Marketing Aesthetics

There is no way to mistake the ubiquitous trademarked Coca-Cola bottle, or the stylish ads for Absolut Vodka with any of their competitors. How have these companies created this irresistible appeal for their brands? How have they sustained a competitive edge through aesthetics? Bernd Schmitt and Alex Simonson, two leading experts in the emerging field of identity management, offer clear guidelines for harnessing a company's total aesthetic output -- its "look and feel" -- to provide a vital competitive advantage. Going beyond standard traditional approaches on branding, this fascinating book is the first to combine branding, identity, and image and to show how aesthetics can be managed through logos, brochures, packages, and advertisements, as well as sounds, scents, and lighting, to sell "the memorable experience." The authors explore what makes a corporate or brand identity irresistible, what styles and themes are crucial for different contexts, and what meanings certain visual symbols convey. Any person in any organization in any industry can benefit from employing the tools of "marketing aesthetics." Schmitt and Simonson describe how a firm can use these tools strategically to create a variety of sensory experiences that will (1) ensure customer satisfaction and loyalty; (2) sustain lasting customer impressions about a brand's or organization's special personality; (3) permit premium pricing; (4) provide legal "trade dress" protection from competitive attacks; (5) lower costs and raise productivity; and (6) most importantly, create irresistible appeal. The authors show how to manage identity globally and how to develop aesthetically pleasing retail spaces and environments. They also address the newly emergent topic of how to manage corporate and brand identity on the Internet. Supporting their thesis with numerous real-world success stories such as Absolut Vodka, Nike, the Gap, Cathay Pacific Airlines, Starbucks, the New Beetle Website, and Lego, the authors explain how actual companies have developed, refined, and maintained distinct corporate identities that set them apart from competitors.

Table of Contents:
CONTENTS Foreword by Tom Peters Preface Acknowledgments PART I: AESTHETICS AS A STRATEGIC TOOL 1.Aesthetics: The New Marketing Paradigm Absolut Vodka: Aesthetics with a Twist GAP, Inc.: Revamping Casual Retailing Through Aesthetics Cathay Pacific Airways: The Heart of Asia Aesthetics as a Differentiator Cutting-Edge Organizations Focus on Aesthetics From Benefits and Branding to Experiences Marketing Aesthetics Aesthetics Provides Tangible Value for the Organization Aesthetics Must Be Everyone's Concern Aesthetics Strategy 2. Creating Identity and Image Through Aesthetics Lucent Technologies: A New Identity for the AT&T Spin-Off Creating a New Identity Drivers of Identity Management Identity Management Is Not Brand Management Continental Airlines: A Comprehensive Identity Overhaul Identity Planning: Past, Present, and Future How This Book Will Help Managers The Corporate Expressions/Customer Impressions Framework PART II: IDENTITY MANAGEMENT THROUGH AESTHETICS 3.Corporate and Brand Expressions IBM's Corporate and Brand Expressions Managing Expressions The Public Face of the Organization and Its Brands Managing Different Types of Identities Managing Identity Changes Expressing the Private Self of the Organization or Its Brands Relating the Public Face and the Private Self Application: Digital Corporation Planning Devices for Managing Expressions Summary 4. Styles Starbucks and the Coffee Craze Phenomenon What Is "Style"? Sight: All Perceptions Start with the Eye Shape Color Using Color for Identity What Does Color Mean to Customers? The Structure of Color Categories Typeface Sound Touch Application: S.D. Warren's Material Aesthetics Scent: Taste and Smell Creating a Style: Synesthesia Application: Gillette Strategic Issues in Style Creation Modifying a Style Dimensions of Style Summary 5. Themes Pepperidge Farm Cookies: Themes of a Distinctive Collection Expressive Themes Creating Themes Through Aesthetics: Three Stages Analyzing the Organization, Its Customers, and Its Competitors Finding Rich Thematic Content Representing Themes Through Aesthetics Strategic Issues in Theme Selection Summary 6. Overall Customer Impressions The Four Seasons: Understated Elegance The Importance of Overall Impressions Minimizing Gaps Between Expressions and Impressions arOverall Impressions: Process and Content Process: How Customers Arrive at Overall Impressions Content: Dimensions of Overall Impressions Application: Diesel Summary PART III: MEASURING AND PROTECTING AESTHETICS 7. Assessment and Research Tools for Aesthetics Management Researching and Measuring Corporate and Brand Logos The Role of Research in Aesthetics Management The Perils of Anecdotal Evidence in Aesthetics Management Suspicious Views of Research in the Design Process Research for Identity Planning Basic Tools for Useful Research Assessing the Status Quo Determining Where to Go Developing a Design Monitoring and Tracking Summary 8. Protecting Aesthetics and Identity Taco Cabana v. Two Pesos: Two Restaurants Fight Over an Identity Legal Issues in Identity Identities as Legally Sanctioned Barriers to Competition Protecting Brands From Confusion Protecting Identity From Confusion Special Requirements for Protecting Aesthetic Identity Protecting Image Managing the Protection Process How to Handle Infringement Against Your Identity Summary PART IV: COMPREHENSIVE IDENTITY MANAGEMENT 9. Global Identity Management LEGO: The Universal Concept of Play from Denmark Tamagotchi: The Japanese Virtual Pet Key Management Issues in Creating Global Identities Deciding Whether to Standardize or Localize an Identity Organization/Competitive Factors Cultural Factors Industry and Product Category Factors Attitudes Toward Foreign Images Styles and Themes in Global Identity Management Application: Bosch in East Asia Application: Motorola in China Summary 10. Retail Spaces and Environments Godiva: A Memorable In-Store Chocolate Experience Nike: Prom Sports Shoes to Aesthetic Totalitarianism? Aesthetics in Retail and Environmental Spaces Strategic Issues for Retailers and Manufacturers Modern Retail Identities Application: Ann Taylor Environmental Spaces Managing Retail and Environmental Aesthetics Cyberspaces 11. Corporate and Brand Identity on the Internet Volkswagen's New Beetle Web Site Netscape and Yahoo! The World Wide Web as a Marketing Tool The World Wide Web as an Identity Element The Unique Properties of the Web Creating Identity on the Web The Future Is Now: Transient Images and Virtual Identities Notes Index About the Authors