Patagonia Politics
Douglas HoltMarketing, Culture & Society
University of Oxford
(with Jill Avery)
Politics of Consumption
University of Wisconsin
October 2006
Social Mission Brands
• Central “solution” for global problems?– Social enterprise, social entrepreneurship,
sustainable business, CSR etc.
• SMBs led, so much celebrated– Ben & Jerry’s, Body Shop, Stonyfield, Tom’s of
Maine, Patagonia, Red– Mgmt books, biz mags
• Seldom studied
Research Interests
• Social Mission branding– How to build powerful SMBs?– What are political effects?
• Extend cultural branding model – Authenticity from citizenship-org myths (Holt 2002)– Push customer segments (Holt 2004)
• Commercial Activism• Political analogy
• Yvon Chouinard, iconic mountaineering innovator, Ventura, CA 60s-70s
• Patagonia tech clothing -- late 70s
• Took off in mid-80’s amongst UMC
• $300 million/year
• Catalogue driven branding – $7M vs $1M print ads
Patagonia Social Mission
• In business to help resolve environmental crisis
• Introduced PCR Synchilla fleece • All cotton to organic, Beneficial T line• Greenest supply chain in the biz• Eco advocacy in catalogue since early 90s• 1% of revenue to grassroots activism
• Left/Green politics
Academic literature: literal consumer-citizen model
• Ethical Consumption (Europe)• Mindshare Branding (Aaker, Keller)• Social Identity (Bhattacharya, Sen)
• Brand equity stems from identification with pro-social business policies
• SMBs conflated with CSR
Patagonia’s SMB equity?
• Academic– Brand equity from identification with eco-business
policies
• Popular Understandings– Hardcore
• eco-activism tied to fully committed lifestyle
– Wannabes • BoBos buy Patagonia symbolism, adventure-lite and eco-lite
Contradictions
(tensions)
Brand Myth Ideological POV, via expressive culture,
which repairs contradictions
Target Identity Projects
PopulistWorld
Source materials
Cultural Branding Model (static)
National Ideologies
Cultural/Political Equities
CommCodes
CulturalReferences
Expressive Culture
SMBs and Cultural Branding
• Successful SMBs are identity brands
• So become iconic via cultural branding mechanisms
• Similar customer segments to commercial iconic brands– Insiders, Followers, Feeders
• Do hypotheses hold?• What does this mean for political effects?
Method
• Genealogy of Patagonia Brand (‘72-present)– Catalogue + Yvon media coverage + retail
• Identity Interviews– 23 informants in Boston/Cambridge– Patagonia loyalist screener– Social network (HBS heavy)– 2 hour inductive lightly structured interview – Patagonia discussion via catalogue photos + essays
ExtremeAdventure
Literate Essays
Wilderness Eco-Advocacy
Intimate in-the-wild biographies
Identity myth = 4 interwoven narratives
• Dirtbag Culture = ?– Extreme Adventure– Eco-Wilderness– Back-to-Nature Bohemian – Frontier Cosmopolitan
• Classed articulation of revived Frontier.• Perfect identity symbolism for post ”Reagan Revolution”
upper-middle class• Stitch a tailored eco-activism to multidimensional identity
project
Patagonia Stimulus Materials (Winter 2004 catalog) Story #1: El Dorado [Extreme Adventure x Back-to-Nature Bohemian] Photo: woman climbing a rock wall next to the ocean Story: 2-year trip visiting desert (Joshua Tree), mountains (Boulder), ocean (Pacific) to learn nature’s ways and to determine if they were desert, mountain, or ocean people. Story #2: Simple Customs of Salmon Nation [Eco-Wilderness] Photo: Native American drawing of burnt orange and white skeleton-like salmon Story: Celebrates salmon ecosystem with in a metaphorical new-age style, interspersed with memories of Native American culture and lore. Call to action to join Salmon Nation. Story #3: On Being First [Extreme Adventure] Photo: B&W of man on wintry, jagged mountain looking up steep incline. Story: Climb in Patagonia ice field besieged by bad weather. Trying a first ascent. They summit after great difficulty, but sensation of being first that has driven them is missing. Photo #4: Yosemite Climber [Extreme Adventure] Woman clinging to rock face on Chouinard-Herbert route way above valley. Photo #5: Australian Adventure [Back-to-Nature Bohemian] Guy on tailgate of old truck/van stuffed with gear in New South Wales, Australia. Photo #6: Tree Climber [Extreme Adventure] Scientist in Australian tropical tree canopy, high above misty forest floor. Photo #7: Fixing the Truck [Back-to-Nature Bohemian] Woman is under the hood of an old Ford truck parked outside of a barn in Durango, CO Photo #8: Machu Picchu, Peru [Frontier Cosmopolitan] Young girl celebrates her birthday entering the ruins of Machu Picchu. Photo #9: Headless Fish [Eco-Wilderness] Wolf biologist holding and staring at gory headless salmon in middle of forest.
IdentitySymbolism
ExtremeAdventure
DirtbagCulture
None
Patagonia Politics
Eco Movement Eco Wilderness None
Identity Myths
• #1: Dirtbag Myth– Identify with all 4 facets of Patagonia brand
• #2: Extreme Adventure Myth– Very competitive-achieving articulation of
extreme adventure dominates– Frontier cosmopolitan is similar– Ignore both bohemian and eco-activism
Patagonia Politics
• Eco Movement– Patagonia as one player in broad movement
pushing for sustainability– Leopold eco systems language: restorative,
balance, harmony
• Eco Wilderness – Conserving Wilderness (Roosevelt tradition)
• None
Bruce SteveDwight MarthaEric LauretteMartha Sarah
LizDavidPhoebe
Afshan DougAngela RickBrendanFrank
Heather
Helena AshleyAudrey
IdentitySymbolism
ExtremeAdventure
DirtbagCulture
None
Patagonia Politics
Eco Movement Eco Wilderness None
Michael
Mark
Bruce SteveDwight MarthaEric LauretteMartha Sarah
LizDavidPhoebe INSIDERS
Afshan DougAngela RickBrendanFrank FOLLOWERS: MYTH #1
Helena
LITERALISTCITIZEN-CONSUMER
AshleyAudrey
FEEDERS
IdentitySymbolism
ExtremeAdventure
DirtbagCulture
None
Patagonia Politics
Eco Movement Eco Wilderness None
Michael
Mark
FOLLOWERS:
MYTH #2
Advocacy?Marginal Ideological Effects
• Eco-Movement Insiders– Fellow traveler, marginal solidarity
• Dirtbag Culture Followers– Patagonia plays minor pedagogical role
• Extreme Adventure Followers– Don’t know Patagonia as eco-activist
Key: Gramsci x Business
• Patagonia has built broad-based cultural formation around progressive business practices
• Interpolate into radical green business customers who reject– Products for the enlightened
• 7th Generation, Tom’s, Hain, etc
– Advocacy Organizations• Greenpeace, Sierra Club, WWF, Friends of the Earth
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