Rituals, Consumption, and Marketing

Rituals, Consumption, and Marketing: A Research Companion is a compendium of cutting-edge scholarship exploring the relevance, roles, and functions of rituals in consumer culture-a topic that has burgeoned within the marketing field. The volume theoretically expands on the understanding of rituals in marketing and consumer culture and how consumption rituals emerge and evolve through seven key parts: 1) conceptual understandings of ritual; 2) rituals and marketing strategy; 3) culturally rooted rituals; 4) rituals and well-being; 5) rituals in childhood and adolescence; 6) rituals, media, and technology; and 7) writing rituals. With contributions from international scholars, ranging from early-career researchers to those who pioneered ritual scholarship in marketing, it showcases the ways rituals can contribute both to the well-being of consumers and the business objectives of marketers. This book will be a valuable resource for academics in the marketing field pursuing ritual scholarship. It will act as a rich resource for creating assignments, cases, and projects in courses on consumer culture, consumer behavior, and marketing strategy. It will also inspire practitioners to make their customers' experiences more meaningful and memorable.

Cele Otnes is Professor Emerita of Marketing in the Gies College of Business at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, USA. Tina M. Lowrey is Professor of Marketing at HEC Paris, France.

Part I - Conceptual Understandings of Ritual 1. Existential Explorations of Ritual 2. The Psychology of Ritual Consumption 3. Meaningful Behavior and Meaningful Objects: Understanding the Intersection of Rituals and Sentimentally Valuable Possessions 4. Reciprocity with Non-Human Entities 5. Dark Rituals of Excess: The Case of Swedish "Draining" Part II - Rituals and Marketing Strategy 6. Using Syncretism to Enhance Game Day Ritual Efficacy and Vitality 7. Managing B2B Rituals in Project Marketing 8. Rituals Revised: How Beauty Influencers Impact Grooming Rituals 9. Making Harmony in the Bath: Ritualizing the Sensory Experience of a Baby Bath Brand Part III - Culturally-Rooted Rituals 10. The Magic of Threshold Rituals: Cosmic Protection from Unseen Forces 11. Carving National Identity: Performing Rituals of Everyday Nationhood through the National Dish 12. Defection, Alternatives, and Disruption: How Rituals Change at Individual, Community, and Society Levels in Culture 13. Personalizing Practices in Green Witch Rituals 14. No Pyro, No Party: The Evolution and History of the Stonehaven Hogmanay Fireballs Part IV - Rituals and Well-Being 15. Staging High Intensity Spectacles: Marketplace Rituals as a Pain-Coping Mechanism 16. Therapeutic Agentic Benefits and Communal Service Rituals: Consumer Empowerment through a Virtual Thai Cooking Class Unrecognized Consumption Rituals: Insights for Smoking And Vaping Cessation 18. I Have Abundant Time: The Impact of Consumption Rituals on Perceived Time Affluence and Brand Outcomes Part V - Rituals in Childhood and Adolescence 19. Marketplace Actors and Child-Centric Rituals: An Ethnographic Study of Dressmaking in the Bo'ness Fair 20. The 21. Liquid Romance and Gift Giving of Teenagers in Japan Part VI - Rituals, Media and Technology 22. Leveraging Seinfeld to Understand the Norms of Failed Gift Exchange 23. Ritual Transformation During Times of Crisis: Extending and Reducing Disrupted Rituals 24. Ritual Interdependencies among Users and their AI Companions Part VII - Writing Rituals 25. Forms and Functions of Rituals in My Cousin Rachel: Comparing the Novel and Film Versions 26. Poems on Ritual in Consumer Culture 27. Wrestling With Rituals: Twisted Tales of Trying Traditions