Abstract:
Brand democratisation is a growing trend worldwide as technology is increasing engagement
and dialogue between brands and their stakeholders. Brand co-creation, open source branding
and democratic brands are increasingly challenging hierarchy and total brand control,
affording stakeholders a sense of brand-co ownership. The paper assumes that public brands
should be democratic, and that the Iziko national gallery may not yet be perceived as
democratic by scholars. In alignment with this study's qualitative nature, a focus group of six
representative South African BA branding and art scholars studying in Cape Town between
the ages 19-26 years will be carried out and a semiotic analysis of 4 gallery signs will be
conducted by participants. These signs include the facade of the gallery, the logo, the
intended route through the gallery and the behaviour of gallery goers. This paper found that
three of the four signs selected were perceived as predominantly democratic by participants
as they embodied a sense of stakeholder agency and opinion. Despite this finding,
participants also identified multiple signs that were undemocratic as they embodied a sense of
authoritarian power. These were found to be problematic as they played a large role in
hindering stakeholder engagement with the brand. In light of the above, this paper hopes to
provide insight into the necessary democratic status of the Iziko gallery brand by highlighting
which signs maximise a sense of stakeholder engagement
