Brand Aesthetics: A New Brand Management Approach

The aesthetic treatment of products and services is emerging as a fundamental competitive element. The notion of “brand aesthetics”, composed of stable and specific elements characterizing its « sensory approach », first introduced by the semiotician Jean-Marie Floch in 1990, can help manage brands in a more rational way. The model of the Brand Aesthetics Chain is introduced to describe the sequential process starting from a brand project up to the consumers purchase decisions. It highlights the importance of being able to manage the process upstream of the interface made of the brand manifestations and monitoring the downstream part made of the consumer’s perceptions and reactions. The aesthetic linear treatment is chosen to illustrate a case of application of the Brand Aesthetics notion. An on-line survey has been run to measure consumers’ preferences for four basic linear elements. The launch of the lighter Zippo BLU in 2007 is used to exemplify some possible use of the survey methodology and results. The article concludes with a few precise recommendations for brand managers to start implementing a Brand Aesthetics management approach.