ABSTRACT
The meanings that brands have for consumers become the guiding lights for brand strategy. A consumer’s preference for a given brand, after all, invariably depends on what the brand means to that consumer. We have seen that the process by which brand meaning takes shape is driven by the constructive interplay between marketer/advertiser-generated public sources of meaning (through, e.g., brand communication, distribution and product placement) and more personal sources of meaning (e.g., direct experience, consumption patterns and rituals). Hopefully, the way consumers perceive and define a brand will correspond to the vision and intention of the marketer and will be reflected in brand strategy and communication.
