The potential manifestation of place as a brand component of regional meat :the cases of Cumbrian salt marsh lamb and Herdwick lamb

Abstract

Purpose – the purpose of this research is to explore respondents’ knowledge of regional foods including the pre-product stage i.e. in the landscape. Herdwick lamb and Cumbrian salt marsh lamb are both highly visible in the landscape and form part of the ‘lifescape’ of local residents. Design/method/approach – taking a phenomenological stance the research examines the experiential claims of respondents; means-end chain analysis was selected to gather customer values relating to this broader product concept. Ladder maps were drawn up for each of two sets of twenty respondents residing in the production region of either lamb. Hierarchical value maps are produced to reveal salient connections. Findings – show that respondents hold a very wide range of perceptions, experiences and associations with the ‘pre-products’, which influences their judgement about the freshness, flavour, quality of the meat. The ability to fulfil other functions by buying regional meat became apparent, in particular the need to make a contribution to the local economy, to support the ecology, and to know the place through community interaction. Respondents were found to interact with the landscape on two levels, perception and inner reflection. Practical implications – effective regional food brands may be characterised by branding actions which do not have the food product details at their core. The development of relationships, events and brand communities in a shared place may sustain producers who have their volume output limited by what the land will bear. Originality and value – the limitations of some marketing structures are considered for adaptation including: Boatwright et al.’s (2009) value opportunity analysis and Keller’s (2008) consumer based brand equity model. An opportunity for creation of a new category of attribute, relating to experience of ‘pre-products’ in the landscape is discussed.