Julian R.K. Wichmann and Werner J. Reinartz from the university of Cologne and UoC alumnus Nico Schauerte (now at VU Amsterdam) win the prestigious 2022 Shelby D. Hunt/Harold H. Maynard Award for their article “The Platformization of Brands” (86, 1). The award recognizes the Journal of Marketing article published in the last calendar year (2022) that has made the most significant contribution to marketing theory. For the first time, this award goes to an author team from a German university. The awarded paper originated from Julian’s dissertation which he completed at the UoC in 2020. Versions of the article have appeared in Harvard Business Review (Link) and Harvard Business Manager (Link). 
The article was also finalist for the 2022 AMA/Marketing Science Institute/H. Paul Root Award given to a Journal of Marketing article published in the most recent full calendar year that has made the most significant contribution to the advancement of the practice of marketing.
The selection committee, composed of John Lynch (MSI Executive Director and Chair), Alok Kumar (University of Miami), and Brian Murtha (University of Kentucky), noted:
“We are delighted to recognize Julian, Nico, and Werner for their paper conceptualizing these new emerging brand platforms. The authors distinguish ‘brand aggregation’ platforms like Amazon Marketplace, Google Shopping, and Alibaba from ‘brand flagship’ platforms like Nike Running Club, Lego Ideas, or Bosch DIY & Garden. The brand aggregation platforms focus on sales transactions and matching customer preference on highly standardized attributes that tend to diminish brand difference, creating a level of commoditization. Brand aggregation platforms prosper as ‘one stop shopping’ destinations that make it hard for brands to compete by their own commerce platforms.
Instead, ‘brand flagship’ platforms create value separate from transactions. Brand flagship platforms create value in relation to a set of goals: commercial exchange, social exchange, self-improvement, epistemic empowerment, and creative empowerment. These latter goals produce differentiation and complementary information to support brand loyalty. The authors provide guidance for firms prioritizing these different goals in the building of their brand flagship platform.”
More information, finalists, and previous recipients of this award can be found here.