Luxo e sinais exteriores

"This research introduces "brand prominence," a construct reflecting the conspicuousness of a brand's mark or logo on a product. The authors propose a taxonomy that assigns consumers to one of four groups according to their wealth and need for status, and they demonstrate how each group's preference for conspicuously or inconspicuously branded luxury goods corresponds predictably with their desire to associate or dissociate with members of their own and other groups. Wealthy consumers low in need for status want to associate with their own kind and pay a premium for quiet goods only they can recognize. Wealthy consumers high in need for status use loud luxury goods to signal to the less affluent that they are not one of them. Those who are high in need for status but cannot afford true luxury use loud counterfeits to emulate those they recognize to be wealthy.

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For mnemonic reasons, we label the four groups as the four Ps of luxury: patricians, parvenus, poseurs, and proletarians. We label the first category "patricians," after the elites in ancient Roman times. Patricians possess significant wealth and pay a premium for inconspicuously branded products that serve as a horizontal signal to other patricians. 

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We label the second category "parvenus" (from the Latin pervenio, meaning "arrive" or "reach"). Parvenus possess significant wealth but not the connoisseurship necessary to interpret subtle signals, an element of which Bourdieu (1984) refers to as the "cultural capital" typically associated with their station. To parvenus, Louis Vuitton's distinctive "LV" monogram or the popular Damier canvas pattern is synonymous with luxury because these markings make it transparent that the handbag is beyond the reach of those below them. However, they are unlikely to recognize the subtle details of a Hermès bag or Vacheron Constantin watch or know their respective prices. Parvenus are affluent—it is not that they cannot afford quieter goods - but they crave status. They are concerned first and foremost with separating or dissociating themselves from the have-nots while associating themselves with other haves, both patricians and other parvenus.

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We call the third class of consumers "poseurs," from the French word for a "person who pretends to be what he or she is not." Like the parvenus, they are highly motivated to consume for the sake of status. However, poseurs do not possess the financial means to readily afford authentic luxury goods. Yet they want to associate themselves with those they observe and recognize as having the financial means (the parvenus) and dissociate themselves from other less affluent people. Thus, they are especially prone to buying counterfeit luxury goods. If brand status is important to a person, as it is with poseurs, but is unattainable, a person is likely to turn to counterfeit products as cheap substitutes for the originals."

O artigo refere um estudo feito com o símbolo da marca Mercedes. O estudo conclui que, nos modelos Mercedes-Benz vendidos nos EUA, quanto maior o tamanho do símbolo (estrela da marca), menor tende a ser o preço do automóvel. Especificamente:

• Um aumento de 1 cm no diâmetro do símbolo está associado, em média, a uma redução de mais de 5.000 dólares no preço do veículo
• Os modelos mais baratos exibem símbolos maiores, enquanto os modelos mais caros têm o emblema mais discreto.

Interpretação: Os consumidores com maior poder económico e menor necessidade de exibição de status (os chamados patricians) preferem sinais discretos. Já os consumidores mais preocupados em afirmar status (parvenus) preferem símbolos mais visíveis — como uma estrela grande no capô do carro.

Um outro estudo analisa mais de 400 malas da Louis Vuitton e Gucci, e conclui que:

• Malas com marcações visíveis e logótipos grandes tendem a ser mais baratas.
• As malas mais caras exibem a marca de forma discreta ou quase invisível, às vezes só no interior (como a Bottega Veneta).
• Consumidores com elevado poder de compra e cultura de luxo preferem malas discretas, como forma de sinalizar o seu estatuto apenas aos que sabem reconhecer os detalhes subtis (materiais, acabamentos, fechos, costuras).
• Já consumidores que querem ser reconhecidos como tendo estatuto social, mas não têm necessariamente conhecimento profundo de marcas ou cultura de luxo, tendem a preferir malas grandes, com logótipos evidentes, ou até mesmo contrafacções dessas.

No mundo do luxo, quanto mais alto o preço, mais pequena (ou subtil) a marca. A discrição tornou-se, ironicamente, o sinal mais forte de estatuto - mas só entre os que sabem ler esses sinais.

Trechos retirados de "Signaling Status with Luxury Goods: The Role of Brand Prominence" publicado no Journal of Marketing (Julho de 2010).