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ABSTRACT
One marketing element that has been largely overlooked in the theoretical construction of brand symbolism and the dynamics of social identity is product packaging. Packaging acts not only as a vehicle for transmitting symbology, but is important for its own symbolic contribution to the total understanding of the corporation or brand (Rapheal and Olsson 1978). This paper presents an exploratory qualitative study on the communication exchange between packaging and the consumer. Two general themes emerging from the data include (1) the symbolic qualities attached to the brand via packaging, and (2) the importance of packaging to the strength of the identity of the brand. The paper puts forth packaging as a vehicle for meaning transfer and an integral tool for establishing and communicating brand identity. This work builds on existing frameworks in the areas of symbolic interactionism (Blumer 1969; Hirschman 1990; Solomon 1983), cultural meaning transfer (McCracken 1986), brand concept management (Park, Jaworski, Macinnis 1986), product symbolism/self concept (Elliott and Wattanasuwan 1998; Sirgy 1982), and consumerbrand relationships (Fournier 1998) to position packaging as a marketing mix variable critical to image creation and delivery. Packaging is posited to influence brand identity and ultimately, the consumer, via both mediated and lived experiences. The positioning of packaging as a dual symbolic resource base (mediated and lived experiences) is variant from the traditional single symbolic resource base (mediated experiences) provided by advertising. This...