Academy for Entrepreneurial Leadership | Illinois

Theodore Davis III
Department of Advertising, College of Media

Abstract: The Effects of Countercultural Framing on Consumer Perception

This study fits within the examination of consumer oriented communication, and the ability it has to convey messages about various products. More specifically, it explores the concept of framing and how it can be used to shape consumers’ perceptions of a product. Though most often associated with study of political communication, framing analysis can readily be applied to the study of brands and branding. The overall purpose of this research will be to develop an enhanced understanding of how framing cues can be effectively applied to the development of a successful brand identity – in particular, how the perception of a company’s brand identity can be altered by using specific verbal cues to frame a company’s brand image as being “cool.” The application will be beneficial to small and emerging business owners attempting to establish their brand within a particular market.

Brands provide businesses with the opportunity to preserve a space for themselves in crowded markets, and to ally their company’s image with a particular set of values. Brands are valuable to entrepreneurs in part because developing a brand places greater emphasis on creativity than on capital. Establishing their brand image as “cool” may help small and emerging businesses to overcome disadvantages of newness and starting up. The more successful a new brand is in framing itself in comparison to more well known brands, the more attention and consideration it is likely to receive from consumers.