Kapferer airplane on a vintage postcard
seen from United States
seen from Malaysia

seen from Brazil

seen from Italy
seen from China

seen from Malaysia

seen from United States

seen from Norway
seen from United States

seen from Italy
seen from Vietnam
seen from United Kingdom
seen from China

seen from Italy
seen from Tunisia
seen from Japan
seen from Saudi Arabia
seen from United States
seen from United States
seen from United States
Kapferer airplane on a vintage postcard
CAPSULE #004
Bonjour ou bonsoir à toi !
On se retrouve pour une nouvelle capsule : la synthèse de notre cours de Conception et réalisation numérique. Notre dernière séance à été un petit peu raccourcie à cause de problème lié à la SNCF mais ce n’est pas pour autant que nous avons manqué de contenu!
Luxury is a Dream
“The luxury product corresponds to a dream.”
The book ‘The Luxury Strategy’ describes the role of the luxury product is to respond to the dreams of the consumer, not their needs or desires.
I thought this was an interesting way of describing the levels of products.
Basic products respond to consumers needs. While branded goods cater to consumers’ desires.
I was reading a section of this book to refresh my memory on the Brand Identity Prism and came across some good quotes on luxury brands and products.
After previously reading up on Segmentation, Targeting and Positioning, it was a contrasting statement that, “in luxury we should not talk about positioning. The luxury brand Cultivates its uniqueness; it prefers to be faithful to an identity rather than constantly worry about superiority over an opponent.”
Obviously, to set up a new brand you need to have a marketing plan, in order to target the right people, in the right way. Although, it is interesting that luxury brands should not need to compete, as if competing against other luxe brands is below the luxury status. However, to be considered luxury it is vital to hold a uniqueness, a desirable aspect that gives them that superior status and differentiates them from generic brands.
Kapferer J.N. & Bastien V, 2009. The Luxury Strategy. 1st Edition. London: Kogan Page.
In traditional marketing everything should start from the consumer. By using the same marketing studies on the same consumers, brands end up looking like each other because they lack identity.
Kapferer, The New Strategic Brand Management (p151)
BRAND IDENTITY
The Brand Identity Prism
There are different ways to dissect the real identity of a brand. One of the most common methods is to visualize it in the Brand Identity Prism of Jean-Noël Kapferer. According to Kapferer, there are six fundamental components that are necessary to build a durable brand identity.
The Physique - How does Parisienne Verte look like?
The Personality – What is the character of Parisienne Verte?
The Culture – What are Parisienne Verte's values ?
The Self-Image – How Parisienne Verte's consumers see themselves now?
The Reflection – How Parisienne Verte's customers want to see themselves in the future?
The Relationship – What is the relationship between Parisienne Verte and its consumers?
On the left side of the prism are placed the external elements of the brand’s identity. Everything that has to do with the image that the brand reflects.
One the right side are the elements that compose the brand’s value and what the brand truly is.
The seamless brand
Costa V Starbucks, McDonalds V Burger King, Nike V Adidas. The competition is ever lasting for the battle of the brands - and it’s fierce. Brands are constantly looking for ways in which to improve and enhance their brand experience to be the best and it’s the fine details that really count. Delivery service from product to consumer can only be improved by seamless communication experiences for users and many companies are hot on doing exactly that. But what does this mean?
Well, the clue is in the name.
To be seamless is to be perfectly consistent, to be continuous or flowing. People are busy. They want things fast and they want them efficiently and in order to deliver just that, brands need to become seamless. This accordingly requires a synchronicity between the brand and the channels of communication available to the consumer, integrating virtual reality into everyday life. Making sure every opportunity is filled and there is a universal brand awareness. Many websites have even seen the notorious ‘error 404’ page as an opportunity to enhance seamless branding.
The personalisation of the otherwise futile error page creates a sense of control over the brand and the added humour and creativity somewhat softens the blow on the consumer.
Here are some of my favourites...
Kapferer, (1995) says brand power to influence buyers relies on 'representations' and 'relationships'. Moreover, a representation is a system of mental associations and the word ‘system’ is important for these associations are all interconnected. They are in a network. This encapsulates the very essence of seamless branding. The representation of a brand is crucial and in order to heighten the consumers ‘mental association’ with that representation then the brand needs to be seamless.
But at what cost does a seamless brand come? Is everything being made too easy for us? There are apps for everything - you can even order a Domino’s pizza in a click of a button.
And social networking sites arguably blur the distinction between the online world and the real world, which although rapidly appealing to many young consumers is potentially damaging. Where should the line be drawn between reality and the digital? What implications will this hold for future generations?