Introduction: What Is Brand Marketing?

Harvard business historian Richard Tedlow (1990, 15) says that “[e]very great modern consumer product company achieved it success in part from owning established brands.” The subject of this book is the historical evolution from barely noticeable product markings to the modern practice of marketing/promoting the brand itself. This book also uniquely examines the history of brand marketing from the legal perspective. Paul Duguid (2009, 3) notes: “The history of modern brands is to a significant degree dependent on the history of trademarks….” Other marketing historians such as Sivulka (1998) and Strasser (1989) acknowledge that the evolution of trademark law contributed to the growth of modern brands. Thus, any history of brand marketing must necessarily discuss a history of branding law (Petty, 2016, 3–30). This chapter begins our discussion by introducing terms, concepts, and issues that are integral to the historical evolution of brand marketing.