It's been super hectic since landing in Madrid (with having to set up a bank account, getting a Spanish cellphone, and what not before the school semester started), but I was lucky enough to catch an event put on by the IE Marketing Club on last Wednesday.
The PepsiCo: Driving Innovation and Brand Through Design event featured Mauro Porcini, SVP and Chief Design Officer at PepsiCo. During the event, Mauro explained how design creates relevant brand experience and drives innovation in today's crowded digital business environment.
People don't buy products anymore... They search holistic solutions, meaningful experiences and authentic stories.
Coming from a visual arts background, I have a pretty good grasp of how impactful design can be. In his presentation, Mauro made the point that when designing a product, brands should not only produce something aesthetically "pretty", but the brand should also stand for something. We might be inclined to choose a well-designed product over another one, but as we form deeper relationships with frequently purchased brands, we tend to purchase products that complement our self-identity, whether consciously or not. This relationship between consumer and product is referred to as a self-concept attachment, in which the product helps to establish the user’s identity.
Let's take a Tesla Model 3 as an example. When we see someone driving a Tesla, we might associate certain words with the person. Neophile. Innovative. Bright. The person who purchased the Tesla was more than likely aware of the brand association and chose to purchase the car to be associated with those same words.
Another point that I also took away from the presentation is that Mauro stated that without consumer insights, companies can't innovate. Being that getting my Master's in Market Research and Consumer Behavior, this sentence put me at ease knowing that I'm in an area of study crucial to product innovation.
After doing a bit of research on the web, I managed to find the same presentation that was given at event. Whether you're a UX designer, a brand strategist, or CPG marketer (and have about 40 minutes to spare), I'd suggest checking it out.