central role in the formation and Australia by a Scottish expatriate (who named the brand after the reinforcement of a shred national identity. Through the adoption and flightless bird endemic to his New Zealand wife’s homeland), the use of Kiwiana, New Zealanders connect to one another, and also widespread use of the product by New Zealand soldiers in the First connect to an imagined, shared past. We find five themes relating and Second World Wars earned the troops the nickname “Kiwi.” In to national identity creation: deliberate storytelling, elevating the fact, far from being a symbol selected by a government committee, ubiquitous to the sacred, subcultural mash-ups, intergenerational prior to the First World War, many national symbols were used transfer, and identity projection. The use of Kiwiana represents both by New Zealanders and New Zealand brands (the extinct Moa, an authenticating act (in that it allows for personal connections to the Maori Tiki, silver , fern frond, and even sheep). Arguably time, place and culture) and an authoritative performance (in that without the high profile boot polish (and two global conflicts), it is Kiwiana is used to express one’s allegiance to a national identity) possible that the national term for New Zealanders would be very (Arnould and Price 2000). The findings identify that national different today. In this paper, we explore the role of consumption identity, far from being a monolithic or irrelevant concept within and consumption artefacts (called “Kiwiana”—which refers to post-modern markets, is in fact an emergent, evolving narrative those images which have been adopted as symbols of national shaped by (among others) consumers, artists, cultural institutions, identity; Bell 2004) as part of the recent emergence of a shared marketers, designers, and other influencers. This suggests that the New Zealand national culture. loss of traditional identity markers under post-modern conditions The rich tapestry of art, imagery and consumption objects may have been overplayed. Although traditional markers of identity which comprise Kiwiana serve as a shared identity and act as are no longer as dominant as they once were, our findings also boundary markers to New Zealanders, providing unique rituals and suggest that shared rituals at a national level are created to ensure rites of passage, knowledge and modes of symbolic expression that an ongoing connection between the past and present. Where some serve to delineate a culturally enacted boundary, acceptable modes suggest that consumption rituals at the micro level allow for personal of consumption, and which identify members as belonging to a authentication (Arnould and Price 2000), we identify a richer picture particular subcultural group (Belk and Costa 1998; Kates 2002; in which personal consumption rituals such as identity displays and Schouten and McAlexander 1995). Like boundary markers in other intergenerational transfers operate against a background of social subcultures, Kiwiana is seen as important for New Zealanders changes, deliberate creative acts, and cultural wide reassessments to understand and appreciate the history, language, symbols and of mundane items. traditions, for members to fully participate in the “New Zealand” To our knowledge, this is the first paper to examine the role of subculture (Arnould and Price 2000; Belk and Costa 1998; Muniz consumption objects in the creation of national identity. Whereas and O’Guinn 2001) through authenticating acts and authoritative previous research identifies how objects gain legitimacy and there- performances (Arnould and Price 2000). We propose that Kiwiana fore status and longetivity by locating themselves within a national is central to the emergence of a shared New Zealand identity or narrative (see Beverland 2005 for review), these findings indicate culture. This shared culture operates in tandem with other values that the meaning transfer is not one-way, rather national identity including those derived from subcultures such as ethnic background is also shaped by consumption and brands. or other groups of which individual consumers draw identity from (i.e., we are not proposing that the shared “Kiwiana” culture studied here is the sole, or even most important source of identity for New Zealanders; rather it is a resource from which consumers may use to achieve their ends; Beverland and Farrelly 2010). We explore how this shared culture is co-created, how consum- ers, brands, and culture creators all act together to (unconsciously) co-create an ecology of meaning, a shared identity that the group members draw on in shaping their consumption behaviour. Specifi- cally, we investigate the cultural tradition and join the circle between the brands, which employ Kiwiana imagery and symbolism, the creators of the culture itself, and consumers (cf. Thompson 1997). Over a three-year period, we conducted a series of interviews with sixty-six informants (12 consumers, 54 people in the creative 491 European Advances in Consumer Research Volume 9, © 2011