CCSC Seminar with Dr Lorna Stevens and Prof Pauline Maclaran

A Touch of Glamour as an Affective Force in a Non-Exclusive Retail Brandscape

Lorna Stevens, Pauline Maclaran and Marleen Van T’Rie

The purpose of this study is to understand how a glamour aesthetic operates as an affective force in the marketplace, specifically in the context of a mainstream, non-exclusive retail brand, The White Company. Our findings identify three affective elements of a glamour aesthetic: Materialising the Aesthetics of Allure (how a glamour aesthetic is materially and discursively constructed in a retail context to create allure), Transporting the Sensing Self (how consumers respond to the retail brandscape experience) and Concealment of Effort (how a glamour aesthetic is carefully constructed yet must appear effortless and accessible to consumers so that they are moved by its promise to ‘elevate’ them).

About the speakers

Lorna Stevens is an Associate Professor of Strategic Marketing at the University of Bath, UK. Her research is in the domains of consumer culture, experiential consumption, embodied experience, media consumption, advertising, branding and popular culture. Her work has been published in a range of journals including Journal of Retailing, Sociology, Journal of Advertising, Journal of Strategic Marketing, European Journal of Marketing, Journal of Macromarketing, Journal of Marketing Management, and Consumption, Markets & Culture.

Pauline Maclaran is Professor of Marketing & Consumer Research in the School of Management at Royal Holloway.  Her research interests focus on cultural aspects of contemporary consumption, and she adopts a critical perspective to analyze the ideological assumptions that underpin many marketing activities, particularly in relation to gender issues. Her work has been published in a range of journals including Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Retailing, Journal of Advertising, European Journal of Marketing, Journal of Macromarketing, Journal of Marketing Management, and Consumption, Markets & Culture.