Linking British Popular Culture and Brand-Building Strategies As the accelerating forces of globalization and technology cross national borders, awareness of, interest in, and participation in popular cultures have steadily grown worldwide. Furthermore, the growth of the Web has revolutionized the spreading of new cultural influences globally by creating thousands of online communities where people of all ages share information one-0n-one or with large, worldwide groups using blogs, podcasts, and social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter, and Youtube. As a result, popular culture has become an attractive tool for marketers and brand managers. British popular culture in particular holds an important place globally, and much of it appeals to many age groups, , regardless of their social class, educational background, or religious affiliation. Early notable movements, such as The Beatles, the British rock band of the 1960s, and later, Britpop, and era that saw the rise of the British guitar bands in the 1990s, helped establish the British popular music industry as an international center of musical creativity. In recent years, British popular culture has become a source of popular literature, fashion, television entertainment, and film. For instance, in both its book and film formats, J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter series has attracted a huge following in various parts of the world; the James Bond series of books and movies also remain very popular. The British have also been responsible for some of the most popular television entertainment formats that the global mass market consumes, including game shows such as The Weakest Link and Who Wants to Be a Millionaire and talent shows like Britain's Got Talent and The X Factor. Adaptations of these shows have appeared on the airwaves of many countries, including the United States, China, and India. The quirky British sense of humor has travelled well, too, with television situation comedy series such as The Office and comedy films like Four Weddings and a Funeral. The influence of popular culture on brand management is hard to overlook, in particular in the digital age where consumers can create buzz, pass on viral messages, and bring brands alive in the popular culture using Web-based consumer-generated content. It is increasingly clear that brands that combine traditional brand management with an updated popular culture appear are among the most successful and relevant. British companies such as Aston Martin, manufacturer of luxury sports cars, the Barclays Bank PLC, and fashion house Burberry have benefited from an understanding of how British popular culture is perceived in their target markets and from exploring the international branding potential of popular culture. By way of example, in 2010, the fashion company Burberry used Emma Watson, the actress who played the young Harry Potter heroine Hermione Granger, and George Craig, the lead musician of the indie band One Night Only, to represent the modernity of its heritage brand. The popular culture attributes, images, and symbols associated with these characters helped breathe life into the iconic Burberry brand and transform it into readily identifiable British products, giving the company a competitive advantage in the international marketplace.

Discussion Questions 1. Many cultural critics have dismissed popular culture as merely a symptom or side effect of mass consumerism. Discuss. 2. To what extent do you agree with the statement that the Internet has become a major carrier of what's popular among the masses, and why?