Marketing Aesthetics - by Alex Simonson & Bernd H Schmitt (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

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.

Review Quotes

Clay S. Timon "Chairman, President and CEO, Landor Associates This seminal book on the aesthetics of brands, identity, and image reveals through superb real-world examples how these tools can be marketed -- and managed for great profit.

David A. Aaker "author of "Managing Brand Equity" and "Building Strong Brands" Visual imagery has been the neglected element of branding, usually treated in an ad hoc manner. Thanks to this pathbreaking book, we now have a more scientific knowledge of how visual imagery works to build strong brands and how it can be actively managed.

Marc Gobe "President, CEO, and Executive Creative Director, Desgrippes Gobe and Associates Brings the underestimated sensory experience to the customer-brand relationship, helping corporations create a greater cohesive presence for the company and its products.

Peter Laundy "Practice Leader, Corporate and Brand Identity, Doblin Group Schmitt and Simonson cut fog into cubes for executives unschooled in aesthetics and provide tools to help them present their companies to the greatest advantage.

Sal Randazzo "Worldwide Strategic Planning Director, McCann-Erickson Worldwide, and author of "The Mythmakers" A powerful new perspective which explains how marketers can gain a competitive advantage in the new psychological arena, by creating and cultivating "a unique corporate aesthetic."

About the Author

Bernd Schmitt and Alex Simonson teach marketing courses at Columbia Business School and Georgetown University, respectively. Professor Schmitt lives in New York and Shanghai, and Professor Simonson lives in Washington, D.C. and New York.