[Lee Jong-gil's Autumn Return] Life Only Happens Once, What Will You Go Buy?

Brand Expert Choi Jang-soon's Book 'Discovery of Meaning'

The majority of consumers do not know the appropriate price that matches the actual value of a product. Even when analyzing products through online reviews, it is difficult to clearly calculate their usefulness as rational consumers. Few consumers conduct reasonable performance tests when purchasing washing machines. It is also rare for consumers to carefully scrutinize performance data analyzed by others before buying.

In the past, it was common to trust experimental results and advertising images presented by companies. Nowadays, data produced directly by consumers has a greater influence on purchasing decisions than data produced by companies. The source of trust has shifted from companies to consumers. However, the fact that purchasing decisions rely on data created by others has not changed.

Ultimately, consumers seek meaningful insights within data created by others. A "smart consumer" carefully considers cost-effectiveness, a "sophisticated consumer" pays attention to design even if the price is slightly higher, and an "ethical consumer" or "conceptual consumer" values products from companies that actively practice corporate social responsibility (CSR). Whatever the motivation, consumers open their wallets willingly only when they believe it is okay to make the purchase.

Global marketing expert Sydney J. Levy said, "People buy things not only for their utility but also for their meaning."

Brand expert Choi Jang-soon’s book Discovery of Meaning focuses on the "consumer who buys meaning." He has attempted to integrate branding with the humanities in his professional work. Based on this experience, he discusses the habit of thinking that develops and discovers the meaning assigned to brands. He proposes a habit of thinking that develops meaning from a new perspective by examining the context of our community.

"Consumers do not purchase solely based on a product’s function or utility. If it is not interpreted as having some meaning to them, they do not easily open their wallets. The utility of a brand is important, but the meaning of the brand is even more important."

What is needed to plan differentiated brand meanings that consumers will like? The author’s answer to this challenging question is simple: "Even if the product is the same, changing the name creates differentiation." By that logic, even changing the packaging design becomes differentiation. There are many elements to differentiate without fundamentally changing the function.

Differentiated value does not always directly translate into sales. It may be better to focus on basic value than to differentiate poorly. Even a remote control equipped with special buttons and voice support features not found in competitors’ products will not sell well if the buttons do not work properly. Similarly, a person who differentiates themselves with flashy appearance and specs is not attractive if they lack basic humanity.

The author emphasizes, "As important as differentiation is, basic value is equally important. Only by fulfilling it can a product become normal. A brand is born only when differentiation elements are added to the existing values required in the industry."

He formalizes this as "Category + Alpha (differentiation element) = Brand Meaning" and provides three examples. Volvo, recognized as a "safe car," Tiffany, highlighted as a "proposal ring," and Lego, reborn as a toy with a story. He analyzes that the categories of car, ring, and toy each combine with the alpha of "safety," "proposal," and "story" respectively to secure new meanings.

"For children, Lego is not just a time-killing item to assemble for completion. It is an optimal teaching aid for storytelling and imagination. For children who play by making up stories spontaneously, Lego, which can be easily broken and rebuilt into new forms, is an excellent storytelling tool. In this case, Lego’s meaning is essentially related to 'story,' and the ability to 'easily break' is a very important attribute rather than 'things that can be made.'"

The alpha for producing brand meaning is mainly derived from reviewing consumer needs, company characteristics, and competitive differentiation. The more authentic it is, the easier it is to pursue competitive differentiation. Conversely, if the alpha can be easily imitated by others, it is difficult to secure authenticity and pursue essential differentiation.

That said, alpha does not have to be a "disruptive innovation" that disrupts and destroys existing markets. Sometimes, even if it does not stand out or appear differentiated, if it is considered an important value by consumers, it can emerge as a unique alpha. A representative example mentioned by the author is Volvo.

The alpha chosen, "safety," was not an innovative code that no one could imitate. However, Volvo strengthened the meaning of safety in its own way. By creating the first three-point seatbelt, Volvo made the keyword "safety" its own.

A Volvo poster ad copy from the 1990s read, "Volvo, because you only live once." It meant that since you only live once, you should value your life and drive a safe car. The current generation uses it in the opposite way. "You only live once," abbreviated as YOLO, means to enjoy life to the fullest since you only live once. They prioritize themselves over others and present happiness in the present over the future. So what! Meaning always slips, and generations always change...

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.