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Aesthetic aspects of the product:

Are of primary importance in selection and purchase

Affect perceived quality and customer satisfaction with the product

Aesthetic aspects of the shopping environment influence:

Willingness to buy products

Perceived price of products

Amount willing to pay for product

Aesthetic aspects of apparel and the promotional environment affect:

Selection and purchase

Perceptions and satisfaction with the product

Price willing to pay

And consequently, the profitability of the apparel business

Aesthetic Experience (AE): the sensitive selection or appreciation of formal, expressive, or symbolic qualities of the product or environment, providing non-instrumental benefits that result in pleasure or satisfaction.

Can result from:

Selection of the product’s design qualities

Designer selecting the styles, colors, fabrics, embellishments

Consumer putting together ensemble

Mass customization of a product

Customer contributes to development of product design by selecting from limited options (style details, color, and fabric) that are combined to make something unique to the individual

The “Customer-Made” Movement:

Input from:

Online communication and order placements

Also from contests and games

Customers may be rewarded products, cash, or small portion of the profits for new products that result from their input

Aesthetic experience can be derived from appreciation of what has been created.

The Sensitive Selection or Appreciation of Formal, Expressive, or Symbolic Qualities

Formal

Qualities refer to the perceivable features of the structural composition of the object or environment

Experienced through the 5 senses

Color, line, shape, light, space, texture

Also sound, taste, smell

Balance, rhythm, proportion, emphasis

Expressive

Qualities that express or evoke emotion

Represent emotions of the creator and evoke emotion in the appreciator (the consumer)

1. Expressiveness is inherent in the form

Due to the physical effect formal qualities have on the body

intensity of color

Op Art patterns

Faster tempos in music

Due to underlying similarities of human experience

E.g. the color yellow is experienced as warm due to the feeling of warmth from the sun

2. Expressiveness from learned responses

Due to associations shared by groups

E.g. colors, shapes, lines of national flag = feeling patriotic

Expressiveness may vary by group

Symbolic

Result in meaning or content, communicating an idea

Symbols are things that stand for, or represent, something else

Product or Environment

Products are material goods with physical properties that can be repeatedly experienced during appreciation

Environment is the multi-sensory setting that surround the product and the body

Has social as well formal, expressive, and symbolic qualities

Non-instrumental benefits (aesthetic)

Rewarding and pleasurable in itself and done for its own sake

E.g. watching blazing colors of the sky at sunset

Different from qualities that are instrumental in attaining external benefits or goals

E.g., safety, time-saving, social, economic gain

E.g., watching sky to determine weather

Considered non-aesthetic

Pleasure or satisfaction

Both pleasure and satisfaction involve gratification or fulfillment of desires

However, pleasure suggests a positive feeling, which may not accurately describe the state of emotional satisfaction

Formal, expressive, and symbolic qualities of AE are interrelated

Formal qualities can evoke or express emotion

Symbols or representations

Textiles and Apparel Professionals

Textiles and apparel professionals affecting the AE of product or environment can be categorized into three groups:

Developers: are involved in the creation of the aesthetic product, from initiating, contributing, and presenting ideas, through perfecting the design, and ending with the completion of production.

Gatekeepers: influence which existing aesthetic products reach the consumer based on criteria such as fashionability, salability, and/or quality.

May affect both physical products or representations of the product (verbal or visual)

Promoters: emphasize and enhance an aesthetic product’s value through verbal communication and/or design of the sensory qualities of the environment.

Promoters have a vested interest in promoting particular products.

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Apparel products, the body, and the environment all impact the AE and consumer behavior

Fashion models, retail directors, advertisers, display artists, stylists, and other professionals create an environment

Consumers focus on the product when shopping (store, TV, online, catalog)

Looking for what’s new

Looking for specific aesthetic qualities

Consumer satisfaction is tied to products’ aesthetic qualities

Consumers may not seek out specific qualities for AE and satisfaction

Impulse buying- no preconceived notion of purchasing the product

Pleasure from novelty or newness when browsing

Aesthetics of product is important to apparel industry professionals

1. Designers and manufacturers develop product lines

A line = group of products with underlying aesthetic similarity of formal, expressive, and/or symbolic qualities

Fits with brand identity

Includes:

Garments worn together (separates)

Design variations within a product categories

2. Merchandisers, marketers, or advertisers promote or present

Apparel lines benefit consumers:

Coordinated ensembles save time and effort

Offer options to satisfy design preferences

Apparel lines benefit designer/manufacturer:

Develop brand recognition

Fewer patterns required

Similar production methods

Buying larger quantity of one fabric decreases cost per yard

Similar quality test methods

Saves time/money, making firm more competitive

Expand sales of popular style

Apparel lines benefit retailers:

Merchandising of coordinated products in departments/sections

More visual impact

Easier to show fashion trends

Leads to multiple sales

Apparel lines benefit promoters: marketers/advertisers

Grouped products

Have visual impact

Enhance the aesthetic qualities of the individual product

Body as Contributor to AE

Human body consists of aesthetic qualities

Aesthetic aspects include skin, hair, and eyes

Color and texture

Line

Shape

3D form

Scent

Time, money, and effort spent suggests aesthetic body is very important

Formal qualities of the body are important to professionals

1. Aesthetic ideals of the body guide developers

apparel designed to enhance body

apparel designed to reinforce or accent pleasing body

2. Aesthetic ideals of the body guide gatekeepers and promoters

select products that enhance target customer

help customers select individual products

design retail environment to enhance the product/body

dressing room mirrors and lighting

display to enhance appeal of the product

“hanger appeal”

Promoters reinforce message of the product with expressive/symbolic qualities of body

Swagger or look of model or sales staff

Vocal qualities of fashion show announcer

Look and vocal qualities of actors in ads

Fashion models have “looks” with symbolic qualities selected to match product qualities

Environment as Contributor to AE

Environment is the multi-sensory setting that surrounds the apparel product (and the body)

Important to building brand identity

Influences appreciation of the product

The professional must develop environments

Marketplace (actual store, e-commerce site)

Promotional event (pop-up stores, trunk show, trade show, runway show)

Consider music, lighting, and models

Promotional materials (ads, catalogs, brochures)

A storyboard is a visual presentation of inspiration or ideas to members within the apparel industry

A line of textiles or apparel products

Design inspirations

Advertising concepts

Level of formality refers to how official, controlled, and institutional (permanent) the environment appears to be

Festivity refers to the degree of practicality or utility of the marketplace experience

Festive environments = fun and pleasurable experiences

Practical/economic environment = ration concerns and usefulness

E.g. a factory outlet = less festive than a retail mall

Store interior influences appreciation of apparel products and reinforces brand identity

Design features include display hardware, lighting, and music

Lighting

Large impact on store ambiance

Calls attention to and enhances specific apparel items

AE as a Multi-sensory Experience:

Sensory inputs combine to create a holistic experience

Sight

Western cultures depend heavily on visual communication

Because of the ubiquitous nature of images in our culture, we tend to underestimate the importance of other sensory cues

Touch

Pleasurable experience results from touching or being touched

Receptors all over the body register touch

The environment can add tactile elements beyond the product

Being touched on arm/hand by sales staff affected positive experience and consumer behavior

Temperature

Tactile sensations from swatches affect consumer’s attitude toward product and willingness to buy

Kinesthetic

Refers to the awareness of one’s own body movement

Apparel can contribute to the kinesthetic experience

The body itself can contribute to the kinesthetic experience

Scent

Pleasant smells on the body affect aesthetic experience

Fragrance industry is a $4+ billion/year industry

Environmental fragrancing = scenting an interior environment to produce a change in the occupant’s thoughts, moods, or behavior

Sound

Apparel may offer or contribute AE through sound

Beaded fabric sounding in sync with body movement

Rustle of taffeta evening dress

Click of high heels on hard surface

Clinking of glass bangle bracelets

Environmental sounds, like scents, influence AE and consumer preference

Effects of music in retail store environments, fashion shows, and TV ads

Music should reflect the desired aesthetic or brand identity

Taste

Flavored products – least important to the AE of apparel products

Candy necklaces

Edible apparel

Flavorings added to products developed to be used on the body

Flavored lip gloss

Taste may be present as part of the environment

Refreshments at a fashion show or boutique

Percent-off coupons as wrappers of candy bars for special promotion

Samples of new products

Apparel, body, and environment each provide multi-sensory AE

New technology enhances the multi-sensory qualities offered by apparel

Microencapsulated fabrics/smart fabrics

Antibacterial fabrics reduce odor

Aloe Vera to reduce chaffing on babies

Copper fiber to conduct body heat

LED fibers

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Branding is the use of a

Name

Sign

Symbol

Design

Experience

or a combination of the above, to identify and tell a story about goods/services/sellers, which helps differentiate their offerings from others.

Goals of branding:

1. Increased awareness of the brand, which helps the consumer differentiate it from competitors

2. Imbue the brand with meaning that appeals to the consumer and further differentiates if from the competition

Brand equity is the overall market strength of a brand.

Is enhanced by an increase in awareness, trust, loyalty, perceived quality, and the positive associations connected to the brand

Based on economic and market data, and consumer research

Ability to convert brand awareness into revenue

BrandZ top 100 ranking of the most valuable worldwide brands overall

Millward Brown Optimor

Ranking categories of beer, cars, coffee, luxury items, fast food, technology, and apparel

Brand awareness is easy identification of a brand by the consumer due to its:

Name

Logo

Prototypical image

Design

Experience

Consumers are willing to pay more because of a brand’s distinctive aesthetic qualities

Brand identity is the company’s expressed description of brand and marketplace position

Attributes, feelings, and associations that the company wants consumers to connect with or maintain towards their brand.

Starts with an idea/concept before the product

Chanel’s “independent woman” is the idea the perfume, jacket, spectator shows are the symbols of the brand identity

Built from a strategic vision to differentiate brand based on:

Function or attributes (personality) of the product

Benefits of product

Product’s attractiveness and popularity

Emotions or feelings about product

Company image

Image of the consumer/user

Lifestyle of the consumer/user

Movie notes:

Brands are commercial propaganda

We tend to confuse the brand with the company

Relies on tangible values

Relies on intangibles like colors or the story it tells

Advertising is the most visible part of the brand

Branding is the ending of advertising

Branding becomes the cultural infrastructure and we all become brand content

Chanel reflects feminine beauty’s rise to power

Chanel is the definition of a great brand

Product is a matter of selling and marketing

Branding is a matter of telling a story

Good brands connect past, present, and future

Infuse brand with values

Brands tend to carry their founder’s name

Brands meet the need to know and the need to trust

Very few brands at the dawn of the 20th century

Levi jeans developed in the west after work and work wear increased

Advertising was in its infancy at during the 20th century

Pace picked after WWII and baby boom

Brand became a tool of differentiating products in the eyes of consumers

Television in the 1950’s was a very important mark in the evolution of branding

Nike focused on sales and marketing rather than manufacturing

Nike ads sold an idea and lifestyle rather than products

Michael Jordan transcended nike, sports, and fashion and turned it into a love mark

Post modern brands are now artificial constructs presented ironic and cynical fashions

Image and idea is more focused on than the actual quality of the product

Brands are always evolving and adapting

They are a mirror carefully reacting to our influences and desires to meet our needs

There is no scientific data on the influence of brands

Some brands become generic names

Coca cola is the most wide spread word after “ok”

People embody brands

Some famous people are brands themselves

Brands represent who you are and tell you what you’re getting

Use brands to associate ourselves with a given social class

Individualism is one of the major trends in which the strength of branding has been built upon

Brand image is the “sum of the consumer’s mental thoughts or perceptions of a product, service, experience, or organization.”

Shaped by company communications, but is consumer determined

Based on gut feelings

Enhanced by:

Sensory/functional aspects of the product or environment

Symbolic aspects

User imagery – perceptions of the type of person who uses the product or service

Usage imagery – situations or lifestyles in which the brand is used

Brand personality is part of the symbolic nature of the brand image.

Human characteristics associated with the brand

Refined, serious, playful, friendly, aloof?

Impressions formed through:

The consumer’s contact with the multi-sensory and other aspects of the brand

Related to emotional experiences

Brand behaviors

Different sets of personality characteristics:

Sincere – domestic, honest, genuine

Exciting – daring, spirited, imaginative, up-to-date

Competent – reliable, responsible, efficient, dependable

Sophisticated – glamorous, charming, romantic

Rugged – tough, sturdy, outdoorsy

Brand attitude is the consumer’s overall positive or negative affective/emotional evaluation of brand associations

Favorable or unfavorable

Based on formal, expressive, symbolic qualities and/or personal experiences

Has an impact in customer satisfaction and loyalty in regard to both:

Brick-and-mortar stores

Online retail

An affective response is more than just liking a brand – an affective response involves consumers’ emotions

A strong emotional attachment to a brand influences present and future purchases

“Lovemark” – emotional attachment to brand that transcends the product

creates loyalty beyond reason

Arousing emotions and expressing feelings affect AE

Three dimensions:

Pleasure (P) – a positive effect or evaluation of a feeling or emotion – good, preferable, and liked

Easiest to recognize

Arousal (A) – a feeling/physical state: anywhere from relaxed sleep to frantic excitement

Dominance (D) – feeling of being unrestricted or in control of the situation

PAD can be high (+) or low (-)

The combination of high and low values of these three dimensional result in PAD profiles of emotions.

Branding Strategies: decisions made by firms to reinforce or build brands

Extension involves leveraging awareness and brand image to foster consumer acceptance of other product lines or brands

Line extension – the marketing of a new product line in the same product category as an existing line

Brand extension – marketing a new product line in a different product category

Requires a close relationship between the brand image of the original brand and the new line or extension

Co-branding is the linking of two or more existing brands for mutual benefit into a single product or service

Expands customer base

Increases sales and revenue

Can also include product promotions or event sponsorship

Often starts with endorsements of celebrities and institutions

The 5 Ps of Branding

Product

Material (tangible) goods with multi-sensory properties that can be repeatedly experienced by the consumer

Products are designed as a part of a line for the brand

Product line (or assortment)

Has underlying aesthetic similarities which support brand identity

May include items that can be worn together

May be design variations of a product category

If the aesthetic of the product strays too far from the brand identity, it will decrease identification and dilute the story of the brand

Brands have distinctive formal qualities of their products

Non-apparel brands also have distinctive formal qualities that make them easily recognizable and instill meaning

Not all formal qualities are visual

Property

Includes the more permanent elements of the physical retail environment and corporate assets

May enhance awareness, differentiate the brand, and contribute to positive consumer behavior

Consider elements of the property when developing and maintaining brand identity

Condition

Layout/floor plans

Materials

Historic features

Finishes

Name and logo are also considered property

Permanent elements of the brand

Require expense and time to create and legally register

Product Presentation

Includes the easily changeable elements of the settings that surround or enhance goods or services

Consider elements of Product Presentation when developing and maintaining brand identity

Store design

Ambient cues

Scent

Lighting

Temperature

Music

Signage

Displays

Interactive features for Web sites

Product packaging includes items that leave the store once a purchase is made

Hangtags

Labels

Shopping bag and boxes

Promotional Activities

People

Promotional Activities

Outlets and events for publicizing/promoting the brand

May take place outside the retail store or after regular business hours

Advertising

Experiential marketing

Includes live events where audiences interact with a product or brand face-to-face

Fashion shows and music concerts

Pop-up stores

Promoting a brand or product line

Temporary

Word of mouth

Give-a-ways

Brand names or logos promote brand identity and awareness

T-shirts, hats, mugs, pencils, key chains

Should make sense for the brand and the lifestyle of the consumer

People

People work together with the other 4Ps to enhance awareness and differentiation of the brand

Includes both actual and figurative brand representatives that consumers may encounter

Actual brand representatives

Sales staff

Models

Celebrities

Paid actors

Customer service reps

Paid bloggers

People representing a brand should look and act in brand-appropriate ways

Figurative brand representatives

Display mannequins

Virtual models

Prototypical images

Along with the physical appearance, a brand representative’s

Knowledge

Warmth

Humor

Behavior

have an impact on brand image and emotional connections to the brand

Advantages of Branding

For the company (firm):

1. Meets need to stand out due to increased competition

Multiple product choices

Knock-offs

Store brand or private label

Mass customization

Little to no differentiation based on price, location, quality of products

2. Stronger brand awareness and loyalty = greater profit margin

Consumers will pay premium price for branded items

Builds brand loyalty through compelling emotional link, idea, story

3. Increases access to distribution

consumer demand for product = more store space

For consumers:

Appeals to our senses and our emotions

Fills needs to

Know and understand product

Have a trusted friend

Assure quality; make life easier

Differentiate ourselves

Belong to a ‘tribe’

Identify with a group

Have sense of individualism, easy identity

Fill desire for fantasy through AE; reflect desires

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Brand image fits/creates lifestyle or desirable experience