Beyond Bling: The role of conspicuous consumption in today’s society

6th November 2012, 3pm – 5pm

Clarence Room, Hilton Metropole, Brighton – BN1 2FU

Recently, I won funding from Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) of the UK to arrange an event under the auspices of Festival of Social Science 2012. So, you are warmly invited to participate in the seminar ‘Beyond Bling: The role of conspicuous consumption in today’s society’ funded by the ESRC Festival of Social Science and hosted by the University of Brighton Business School.

The growing economic and social importance of conspicuous consumption has become a striking feature of the new consumerist societies. The supply of products and services marketed as symbols of social identity and style now represents a significant part of overall economic and commercial activity. The seminar will bring together practitioners, and researchers from sociology, business management, and psychology to discuss and debate the effect of conspicuous consumption on present day society. Participants will significantly gain from the experience sharing by practitioners and cutting-edge research presentations by academics. The seminar aims to showcase the research from Brighton and will also act as a platform for future collaborations between practitioners and researchers.

Topics and speakers

Changing face of conspicuous consumption in the UK and Middle East

Alexandra de Kerros Boudkov Orloff (CEO of Sacha Orloff Consulting Group), using her own experiences will debate about ostentation among British and Arabic consumers over the past decade.

How luxury brands promote conspicuous consumption?

Stephen Doyle (Glasgow Calidonian University), will present his views on the conspicuous triggers used by luxury brands which influence decision making and purchase decisions among consumers.

Conspicuous consumption and value perceptions in the developed and emerging markets

Dr. Paurav Shukla (University of Brighton) will present the findings of his latest research programme on conspicuous consumption using comparative quantitative data from several developed and emerging markets.

 

Speaker profile

Alexandra de Kerros Boudkov Orloff is the CEO and Founder of Sacha Orloff Consulting Group. Prior to founding Sacha Orloff Consulting Group in 2005, she was Managing Director of de Grisogono and part of Senior Management at Groupe Horloger Breguet and Swatch Group; GM of the International Television and Symposium Exhibition in Switzerland and Japan. With over twenty years in the luxury and retail industry, Alexandra brings a wealth of expertise to brand development strategy; restructuration; investments and acquisitions, and, operational performance. Sacha Orloff Consulting Group is one of the sole consulting companies whose core expertise operates in the service and retail industry, specializing in serving the high-growth potential of GCC and Middle Eastern markets. Sacha Orloff Consulting Group works alongside leading businesses to develop and implement customized solutions, considering technology, innovation, trends and timing that address today’s challenges and tomorrow’s opportunities.

Stephen Doyle is a fellow in Community Engagement. Previously, he led the MBA in Luxury Brand Marketing at Glasgow Caledonian University. With a background in industry, he has retained strong commercial links, providing consultancy support in the form of strategy development, consumer insights, personal mentoring, quality management and creative thinking across a range of sectors including FMCG, fashion and finance. He has strong associations with international universities and has been invited to deliver lectures on the subject of fashion and luxury marketing in Europe, Asia and the USA. Outside of the University he has worked in television and theatre design, undertakes commissions for garden designs and is a bowl maker and sculptor. His most recent commission was the ceremonial graduation cap for Glasgow Caledonian University.

Dr. Paurav Shukla is a Reader in Marketing area at the University of Brighton Business School. He possesses wide range of industry and academic experience from middle to senior level in healthcare and media industries. He has been delivering corporate training, teaching and consulting assignments for various organizations in the Europe, Asia and North Africa. Paurav has been involved with various EU funded research projects involving several nations from EU and Asia. He is associated with several academic institutions and corporate organizations including not for profit organizations in the capacity of advisor and board of directors. His research interests include cross-cultural consumer behaviour, luxury marketing and branding, consumption experiences and marketing issues in emerging markets. He has published on these topics in a wide range of outlets including top peer reviewed journals, international conferences and main stream media including the Woman’s Wear Daily, Business Week, Luxury Society, and National Post of Canada among others.

To register for these free event please contact:  Chris Matthews at the University of Brighton Business School

Email: C.R.Matthews@brighton.ac.uk

 

 

The event brochure can be downloaded from here.

The event is sponsored by:

ESRC logo