Emotional Drivers of Consumer Toward Swarovskis Brand

Emotional Drivers Swarovski

The motives behind consumer decisions to purchase luxury brands like Swarovski have been studied in a number of researches. The general findings of these studies have been that these motives are largely emotional, and that they are evolving as the composition of the luxury market segment changes. De Mooij (2005) defines emotion as an "interaction between cognition and physiology." The characteristics of emotion that or of greater concern to luxury brand managers are that emotions are learned and that they vary from culture to culture.

The mode of expression of emotion also varies by culture. In capitalistic societies, consumption has evolved into a unique mode of expression of self-satisfaction, self-esteem and self-pleasures. These buying motives shape the perceptions of various brands among consumers, along with brand loyalty and brand image. De Mooij (2005, p. 116) explains luxury brand buying motives in terms of collectivism/individualism and masculinity/feminism. Conformance may be the dominant buying motive in collectivistic societies such as the emerging Asian markets of China, Russia and India. Hence, the buying motive here may be the expression of status or social class.

This is an important point for Swarovski if it wants to enter the large markets for luxury goods in these countries. On the other hand, in individualistic societies, uniqueness is valued and so self-expression or self-pleasure may be an important buying motive for luxury brand consumers.

Kapferer (2008, p. 107) has also attempted to identify the buying motives for luxury brands on an individual level by segmenting the luxury consumer market into four categories. According to the degree of separation and the increasing magnitude of the distance with the general market that does not purchase luxury goods, these consumers are motivated primarily by the beauty and the high quality of the luxury product. Thus, for a Swarovski consumer falling into the first category, the buying motive is likely to be the superior quality and the elegance of the Swarovski crystal chandelier.

In the second category, Kapferer (2008, p. 107) places consumers who seek creativity and novelty. They are primarily motivated by the aesthetic and creative attributes of the Swarovski product. They may purchase a radically new design and may be the pioneers among the consumers. The third category of consumers is motivated by the timelessness and the reputation that the brand has earned over the years. These consumers are often termed as old money in common terms. The fourth category of consumers is perhaps motivated least by the functional aspects of the brand and is primarily interested in the scarcity or rarity of the brand. They may be wealthy collectors for whom the product may be a work of art or a valuable specimen.

Chevalier & Mazzalovo (2008, p. 172) help to further elaborate on the buying motives of individual luxury consumers. The buying motives are based on the characteristics of the recently wealthy classes such as the corporate executives and owners of Internet companies. They are motivated by a desire to seek self-improvement and self-elevation. They also seek to develop a distinct identity and stand out from the crowd. They are creative and are attracted towards novelty and a fusion of diverse ideas and styles. They are inspired by aesthetic beauty and seek to improve their appearance and their social status. The purchase of respected luxury brands is one way of signifying to the society and to their reference groups their rise in social status.

Luxury brands like Swarovski are seen to attract the attention of this segment because the brand has been able to successfully reach out to the desire of this segment to assert its individuality by providing designs that are trendy yet elegant. Chevalier & Mazzalovo (2008, p. 173) also make note of the prevalence of older buying motives such as the high price of the product or its rarity. However, these are not perceived to be as dominant as they once used to be and the luxury brands have adapted to this change successfully.

Kapferer (2012, p. 67) also identifies some of the distinctions between fashion, premium and luxury brands. He states that consumer demand for fashion brands is motivated by a desire to imitate and conform. In addition, fashion brands are transient and changes frequently. On the other hand, luxury brands are timeless and go beyond simply high quality and technological sophistication. Demand for them is motivated by a desire to elevate oneself in the social group and to reflect personal taste.

Along with the cultural and individual level buying motives identified above, Patrick & Hagtvedt (2009, p. 270) also distinguish between the buying motives of old money and new money. They recognize the social and economic factors as those that motivate the established wealthy classes to purchase luxury brands such as Swarovski. On the other hand, those who have come into money recently, also known as the nouveau riche, are primarily motivated by personal factors such as hedonism, the influence from others in the in-group, the desire to seek approval from the reference group, and so on (Patrick & Hagtvedt 2009, p. 271).

These motivations shape the perceptions and attitudes of these consumers towards the brand. These include perceptions of and attitudes towards the brand image, brand uniqueness, perceived extended self, and perceived aspirational value. These perceptions combine to shape the perception of overall brand quality and the subsequent decision to purchase the product. The consumers of the luxury brand Swarovski are likely to be motivated by a combination of these motives, with the implication that the Swarovski brand may need to develop emotional branding and an integrated marketing communication strategy to arouse the buying motives of these consumers.

The Role of Emotional Brand Engagement

The role of emotions in branding and purchase decisions by the consumer is highlighted in a study by Williamson (2002). He was among the more notable researchers who, in the beginning of the twenty-first century emphasized the importance of emotions in marketing research. This was an important development because during the 1990s, the emphasis in advertising and marketing was on sensory appeal, which Williamson (2002, p. 198) identifies as a lower-order state than emotion. He asserts that emotions also play an important role in purchasing decisions along with rational thinking.

He describes behaviours that may not be necessarily rational, e.g. instinctive, reflexive and repetitive behaviors. He also emphasizes that emotions may be distinguished on the basis of how they are experienced. Hence, he divides emotions into first, second and third order emotions on the basis of their primal, subconscious and conscious nature (pp. 196-198). His study also helps to distinguish emotions as a more complex and higher state compared with feelings. Emotions are described as having driving force and the power to affect individuals' moods and hence their decisions.

Okonkwo (2007, p. 87) substantiates the distinction between feelings and emotion made by Williamson (2002) when he discusses the ways in which a brand appeals to the emotion in trying to engage the consumer with the brand. Okonkwo states that the luxury brands make emotional appeals in addition to the sensory appeals to taste, smell and touch. He states that luxury brands stress the "aura and appeal" of the brand in trying to reach out to the consumer and engage their imagination. The Swarovski brand is also presented by the company as embodying "precision craftsmanship" (Swarovski 2010, p. 5) and "the highest level of quality" (Swarovski 2010, p. 13). Along with these functional aspects, the brand also embodies imaginative and subjective ideas such as "mysterious" and "captivating" (Swarovski 2010, p. 5). Okonkwo (2007, p. 87) states that such factors present a compelling and engaging message of the brand image and create a sense of "longing" in the minds of the consumer. This is because consumers believe that the brands they use reflect their personalities and so desire to achieve the sense of fulfillment of expression of the self. The aura and appeal are stored in the "memory bank" (Okonkwo 2007, p. 87) of the consumer and they seek the brand on their next visit to the retailer.

The crucial role played by emotion in consumer decision making has also been explored by other researchers. Heath (2009) has taken important steps in explaining how emotion and cognition interact when making purchase decisions. This can help to shed some light on how consumers make decisions over the Swarovski brand. The luxury market is driven by prestige value over the functional value. Therefore, rational cognitive thinking appears to be less important than subjective valuation of the brand.

Heath (2009) describes this as engagement as opposed to attention (p. 62). He states that when making consumer purchase decisions, the emotive content of the brand communication has a stronger effect on the purchase decision than the cognitive content. In fact, he goes further to propose that the purchase decision is made on the basis of the sub-conscious emotive content and the cognitive content or rational processing of information is simply a means of reinforcing the decision or counter arguing against it (p. 67). This is also supported by the findings of Williamson (2002) discussed earlier where the ability of emotion originating in the subconscious to influence people's moods and decisions has been highlighted.

The purchase decisions of Swarovski consumers may be motivated by a combination of "extrinsic" as well as "intrinsic aspirations" (Truong 2010, p. 664). These have been identified by Truong (2010) as growth, relatedness and community feeling on the one hand and wealth, image and popularity on the other. According to the research, consumers make purchase decisions of luxury brands on the basis of whether it increases their image in the public and denotes a desired social class, the level of excellence of the product and the amount of personal satisfaction derived from the product. Truong (2010) finds equal importance of both intrinsic (growth, belonging, etc.) as well as (wealth, status-consciousness, etc.) in the purchase decisions for luxury goods.

However, extrinsic aspirations are found to be more closely related to conspicuous consumption because such behavior conveys the status of the consumer in public. On the other hand, intrinsic aspirations affect quality search and self-pleasure to a greater extent because the consumer is not motivated by others' perception about his or her purchase decision. Since the luxury purchases are also based on affordability, people may be motivated by both extrinsic as well as intrinsic aspirations to make expensive purchases. Therefore, consumers may prefer Swarovski because of its high quality or for its value as a status symbol, depending on their aspirations.

Jackson (2009) explains that the strength of brand loyalty is determined by the ability of the brand to position itself as a set of emotional experiences rather than as a set of utility providing functional attributes. In addition, he is of the opinion that brands do not need to have a distinct identity in the shape of a brand name and a logo alone, but they also need to have a unique and distinct brand personality. This is where the relationship between the brand and the self-concept of the consumer proposed by Malar et al. (2011) reflects the statement by Jackson (2009). In the light of these two explanations, it can be said that the motivation behind the purchase decisions of Swarovski consumers is that the brand has a personality shaped by its emotional attributes that appeal to the actual as well as ideal self-concept of the consumers. In effect, what Jackson says is that the brand to be successful needs to focus on the experience that can be enjoyed by the consumer in addition to its basic attributes of product, place and form utility. This experience reinforces the self-concept of the consumer and enables him or her to develop increased brand loyalty. In the case of Swarovski, the brand personality likely evokes reinforcement of high quality, elegance or prestige and high status to the consumers.

In addition to an identifiable brand personality, consumer purchase decisions are also affected by brand cues and brand image. Shukla (2011) investigates the effect of brand cues and interpersonal informational exchanges on the purchase decisions of consumers from diverse cultural backgrounds such as the United Kingdom and India. He reveals that the motivations and dynamics of the purchase decision vary from culture to culture.

This has important implications for Swarovski because it may decide to enter culturally diverse markets such as India or China then it would need to adapt its brand cues according to the national cultural variables and extrinsic and intrinsic aspirations of the emerging markets. According to Shukla, the brand cues have a greater effect on the purchase decisions of consumers in the United Kingdom whereas consumers in India also consider interpersonal exchange of information about the brand before making a decision. This may be explained by stating that conspicuous consumption is an important aspiration for many Indian consumers, keeping in mind the recent economic prosperity experienced by the nation, whereas consumers in the United Kingdom may be motivated by quality search and self-pleasure in addition to conspicuous consumption because of a mature economy.

On the basis of the earlier studies on emotion, further research on the subject shows that individuals purchase particular brands because they feel that it helps them to express their actual self (Malar et al. 2011). While the role of the ideal self in emotion-motivated purchase may also be discussed, research by Malar et al. (2011) shows that the effect of the actual self-concept (a realistic understanding of the cognitive and affective aspects of an individual's personality) is stronger than the ideal self-concept. Their study shows that the expression of the self-concept is moderated by the level of involvement with the product, the level of self-esteem and "public self-consciousness" (Malar et al. 2011, p. 2).

On this basis, it may be explained that the consumers of luxury brands like Swarovski are motivated by emotional forces that drive them to express their actual self-concept through the brand personality of Swarovski, which conveys elegance, art and sophistication. It may be said that the consumers are motivated by high self-esteem and may want to express their economic and social status through purchases of luxury brands like Swarovski. They may be experiencing what Malar et al. (2011) identify as "emotional brand attachment" (p. 2).

The high emotive content of the brand personality and brand image of the Swarovski brand is evident in the way the company describes its brand in the official publications. The Swarovski Sustainability report 2010 (Swarovski, 2010) presents the view of the management about the reasons for the popularity and success of the brand. The best functional quality of the Swarovski brand is claimed to be its "precision craftsmanship" (p. 5) and "highest level of quality" (p. 13). In the rest of the report, the description is biased in favor of the emotive content of the brand personality.

The Swarovski brand is described in terms such as "mysterious, original and captivating" (p. 5), as one that "sparks one's fantasy" (p. 9), and one that brings "joys to the senses" and is "inspirational" (p. 15). The most important promise of the brand is to "bring dazzle and excitement to the owner" (p. 15). These descriptions show that the brand is positioned as a luxury brand because it focuses on the emotive aspects of the brand rather than its functional aspects. These serve to attract the imagination of the consumer so that they may associate the brand image with their self-concept and aspirations. The brand seems to match their lifestyle and sense of fashion.

Emotional brand engagement is extremely necessary in the luxury product segment because consumers constantly need reassurance of their aspirations and the ability of the brand to satisfy those aspirations. As stated by Rosenbaum-Elliott (2011, p. 35), brands may be classified into functional and symbolic categories. Functional brands offer functionality as the primary value while symbolic brands focus more on subjective appeals than functional appeals.

Swarovski also falls into the category of symbolic brands because it is perceived as a status symbol. The success of the Swarovski brand is evidence of the strong emotional brand engagement consumers have with the brand. According to Rosenbaum-Elliott (2011, p. 35), consumers develop trust or "emotional involvement" with a brand after they are convinced that it offers a certain standard that can be predicted and that it will deliver the promised and expected benefits with no risk of failure. In the case of Swarovski, consumers expect the brand to deliver a set of functional and symbolic benefits, which determine the satisfaction of their extrinsic and intrinsic aspirations (Truong 2010, p. 664). Therefore, emotional brand engagement becomes a necessary means of attracting brand loyalty towards the Swarovski brand.

The Role of Brand Storytelling

Storytelling is an effective part of brand engagement and marketing because storytelling has an innate appeal to human beings in all cultures. According to Woodside (2010), storytelling helps people to release their pent up emotions and anxieties. In effect, it helps them to achieve catharsis by vicariously placing themselves in the positions of the characters of the story. They also bring pleasure to the listeners because stories can help people to confirm their perceptions about their selves. In this way, stories help people to reinforce their self-concepts.

Woodside (2010) also discusses the usefulness of storytelling as a branding tool. The aspects of storytelling that make it an effective tool for branding are the stories create awareness, comprehension and empathy (p. 532). In addition, because of their empathic quality, they also aid in memory so that people can remember the people, places and the events in the story. These indices (p. 533) ought to be relatable and desirable so that the consumers can become engaged with the brand emotionally. The psychological archetypes preferred by the target consumer segment can be incorporated as the characters in the brand story and may realize the aspirations embodied in the brand image to establish the connection between the consumer and the brand.

Woodside, Sood & Miller (2008) present a unique perspective on brand storytelling when they discuss the ways in which consumers may participate in storytelling using brands to reinforce their self-concept and the desire to conform to a psychological archetype. They discuss that brands can contribute towards helping their consumers attain such psychological satisfaction by stressing the brand image in their marketing communications. Brands that are successfully able to do so enjoy greater brand loyalty among their target market consumers because the brands help the consumers to realize their ideal self. In the light of the discussion of Malar et al. (2011), it can be said that the brand image helps the consumers to realize their ideal self-concept and that such behavior is motivated by extrinsic aspirations of creating a certain public image and intrinsic aspirations of attaining psychological closure. Woodside, Sood & Miller (2008) also present a list of the psychological archetypes created and reinforced by various brands. Out of these, Swarovski may be said to embody the Enigma archetype, which communicates qualities of mystery as well as the Siren (power of attraction) and the Loyalist (trust) (Woodside, Sood & Miller 2008, p. 114).

Fog et al. (2010) also stress the importance of effective storytelling to the long-term success of the brand. Effective storytelling supports the long-term strategy of the brand and helps to engage the target consumer segment. They place storytelling in a broader framework of the overall marketing and communication function of an organization. They state the concept of a "core story" (p. 81) in that it guides not just a particular product brand but the entire corporate brand. This implies that brand storytelling can be understood as a hierarchy where different forms of storytelling may be used to achieve communication objectives.

Fog et al. (2010) state that brand storytelling may be used to support the strategy of the corporate brand as well as individual product brands. In the case of Swarovski, it may be seen that the storytelling focuses on the corporate brand probably because of the greater need for assurance felt by the consumers. They may need the psychological closure and reassurance of knowing that the brand they identify with represents the highest levels of quality in all aspects of the company and the products. This points towards a high need for realization of the intrinsic satisfaction of self-pleasure identified by Truong (2010).

In effective brand storytelling, whether at the corporate or the product level, it is of utmost importance to develop a focus so that the consumers remain engaged to the story and the brand. The most common and effective way of doing this is by creating a central character that is "relatable, important, different, and motivating" (Herskovitz & Crystal, 2010). This description of the central concept may be related to the concept of the "psychological archetype" discussed by Woodside, Sood & Miller (2008). The concept of the central character proposed by Herskovitz & Crystal (2010) may be understood as a general description of the qualities of the central character in a brand story while the "psychological archetype" may be developed according to the identified aspirations of the target consumer segment. In the words of Herskovitz & Crystal (2010), this central character embodies the "brand persona" and provides a focal point for the narrative. Because the central character is more vivid than the location or the object, it is more effective at engaging the consumer. It makes the brand story more compelling and capable of establishing an emotional connection with the consumer. They also stress that the brand persona should be "integrative" in that it should appeal to both left-brained and right-brained sensitivities of the consumer.

Martin (2010) goes a step further than Fog et al. (2010) in describing the organization or classification of storytelling in the marketing or branding function. Martin (2010, p. 11) classifies brands into corporate, product and service categories, thus implying that storytelling can be used in a variety of situations to create an emotional bond with the consumer.

Martin's work also includes a clear and illuminating definition of a brand by the American Marketing Association. In the definition, the American Marketing Association includes a story as a component or form of a brand. The brand is supposed to achieve its effect through a combination of sensory, emotional and rational modes and appeals. This coincides with the distinction between the emotive and cognitive content of brand communication made by Heath (2010). The definition also uses the term "touch points" to refer to what Woodside (2010) has called "indices" in his analysis of an effective brand story. These touch points may be a relatable and memorable person, object or place. Martin (2010, p. 12) states the purpose of the brand storytelling is to arouse a craving and a desire for the brand. It should also inspire trust in the brand so that the consumer may be able to justify the expense of a luxury brand.

The brand story is, in fact, a part of the brand itself and is no longer restricted only to the job of creating good public relations for the company (Kotler & Pfoertsch 2006, p. 105). According to Kotler & Pfoertsch (2006, p. 103), the importance of a brand story has increased to an extent that it embodies an essence of the brand. At the corporate branding level, an effective and interesting brand story can help develop positive attitudes towards the company, which has a positive effect on all the brands of that company. This should take the form of "some kind of legend" (Kotler & Pfoertsch 2006, p. 103). Such a legend is typically centered on an inspiring personality or a significant event that led to the creation of the company or the brand.

The story embodies values that are shared by the brand and the target consumers. A good brand story has sufficient motivating power, and embodies the heritage and history of the brand. In this way, it emphasizes the tradition of the brand and creates a sense of continuity and permanence in the minds of the consumer. For luxury brands, stability and timelessness are highly desired values. Hence, a good brand story reflecting the history of the brand is important for the success of a luxury brand like Swarovski. In fact, the Swarovski Sustainability Report 2010 includes such a brand story describing the history and achievements of the company since 1982. This gives a sense of reassurance to the consumers of the luxury brand (pp. 10-11). However, Kotler & Pfoertsch (2006, p. 105) warn that a brand story has to be true in order to be believable. In the desire to create an unforgettable story, one should avoid the temptation to exaggerate challenges and achievements, and fabricate events.

The importance of effective brand storytelling to the success of a brand and its acceptance by the target market is explained by Koll, von Wallpach & Kreuzer (2010). In their study on the characteristics of effective and successful brand stories, they trace the path through which brand stories facilitate consumers to act in ways that meet the branding and marketing objectives of the company. They describe a route through which consumer perceptions about a brand create positive or negative attitudes about the particular brand. This creates in them a readiness to respond in a certain characteristic way to the brand when they come across it in the media or in a retail outlet. This response is automatic and may be formed by experience or through education. In this way attitudes shape the behavior and actions of consumers towards a brand. This may include the decision to purchase or not to purchase the brand, which might be the strongest determinant of the success of the brand. Therefore, brands need to have effective brand stories so that they may educate consumers about the positive characteristics of their brand, i.e. The cognitive and emotive characteristics to create positive perceptions and stimulate actual purchases.