A short presentation on branding opportunities from the psychology of conspicuous consumption. How to optimise the 'display value' of your brand

1. ‘Display
Value’
The Psychology
of Conspicuous
Consumption
1
Dr Paul Marsden
Consumer Psychologist
@marsattacks

2. Looks matter. We choose brands because they look good
- signalling functional, emotional and aesthetic appeal
2

3. A good looking product will sell more, to more people,
for more margin - looking good is good business
3

4. Looks also matter because we often choose brands
because they make us look good
4

5. Choosing brands because they make us look good is
what is meant by ‘conspicuous consumption’
5

6. Traditionally, conspicuous consumption is about the public
display of economic wealth and elevated social status
6
HIERARCHY OF DESIGN NEEDS
UTILITY
SAFETY
COMFORT
DISPLAY
Source: Adapted from Crilly, N., Moultrie, J., & Clarkson, P. J. (2004)
Seeing things: consumer response to the visual domain in product design. Design Studies, 25(6), 547–577

7. A modern variation of conspicuous consumption is
‘conspicuous compassion’ - public displays of charity
7

8. Why do we do it? Why do we need to display our
brands - and causes - publicly?
8

9. Psychologists believe conspicuous consumption is part of
‘impression management’ - self-managing our public image
9

10. Impression management through self-presentation
matters because people judge us by how we look
10
salary
looks
Frieze, Irene Hanson, Josephine E. Olson, and June Russell.
"Attractiveness and Income for Men and Women in Management1." Journal of Applied Social Psychology 21.13 (1991): 1039-1057.

11. And we also judge ourselves by how we look
11

12. Vision is our dominant sense so visual impressions,
especially first impressions, matter
12

13. So like a peacock tail that displays good genetic traits,
we use brands to visually display our own positive traits
13

14. So what can brands do to harness this ‘display value’ of
brands - displaying our positive traits with brands?
14

15. First we need to double-down on brand design, we’ll only
help people look good if our brand looks good
15

16. Then, we need to think beyond the functional value and
emotional value of our brands, and add in ‘display value’
16
FUNCTIONAL EMOTIONAL
DISPLAY

17. The psychology of ‘display behaviour’ can help here - and
yes, it’s all about… sex
17

18. Evolution has hardwired the reward centres of our mind to
reward behaviour that appeals to potential mates
18

19. And that means looking good - by visually enhancing
displays of ‘sexual fitness’ - youth, symmetry, proportions
19

20. So brands that amplify natural displays of sexual
attractiveness will have a natural appeal
20

21. Curiously, we may use premium brands to stop ‘mate
poaching’ - seen as gifts, they imply a committed partner
21

22. But brands not in this ‘extended sex industry’ also have
two BIG display opportunities
22

23. First, there’s the opportunity to understand the changing
status of ‘social status’ - a key part of sexual display
23

24. Our brains reward us for displaying social status because
status signals rank and resource - a social aphrodisiac
24

25. So one smart ‘display value’ strategy is to become a new
status brand - signalling alpha status within a target group
25

26. Secondly, sexual display is also about signalling our core
personality traits - to attract (and retain) compatible mates
26

27. So brands with a clear brand personality based on one of
the five CRESS brand personality dimensions will appeal
27
RUGGEDNESSCOMPETENCE SINCERITY SOPHISTICATIONEXCITEMENT
BRAND
PERSONALITY
Source: J. Josko Brakus, Bernd H. Schmitt, & Lia Zarantonello (2009)
Brand Experience: What Is It? How Is It Measured? Does It Affect Loyalty - Journal of Marketing ol. 73 (May), 52–68

28. A more effective way to deliver ‘display value’ may be to
build brand personality around core human personality traits
28
CONSCIENTIOUSNESSOPENNESS AGREEABLENESS NEUROTICISMEXTRAVERSION
HUMAN
PERSONALITY
OCEAN TRAIT TATTOO
i128-O80-C41-E63-A73-N1
Inventive/curious vs.
consistent/cautious
(Mini vs. Buick?)
Careful/dependable
vs. easy-going/
careless (Honda vs.
Jeep?)
Outgoing/energetic
vs. quiet/calm (BMW
vs. Lexus?)
Friendly/cooperative
vs. formal/driven
(Acura vs.
Mercedes?)
Sensitive/nervous vs.
secure/confident
(Volvo vs. Porsche?)
O C E A N

29. Brands built with a human personality will have more appeal
because they help us display our own personality traits
29

30. So to wrap up with a simple take-out - the big opportunity
in branding is not function or emotion - it’s display!
30

31. Thanks - for more practical marketing psychology see
digitalintelligencetoday.com
31
Dr Paul Marsden
Consumer Psychologist
@marsattacks