De-commercialization

Applications in brand strategy

Com·mer·cial·i·za·tion /kəmərSHələˈzāSH(ə)n/ is “the process of managing or running something principally for financial gain.” Related is com·mod·i·fi·ca·tion /kəˌmädəfəˈkāSH(ə)n/, “the transformation of things into objects of trade.”

Commercialization started with industrialization, when products were mass produced instead of being handmade in small batches by the craftsmen. Commercialization turned all sorts of previous luxuries into mass-produced objects (e.g. automobiles, IKEA’s modern, affordable furniture; airplane travel; tourism; fast fashion). The trend spread to art, which largely switched from being social commentator and a critic to an economic investment. It also spread to the accessibility of luxury fashion, to “content” (anything that is posted on social media to be consumed), to movies (we are now on the 55th Avenger sequel), to ourselves (social commerce, creators). Majority of the contemporary cultural, social, economic and even environmental output is a commodity (one can buy carbon-neutral points when flying. Or a Tesla).

De-commercialization is a reverse process. It’s a mechanism of making objects non-tradable. Recently, we have seen a shift in appreciation (of desirability and value) of artisanal items like cookware and homeware, antique furniture and vintage fashion, and hand-crafted objects like…