PhD Thesis: How Image Is Created

While completing my MSc at Lund University last winter I had the pleasure of attending the doctoral thesis of Cecilia Cassinger. Titled "Retailing Retold: Unfolding the Process of Image Construction in Everyday Practice," Cassinger uses research obtained from interviews with IKEA customers in Malmo, Sweden and Shanghai, China, to develop her thesis on image creation.

From the March 11, 2010 news release, quoting Cassinger:

"Within marketing, the view of image creation has traditionally been that it is the company that communicates a message, which leads to the creation of an image in the consumer´s mind. Instead I see image creation as an activity that is predominantly carried out when the consumer talks about his or her experience of the company. Consuming products is largely about explaining what we do with them in our everyday culture. Whether we are aware of it or not, our accounts lend significance to the company and thus create an image. It is about the invisible production of an image that takes place in time and space, primarily in the home where many products are used. In this way, accounts of consumption are a useful tool to capture image creation."

The thesis is particularly entertaining and insightful, employing a novel narrative that offers substantive insight into the concept of brand image creation. I would recommend it for anyone interested in consumption theory and brand image creation.

More:
Retailing Retold: Unfolding the Process of Image Construction in Everyday Practice [pdf]
Lund University School of Economics and Management