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Consumer Engineering, 1920s–1970s

Marketing between Expert Planning and Consumer Responsiveness

Gary Cross editor Jan Logemann editor Ingo Köhler editor

Format:Hardback

Publisher:Springer Nature Switzerland AG

Published:14th Jun '19

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Consumer Engineering, 1920s–1970s cover

In the middle of the twentieth century, a new class of marketing expert emerged beyond the familiar ad men of Madison Avenue. Working as commercial designers, consumer psychologists, sales managers, and market researchers, these professionals were self-defined “consumer engineers,” and their rise heralded a new era of marketing. To what extent did these efforts to engineer consumers shape consumption practices? And to what extent was the phenomenon itself a product of broader social and cultural forces? This collection considers consumer engineering in the context of the longer history of transatlantic marketing. Contributors offer case studies on the roles of individual consumer engineers on both sides of the Atlantic, the impact of such marketing practices on European economies during World War II and after, and the conflicted relationship between consumer activists and the ideas of consumer engineering. By connecting consumer engineering to a web of social processes in the twentiethcentury, this volume contributes to a reassessment of consumer history more broadly.

ISBN: 9783030145637

Dimensions: unknown

Weight: unknown

296 pages

1st ed. 2019