Talk:Signage/Archives/2018

WP:BIAS issue

Unconscious, no doubt, but this article still needs discussion (probably an entire section or linked separate page) on traditional East Asian signs, their calligraphy, and their cultural importance beyond just the fact that Chinese commercial culture created something similar to European signs at an early date. I can't find treatment anywhere on Wiki about it, but (for example) emperors granting signage in their personal handwriting was a huge honor and the way in which Mao Zedong marked his respect for the relics of Genghis Khan when they passed through Yan'an was by giving it a new sign in his calligraphy. The signs are still major features of traditional architecture and temples all over East Asia; I'd imagine there's probably plenty of scholarship on styles, conventions, and the like, even if most of it hasn't been translated. — LlywelynII 06:45, 28 January 2018 (UTC)

@LlywelynII: I have seen some commentary on retail signage, packaging and branding in China. Eckhardt and Bengstsson appear to be authorities on this region. (See: Eckhardt, G.M. and Bengtsson. A. "A Brief History of Branding in China," Journal of Macromarketing, Vol, 30, no. 3, 2010, pp 210-221). They argue that these practices were in place by the time of the Song Dynasty (960–1127) and offer an interesting social explanation for these very early developments. You should be able to find the full text with a search of Google scholar. Some mention is made of Chinese signage and branding practices in the Wikipedia articles on History of marketing, Brand, Brand management and Retail. In fact, it is also mentioned in the article on Signage, albeit briefly. I suggest that you start with Eckhardt and Bengstsson because they have written for English language academic journals. You could also search for other works by these authors - and follow some of their references to learn more. However, it should be noted that a number of scholars have pointed out that very little is known about marketing practices of signage, branding, packaging and labelling outside Europe. Some scholars have specifically mentioned the lack of sources for the Orient, while others have pointed to the shortage of sources for the Middle East. The lack of sources may account for what you call bias. If the sources aren't there, or if the sources are in languages other than English, then that creates difficulties for Wikipedia editors, no matter how desirous they might be to fill in the gaps and provide a comprehensive world history of a phenomenon. BronHiggs (talk) 07:48, 28 January 2018 (UTC)

Here are a few more leads that you might like to follow up:

* Xin Zhao and Zhiyan Wu,"Chinese Consumer Culture and Brand Culture", in Asia-Pacific Advances in Consumer Research, Volume 9, Zhihong Yi, Jing Jian Xiao, and June Cotte and Linda Price, (eds) Duluth, MN : Association for Consumer Research, pp: 41-42 <Online: http://www.acrwebsite.org/volumes/ap09/apacr_vol09_1009101.pdf>

* Zhihong Gao, "A History of Modern Marketing in China," in The Routledge Companion to Marketing History, D.G. Brian Jones, Mark Tadajewski (eds), Oxon, Routledge, 2016, pp 353-3790

* Re-an Müller "THE PROMINENCE OF BRANDING THROUGH HISTORY AND ITS RELEVANCE TO MODERN BRANDS: A LITERATURE REVIEW," in Global Business and Technology Conference Proceedings, Vienna, Austria, 2017 <Online: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Zhenning_Xu2/publication/320064694_MARKET_SEGMENTATION_USING_CLUSTER_ANALYSIS_AND_COMBINATORIAL_FUSION/links/59cbb1e20f7e9bbfdc3b6bb2/MARKET-SEGMENTATION-USING-CLUSTER-ANALYSIS-AND-COMBINATORIAL-FUSION.pdf#page=608> NB: Article appears to have 'borrowed' heavily from Wikipedia, but also incorporates some additional material so worth a look

* Mark Avis Robert Aitken , "Intertwined:Brand personification, brand personality and brand relationships in historical perspective", Journal of Historical Research in Marketing, Vol. 7, No. 2, pp. 208 - 231, http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/JHRM-01-2014-0004 <Online: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Mark_Avis2/publication/277306277_Intertwined_Brand_personification_brand_personality_and_brand_relationships_in_historical_perspective/links/55669a5408aeab77721cbd94.pdf>

* Ross Petty, "A History of Brand Identity and Brand Marketing," Chapter 6 in The Routledge Companion to Marketing History. D.G. Brian Jones, Mark Tadajewski (eds), Routledge, 2016 (Partially available via Google Books)

* Terrence H. Witkowski, "Early History and Distribution of Trade Ceramics in Southeast Asia", Journal of Historical Research in Marketing, Vol. 8 Issue: 2, pp.216-237, https://doi.org/10.1108/JHRM-07-2015-0026 (unable to locate full text online)

* Sreekumar, H. and Varman, J., "History of Marketing in India," in The Routledge Companion to Marketing History, D.G. Brian Jones, Mark Tadajewski (eds), Oxon, Routledge, 2016, pp 309- 406

* Toda, Y., "History of Marketing in Japan:Changes in Channel Leadership," in The Routledge Companion to Marketing History, D.G. Brian Jones, Mark Tadajewski (eds), Oxon, Routledge, 2016, pp 407-418

* Fox, K.G.A., "The History of Marketing in Russia," in The Routledge Companion to Marketing History, D.G. Brian Jones, Mark Tadajewski (eds), Oxon, Routledge, 2016, pp 433-454

I hope that this helps. BronHiggs (talk) 08:52, 28 January 2018 (UTC)

Not especially, no. The article already briefly addresses early Chinese use of retail and commercial signage, which seems to be what these are talking about. I'm talking about the entire nature and tradition of signs, inclusive of temple and official buildings and the ceremonial act of producing/receiving signs in the calligraphy of major state actors. But, yes, thank you for the sources and someone could use them to further expand the history of commercial signage bit. — LlywelynII 13:27, 31 January 2018 (UTC)