The Woman’s Budget Bureau: friendship and consumption in Australia

Abstract

Purpose This paper aims to reveal the marshalling of an emotion – loneliness – over time for the construction of relationships between advertisers and consumers between 1909 and 1934, paying attention to the shifting contexts in which these relationships were built, maintained and extended. It also draws attention to the ways in which advertising and marketing work in society, and advances the understanding of the development of consumer culture in Australia. Design/methodology/approach The paper uses textual analysis of letters from readers and editorial content published in the magazine over a 25-year period, supplemented by material from newspapers and memoirs. Findings The paper reveals how a women’s magazine marshalled the loneliness of Australian women, especially rural Australian women, to attach them to the magazine and its advertisers. Over 25 years, the magazine editors built a reservoir of trust between readers and the magazine. When the economy turned, this reservoir could be drawn upon to maintain reader attachment and maximise sales. Research limitations/implications This paper examines the use of emotion in just one magazine. A comparative study would be beneficial to see whether this exploitation of emotion was widespread. Practical implications The paper suggests the importance of emotion as a tool for attaching consumers to brands and for maintaining that attachment through financial difficulties. Originality/value This paper supports the turn to the study of emotion in history and, specifically, in the development of consumer culture.