Tag: automobile

Physique Part 2: Is Your Brand Physique a Constraint or an Asset?

For many product categories, a brand’s products leave a deep, indelible imprint on the mind. I call it ‘physique’, drawing upon similar usage in the literature . It is a powerful stamp, often a defining one for some brands, more so than its logo or name. Its power comes from our automatic, helpless response to it, which precedes any formal or rational thinking. The idea is introduced more fully in my previous post . Since physique is defining for some brands, it can be…

Physique Part 1: I Like Your Body: The Grip of Physique

First, the news. When Tech Mahindra, Indian conglomerate Mahindra’s engineering and technology arm, bought a controlling stake in the Italian auto design company Pininfarina it was, said chairman Anand Mahindra, meant to address “the increasing design sensibilities of today’s consumers,” for whom “product design will greatly influence customer choice”. Pininfarina already works with Mahindra on… Continue reading Physique Part 1: I Like Your Body: The Grip of Physique

Physique Part 3: Three Escapes from the Grip of Physique

Physique is ‘the mental imprint of a brand’s physical image, as a sensory perception”. Its power comes from its automatic nature, which escapes formal or rational thinking. It’s related to the primacy effect, psycho-speak for the power of first impressions. Once imprinted, it decides whether we ‘accept’ products that don’t fit the ‘physiqual’ mould. If… Continue reading Physique Part 3: Three Escapes from the Grip of Physique

Hidden In Plain View: Physique

Brands place a premium on attention, firing images and words shaped into messages to inform and persuade. Indeed, we live amidst a war for our attention, an exquisitely perishable wisp that lives in the now. But like breath, attention is a quick burning fuel that enables the flow of communication but does not add to… Continue reading Hidden In Plain View: Physique