Extending the theory of metaphor in marketing: The case of the art gallery

Abstract

This study analyses the metaphor of spirituality in the non-profit art gallery, a metaphor overlooked in previous marketing research. Using content analysis and interviews in a single depth case study, this article illustrates how spirituality has been a staple in the non-profit art gallery over time. It was found that even though the non-profit art gallery acknowledges its use of spirituality, it has a paradoxical attitude to it. Therefore this article (a) traces the historical influences that led to the extension of metaphor in the art gallery and its relationship to marketing theory, and (b) draws on Hunt and Menon (1995) to identify deliberate and emergent strategies using metaphor in the non-profit cultural organisation.

Keywords:

• non-profit marketing
• metaphor
• art gallery
• case study

Acknowledgements

We thank Claudia Escobar who worked on this project as a research assistant.