Dr. Laurent Muzellec

Dr. Theo Lynn

Brand Precession

(Reverse product

placement) : branding in

fictional and virtual

environment

Is it computer-synthesized?

Is it what is in our head?

Brand Content &

Emotional Branding

• Content produced by a brand" that is not directly linked

to the brand product or service. Therefore it can't be

just a promotional message produced by a brand. But

it can involve a lot of "types of content".

Brand Content Project: http://www.nowness.com

From Real to Fiction

Interactive Product

Placement

Reverse Product

Placement

Fro

m R

eal t

o Virt

ual

Brand Precession and

Reverse Product Placement

So WHAT

ARE THOSE BRANDS?

where are the brands?

Fic

tio

nal b

ran

ds a

re t

here

if

yo

u lo

ok f

or

them

in

film

s…

…on television…

…and in books

...Computer-synthesized brands are in computer games…

…an

d v

irtu

al w

orl

ds

…but are they truly brands?

what is a brand?

“a name, term, sign, symbol, or design, or a combination of them, intended to identify the goods or services of one seller or group of sellers and to differentiate them from those of competitors”

Brown, 1992“nothing more than the sum of all the mental connections people have around it”

Schlossberg, 1990“asset of the firm” which derives revenue for its owner ”

brands vs brand potential

brand potential is not brand reality

Are

all

vir

tua

l b

ran

ds

pro

tob

ran

ds

? Aimee Weber

1. A Name, logo and symbol

2. Mental images (=associated with cool virtual design)

3. First Avatar legally protected (registered trademark as of 2008)

4. Generates revenue for owner - Alyssa LaRoche

See: www.aimeeweber.com

Q: How can you capitalise on

consumer’s emotional attachment?

A. Create a HyperReal Brand

Brand Precession: determining protobrand potential:

• Can the brand aura be fomented entirely in the virtual prior to tangibilization or

productization in the real physical world?

• Can the brand sufficiently capture the imagination and emotional attachment of

real consumers in the real physical world?

Protobrands: a commercial opportunity to

exploit or…

Reverse Product Placement (Hosea, 2006)

Th

e R

eb

ran

din

g o

f 7

-ele

ve

n

• Registered Trademark by Rodrigo Contreras in Mexico in 2008

• Haacht produce and andsuccessfully markets a real beer with a real taste

…threat to mitigate

Brands in real and

virtual worlds

Brand Precession: Proposed Levels of

Abstraction

Triple Play Brand: a virtuous

circle of brand

reinforcement

towards a praxis of brand

precession