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Beyond Lovemarks
The world we live
in is not a sacred one any more, the feeling of alienation and the loss of
fundamental spiritual meanings are felt at multiple levels. We are the
prisoners of having and knowing. This desecrated world was set off by the
Newtonian – Cartesian science and was hastened by the speedy and massive
industrialization. The European medieval Christianity clearly distinguished
between the four fundamental existential levels: the body, the mind, the soul
and the spirit. In time, this distinction was reduced to three instances: the
body, the mind and the soul, and then, closer to us and following the
Cartesian model, the human existence was limited to the material body and the
intelect. Easy and rapid access to more and more information; the technology
of even the simplest human acts and activities; medical advances – all these
lead us further and further away from the sacredness of old societies which
offered the individual a fundamental existential equilibrium.
Man’s need for
sacredness and his attempt at filling the spiritual void have increased, and
are to be felt al all the psychological and social levels. The human wish for
‘being’ is more and more often noticeable at the economic level; commercial
exchange as well as goods and service consumption have become ways of
fulfilling man’s spiritual needs.
Kevin Roberts
introduced the term of Lovemarks. Regarded as a product of respect and love,
this is a super-evolved brand which relates deeply with the consumer at an
emotional level. Its key elements are mystery, sensuality and intimacy, and,
according to Roberts, a Lovemark represents a relationship and not just a
business transaction. One does not buy a Lovemark, one experiences it
ardently. In other words, Lovebrands are the ones which arouse loyalty beyond
logic.
In fact, this
loyalty is more than a sign of the connection between consumer and product.
Practically, the concept of Lovemark is only the visible effect of a more
profound phenomenon. The consumer’s loyalty to the brand and the complex
emotional phenomena which accompany this relationship can not be accounted
for solely through the product’s inherent features or through the success of
branding and promotion campaigns. The simple fact that you purchased a
product - be it even a brand – and you’re using it, cannot explain the
extremely complex emotional and cognitive reactions exhibited by those who
‘own’ a product-brand. Brand loyalty and respect are nothing but signs of
belonging to something beyond person, more than just a close connection to an
object. It’s not just that I ‘have’ the product; it’s that I
‘am’ part of that brand. We are often aware that the brand
would not exist without us. If we cease to be part of the ‘spirit’ of that
brand, it will disappear. We are the ones who give it life and we support it.
In this way we take part in something bigger than us which is beyond our
reach. And it’s not only because we like and search for mystery in itself, as
Roberts claims. The mystery that accompanies the process of creating and
establishing a brand doesn’t stem from a consumer’s ‘perverted’ desire, but
from a keen need to take part in the transpersonal – a need which is almost
impossible to fulfill nowadays. Through identification with a transpersonal
brand and the awareness of man’s capacity to establish it, it becomes more
than just a Lovebrand. Together with the others, we are “The God” of the
brand. We create it and it lives on through us. I don’t only ‘have’
the product, I ‘am’ part of its existence; the identification
of a person with the existence of a brand meets the unsatisfied need for
spirituality.
In this way we can
also explain one of the phenomena which hasn’t made any sense so far. Leaving
aside the positive feelings of loyalty, belonging and love one has towards a
certain brand, it’s been often noticed that people who claimed to be fans of
a certain brand developed feelings of hate and aggression towards that brand,
at a certain point in the relation. Expressing such feelings would have
required giving up the brand, and even more, never using it again. Yet, far
from resorting to this, they continued to claim they were fans of the brand,
and to use it against all sensible arguments they produced themselves.Such
behaviour cannot be explained hrough the respect and love towars a certain
brand. You don’t love a brand that lets you down – only because it’s
registered as a brand – and you do not respect a brand which is not
satisfactory. But you can continue to stand by it because you gave it life
and you ARE part of its existence. You can easily give up something that is
outside you, which does not belong to you; but it’s very difficult, sometimes
impossible, to give up a part of you, especially something that fulfills your
need for the transcendental.
We can speak of
transpersonal brands not only in the case of products and services, but also
in the case of company brands. Their spirit and transpersonality stem from
the company’s employees and management. You are not only part of the company,
but you know and feel it living through you; and even more, you are the one
who gives it life and participates in the existence of the company brand.
More than being a simple employee, you are that particular
brand. Company culture is such a manifestation of a transpersonal brand,
being able to keep together the employees of a certain company, more
frequently and more successfully than it can be done with the aid of
financial and material benefits. There are numerous cases of companies in
financial difficulty which continued to activate and kept their employees –
sometimes without paying them for their work. Such a display of loyalty and
love cannot be explained as the emplyee’s respect for management or the
company, but we have to take into account the fulfilment of a stronger need,
beyond primary human needs – the need for spirituality and transcendence felt
by the man who is “standardized” on all levels, and who invested his power
and his desire for spirituality in that company’s brand.
Lucian
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