DESIGN AS A TOOL IN MARKETING
Leena Innanen, Director of Finance and Administration

The emotional economy is the megatrend of the third millennium. The Danish futurist and writer Rolf Jensen predicts that the information society will be followed by a dream society dominated not by information and intelligence but by emotions and storytelling. According to him, whereas the past world appealed to the head, the future world will appeal to the heart.

In the dream society, competition will be waged with soft values: emotions, fantasy, images, symbols, significations, experiences, stories attached to products. The value of a product very often lies in invisible, abstract attributes (make, brand, concept, idea, emotions…). Soft values are constructed above all by design and brand creation. The aim is to make the consumer satisfied at emotional level. Through products, the consumer seeks sensory, spontaneous experiences. Jensen predicts that the dream society will be one led by designers and marketers.

Be that as it may, there is no doubt that in the present competitive world, only those who stand out from the crowd succeed. It is important to recognise one’s own unique quality. Competitive advantages are built increasingly on innovation, emotions, images; design and branding are thus among the main factors in endowing a product with the emotional value that makes it distinct from its competitors.

Good quality can nowadays often be taken for granted in a product; hence, it is not as such sufficient reason for the consumer to buy it. Competing products are often very similar in terms of technical quality and related attributes. Competitiveness and competitive edge can no longer be founded on location, natural resources, technology or logistics. The advantages offered by these will probably be extremely short-lived. There is only one solution, and that is for the product to succeed in appealing to the consumer’s emotions better than any of its competitors. And in doing this, it will often have to call on highly abstract means. It is often claimed today that the real competition is no longer for market shares but for the consumer’s attention and a place in the customer’s heart and mind.

It is also important in marketing to note the ongoing trend towards extreme individualism; this is where design comes in. Markets are becoming increasingly fragmented, and niches ever narrower. The growing individualism means distinctive design, a distinctive brand, individual manufacture, marketing, whatever. The competition is more and more one of know-how. To be successful, the marketer must have command of the product’s design, be able to create a brand and product image, and above all know his customer. Understanding the customer’s values and lifestyle is like peeping into his soul, and must therefore be the starting point for planning the product and its marketing. The more the product corresponds to and represents the customer’s values, the easier it is for the customer to relate to that product. The product is a message that speaks of its user, his or her values and lifestyle.

Design is form, and form always bears significance. But design is more than just form: functionality, usability, costs, productivity, ergonomics, lifestyle. Alberto Alessi once said: “People have an enormous need for art and poetry that industry does not yet understand.” The marketing experts should pay far more attention to visual and other product communication. In the age of emotions and abundance, aestheticism is a tremendous competitive asset. Another major weapon is ethicality, as indeed is ecology.

The competitive advantages based on emotions and images – brand, design, make, the emotions aroused by a product, symbols, values, messages and associations – are all abstract and hence open to subjective interpretation. This is very important, since it means that the consumer can endow them with his or her own images. The brand is the product’s personality, and again ties in with the consumer’s emotions, personality and values. ’Brand’ has been defined as a state of mind. It is a product persona and it, too, should in some way always leave itself open so that once again the consumer can bestow on it his or her own images. Products should appeal to all the senses. We already know from our communication studies that the more senses something appeals to, the more likely it is to be remembered.

Design is an infinitely significant means of achieving individuality, and it can be used to overwhelming advantage to make the company unique, at least for a while. Design gives a product character, has a decisive effect on the brand and product image, and appeals to the consumer at emotional level. Products vary tremendously, from perishables to shopping goods and from speciality goods to production goods. In almost all products, successful design is often the key to success. Depending on the product, the decisive factor may be

• ergonomy; this, too, is an emotional matter and is affected by a person’s life history
• expectation, an important element of the product image; the design must reflect the product’s performance
• the experience it affords the user
• performance and functionality
• pleasure in use
• confidence in the ability of the product to perform; this enhances the user’s self-confidence: I know how to use it
• identity; the product is distinct from its competitors
• aesthetics; if it looks good, it will be noticed
• creativity; the ability to envisage alternatives and to spot potential even in problems
• productivity: a well-designed product is easy to make.

Design is a process that ties in with technological and marketing know-how and one that can create a competitive advantage. Good, clear design makes a product not only eminently usable and recognisable but also gives it character and meaning. Design is an extremely important element of brand. A well-designed product is easy to use and make. Functionality and usability are primary criteria for good design. Well-designed products improve the quality of everyday life at work, at home, and in leisure hours.

There are three key factors at work in production: research, product development and design. For the consumer, form and look are major grounds for selection. If a product looks good, the consumer more readily believes it is technically good. Not even good design can, of course, save a bad product. On the other hand, bad design may destroy even a good product. Ergonomy and beauty are not much help if, for example, a product is not suitable for the purpose for which it was purchased.