A profoundly high-profile speaker
The section was performed by Pauline. She is a former chairman of North America for the luxury good company, LVMH and also previously worked at cosmetic company Estee Lauder. She’s also a Wharton MBA, a former Bain consultant and a former managing director of the private equity firm, The Carlyle Group. In addition, she taught a class in Harvard Business School.
Her experience: Luxury fashion, Luxury cosmetic , Management consulting, Private Equity.
This a discussion of Pauline Brown and Alison Beard about Aesthetic Intelligence. Aesthetic: concerned with beauty and art and the understanding of beautiful things [Oxford dictionary]. Aesthetic Intelligence is about a good taste to elicit (discover) pleasurable experiences via 5 senses of customer when you create your product or service.
As a mundane example, the experience is not just about foods. It is also about ambience (atmosphere), acoustics (design), the choice of utensils,…. they are aesthetic taste.
LMVH is not just about fashion stuff!
Ex-LVMH Chainwoman: “LVMH a company that generates more than $40 billion a year in revenue doesn’t make one product that anyone needs. Why?”
In short, beyond pure functional products, they sell experiences around those products and services that elicit true delight.
Where does Aesthetic Intelligence work well?
In the age of diseconomies of scale, when people are disadvantaged of doing things bigger. By virtue of doing that, big company are unfavourable to small companies who are doing thing differently and interestingly.
She give examples of Steven Job and AirBnB. Being different from HomeAway, VRBO or Craigslist, founders of AirBnB was graduated from Rhode Island School of Design.
What is the origin of branding?
Back to the genesis of branding, 100 year ago, brand is a guarantee virtue of a name on it where there’s somebody who’s standing by the quality of what I’m selling. On the 50s and 60s and 70s, one of the leader of brand management was Proter&Gamble, it build a big brand name in term of recognition and trust and a sort of guarantee built around a name and said, OK. Now, one step further, they elaborate it via commercials and social media,… But now, every one repeats that.
Now, every one value the value of uniqueness, their own personality, so, they act differently. They don’t choose a product because their grandmother uses it. No. The idea of brand management no longer works well. Customers don’t want a guarantee, they want to be delighted.
KKR versus Carlyle
Henry Kravis, founder of KKR, came out of Wall Street, sort of classic investment banking background. He’s a big art collector. When you enter his office, a lot of heavy wood and art dripping on the walls.
Carlyle, the founder of Carlyle, is the son of a postal worker from Baltimore. David and all of his expressions, his choice of prescription eyeglasses, his choice of suits and his choice of office space and how that has built out without, in the most economic fashion is a very pure expression of what he believes.
If you want sell your company to them, what should you approach? Please check the podcast out.
Source: hbr.org/ideacast/2019/11/to-truly-delight-customers-you-need-aesthetic-intelligence
Summary: B.P.N