1 Exploring Symbolism in Masstige Brand Advertising Within the Discursive Context of Luxury: A Semiotic Analysis Keji Adebeshin A dissertation submitted to Auckland University of Technology in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Business (MBus) 2015 Department of Marketing, Advertising, Retail and Sales 2 TABLE OF CONTENTS ATTESTATION OF AUTHORSHIP ............................................................................... 3 LIST OF FIGURES .......................................................................................................... 4 LIST OF TABLES ............................................................................................................ 5 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .............................................................................................. 6 ABSTRACT ...................................................................................................................... 7 CHAPTER 1 – INTRODUCTION ................................................................................... 9 1.1 Research Background.............................................................................................. 9 1.1.1 Introduction to Luxury Identifiers .................................................................... 9 1.1.2 Defining Masstige Brands .............................................................................. 10 1.2 Research Objective................................................................................................ 11 1.3 Research Methodology: Semiotics ........................................................................ 11 1.4 Research Significance ........................................................................................... 12 1.5 Paper Outline ......................................................................................................... 12 CHAPTER 2 – LITERATURE REVIEW ...................................................................... 13 2.1 LUXURY IDENTITARY VALUES .................................................................... 13 2.1.1 Heritage: Place and Family/Founder .................................................................. 13 2.1.1.1 Place as Heritage ......................................................................................... 14 2.1.1.2 Family and Founder as a Source of Heritage .............................................. 15 2.1.2 Craftsmanship: Product Quality, Artisanship and Premium Pricing ................. 16 2.1.3 Rarity: Product, Distribution, Promotion ........................................................... 18 2.1.4 Hedonic/Experiential Value and Social/Symbolic Value .................................. 19 General Conclusion ..................................................................................................... 21 2.2 ON MASSTIGE BRANDS ................................................................................... 22 CHAPTER 3 – RESEARCH METHOD ........................................................................ 26 3.1 Method of Analysis: Semiotics ............................................................................. 26 3.2 Sample ................................................................................................................... 28 CHAPTER 4 – DATA ANALYSIS ................................................................................ 30 CHAPTER 5 – FINDINGS ............................................................................................. 63 CHAPTER 6 – DISCUSSION ........................................................................................ 65 CHAPTER 7 – CONCLUSION AND IMPLICATIONS ............................................... 68 CHAPTER 8 – LIMITATIONS AND FUTURE RESEARCH DIRECTIONS ............. 70 REFERENCES ................................................................................................................ 71 3 ATTESTATION OF AUTHORSHIP I hereby declare that this submission is my own work and that, to the best of my knowledge and belief, it contains no material previously published or written by another person (except where explicitly defined in the acknowledgements), nor material which to a substantial extent has been submitted for the award of any other degree or diploma of a university or other institution of higher learning. Keji Adebeshin July, 2015 4 LIST OF FIGURES Figure 3 Middle Range/Masstige/Luxury Items……………...………………………29 Figure 4.1 Calvin Klein 1………………………………………………………….….30 Figure 4.2 Calvin Klein 2………………………………………………………….….33 Figure 4.3 Coach 1………………………………………………………………...….35 Figure 4.4 Coach 2..…………………………………………………………………..37 Figure 4.5 Michael Kors 1..……………………………………………………….….39 Figure 4.6 Michael Kors 2.…………………………………………………….….….41 Figure 4.7 Armani Exchange 1.……………………………………………….……...42 Figure 4.8 Armani Exchange 2..……………………………………………………...44 Figure 4.9 Gucci 1..…………………………………………………………………...47 Figure 4.10 Gucci 2..………………………………………………………………….49 Figure 4.11 Dolce & Gabbana 1.………………………………………………….….50 Figure 4.12 Dolce & Gabbana 2.………………………………………………….….52 Figure 4.13 Chanel 1...……………………………………………………………….54 Figure 4.14 Chanel 2...……………………………………………………………….56 Figure 4.15 Louis Vuitton 1...………………………………………………….…….58 Figure 4.16 Louis Vuitton 2...………………………………………………….…….60 Figure 4.17 Common Explicit Advertising Cues..……………………..…….…...….64 Figure 4.18 Common Implicit Advertising Cues.….………………..……….…...….64 5 LIST OF TABLES Table 4.1 Calvin Klein 1………………………………………………………….….30 Table 4.2 Calvin Klein 2………………………………………………………….….33 Table 4.3 Coach 1………………………………………………………………...….35 Table 4.4 Coach 2..…………………………………………………………………..37 Table 4.5 Michael Kors 1..……………………………………………………….….39 Table 4.6 Michael Kors 2.…………………………………………………….….….41 Table 4.7 Armani Exchange 1.……………………………………………….……...42 Table 4.8 Armani Exchange 2..……………………………………………………...44 Table 5 Masstige Brand Advertising Cues………………………………………….46 Table 4.9 Gucci 1..…………………………………………………………………...47 Table 4.10 Gucci 2..………………………………………………………………….49 Table 4.11 Dolce & Gabbana 1.………………………………………………….,….50 Table 4.12 Dolce & Gabbana 2.………………………………………………….,….52 Table 4.13 Chanel 1...……………………………………….…………………….….54 Table 4.14 Chanel 2...……………………………………………………………..….56 Table 4.15 Louis Vuitton 1...…………………………………,,……………….…….58 Table 4.16 Louis Vuitton 2...……………………………………,,…………….…….60 Table 5.1 Luxury Brand Advertising Cues…………………………………...……....62 Table 5.2 18 Identified Masstige Brand Cues……………………………….…..….....63 Table 5.3 19 Identified Luxury Brand Cues………………………………….….........63 6 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank my supervisors Dr Stephen Lloyd and Dr Jae-Eun Kim for their supervision and contribution right from the conception of this research through to its completion. I would most especially like to thank them for believing in me and encouraging me to excel. I respect you and I appreciate you. I would like to extend my gratitude to the lecturers that have in one way or another contributed to my learning throughout this degree. Specifically, I am grateful to Dr Crystal Yap, Professor Ken Hyde, Professor Helene Wilkinson, Dr Martin Waiguny, Dr Mark Glynn and my supervisors. I have been able to apply what you have taught me on this research. My sincere thanks extends to my family who through their prayers, moral and financial support, encouragement and patience, I have been able to complete this dissertation with ease. Last and most importantly, I would like to thank God for the opportunity to be the first Masters holder in my immediate family. He has been my strength throughout this journey and without God and those mentioned above, I could not have done this. For this, I am grateful. 7 ABSTRACT Many consumers are drawn to the allure of prestige brands such as Calvin Klein, Michael Kors, Ralph Lauren, Victoria’s Secret, to mention a few, and as a result, prestige brands have seen global financial success especially in North America, Europe and Asia (Silverstein & Fiske, 2005). These brands do not fit the luxury frame neither are they middle-range brands; they form a category of brands termed as masstige brands, a phenomenon seldom researched in marketing literature. This study explores Masstige branding, a modern, profitable business which sees the production and distribution of prestige goods with mass accessibility. There is need for research that provides an understanding of the prestigious nature of masstige brands and this dissertation hopes to fill this gap. In order to understand the prestigious value of Masstige brands, the paper discusses Masstige brand values within the context of luxury brands, drawing similarities and differences between Masstige and luxury brand identity. The research asks: whilst masstige brands are similar with middle-range products in terms of the ‘mass’, what values do masstige and luxury brands share that reflect ‘prestige’? Extensively, what values are exclusive to masstige (and luxury) brands? Simply put, the paper ultimately aims to answer the question: what constitutes a masstige brand? To answer these questions, the research employed the semiotic method to analyse the advertising of eight brands, four Masstige and four luxury, identifying common and differing brand cues. The sample were randomly selected but were restricted to fashion campaigns between 2009 and 2015 with saliently encoded brand meanings. The masstige samples include Calvin Klein, Michael Kors, Coach and Armani Exchange while the selected luxury brands include Gucci, Dolce and Gabbana, Chanel and Louis Vuitton. The analysis