Consumer Engineering, 1920s–1970s
Marketing between Expert Planning and Consumer Responsiveness
Gary Cross editor Jan Logemann editor Ingo Köhler editor
Format:Paperback
Publisher:Springer Nature Switzerland AG
Published:14th Aug '20
Currently unavailable, and unfortunately no date known when it will be back
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- Hardback£99.99(9783030145637)
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: 9783030145668
Dimensions: unknown
Weight: unknown
296 pages
1st ed. 2019