Patagonia Politics Douglas Holt Marketing, Culture & Society University of Oxford (with Jill Avery)...
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Patagonia Politics
Douglas HoltMarketing, Culture & Society
University of Oxford
(with Jill Avery)
Politics of Consumption
University of Wisconsin
October 2006
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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
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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
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• 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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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?
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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
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ExtremeAdventure
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Literate Essays
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Wilderness Eco-Advocacy
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Intimate in-the-wild biographies
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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
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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.
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IdentitySymbolism
ExtremeAdventure
DirtbagCulture
None
Patagonia Politics
Eco Movement Eco Wilderness None
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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