ABSTRACT

This chapter introduces the topic and focus of the book, which encompasses the various ways in which brands and branding intersect with and shape urban life. It establishes the central concern of the book with the social and cultural implications of brands and branding in the city, and some of the questions pursued, such as: What kinds of meanings, social relations, and forms of life emerge through entanglements of brands, consumers, and city environments? These questions and concerns are explored in relation to three distinct modalities by which brands interface with city life: retail brandscapes; urban branding; and mobile brand strategies. The chapter provides a preliminary definition of brands, and delimits the empirical and documentary research material that informs the analysis. It highlights a key contention of the book, that brands and social and cultural worlds are co-constituted through entanglements of brands with people and places and the various performances enacted by the range of actors and auspices involved. The chapter develops an overview of key sociological accounts of cultural consumption and urban consumption, emphasizing the active nature of consumption and its relationship to formations of identity, culture, and urban space. Finally, the chapter sketches out the structure of the book and provides a summary of its chapters.