This book explores how everyday stories, media, and symbols shape—and are shaped by—the ways we think about markets, brands, and consumption. Drawing on examples from film, television, music, fairs, and other familiar cultural settings, this book offers fresh perspectives on how marketing operates beyond boardrooms, spreadsheets, and formal strategy. Rather than treating marketing as a self-contained discipline, it goes further by suggesting that brands and marketing are not simply influenced by popular culture but are themselves forms of popular culture. Accessible and engaging, this collection invites readers to see markets not merely as sites of buying and selling, but as cultural spaces where shared stories are told about who we are, what we care about, and how we connect with others.

This book will appeal to a wide range of readers, including students, scholars and professionals interested in subject areas such as marketing, cultural studies, media studies, sociology, anthropology, and consumer behavior. Bringing together leading international scholars, this collection demonstrates how cultural analysis deepens our understanding of contemporary marketing practices worldwide.

The chapters in this book were originally published as a special issue of Journal of Marketing Management.