Dear Colleagues,

Cultural branding became ever more salient in the late 20th century when tensions arose between national and international brands. Multinational firms often undercut comparable domestic brand prices because of efficiencies, economies of scale, distribution advantages, and tariff considerations. Increasingly, though, a surge in preferring national brands, embedded in consumer sentiments about national and cultural identity, has been resonating in the minds of consumers. National cultural representations of history, heritage, colors, songs, myths, folklore, story-telling, and more afford domestic marketers a potential advantage in an increasingly globalized whirl of products and services. The pressures of post-COVID supply chains may perhaps add a potential wrinkle in this binary global vs. national schism.

The scope and purpose of the issue and its relationship to brand management is to contribute empirically and conceptually to the sustainability and marketing literature by freshly examining how cultural branding supports any one of the three legs supporting sustainability: (1) environmental, (2) social, and (3) economic. While marketing management strategists and brand managers are naturally concerned with the latter, the social and environmental components of this triad are intertwined. Put another way, to what extent do specific cultural branding strategies impact national/regional environments, social and cultural representations, or pricing and consumption patterns that contrast with “foreign” products and services? These questions might also be extended to particular artists and related genres of artistic (visual, graphic, music, literary) expressions.

Practical managerial implications might afford national marketers with insights on making national brands that draw on national heritage symbols advantages more attractive to consumers. Consumer cultural theorists can offer insights into how broad-stroke notions of heritage, sustainability, branding, and local cultural are interpreted by consumers at the national or sub-national level. Both qualitative, quantitative, hybrid, and case-study approaches are welcome.

Prof. Dr. Joseph L. Scarpaci
Guest Editor

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• cultural branding
• iconic branding
• nation branding
• myth making
• consumer culture
• story-telling
• theory
• globalization
• environmental sustainability
• social sustainability
• economic sustainability
• artist brands