Wu Zhiyan
Department of Marketing, School of Management, Shanghai University of International Business and Economics, Shanghai, China.
Front Psychol. 2022 May 3;13:826890. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.826890. eCollection 2022.
Currently, we are witnessing a trend toward subtle or absent hints of luxury, reflecting the rise of inconspicuousness. We seek to address why and how Chinese luxury brand managers, instead of matching conspicuous branding of many Western brands, develop inconspicuous strategies and craft authentic attributes in their brand communication. In the Chinese luxury brand context, we use the ethnographic research method with in-depth interviews, field visits, and photographs of eight Chinese luxury brands with inconspicuous preferences to reveal three main themes contributing to inconspicuousness. First, an inconspicuous approach of Chinese luxury brands is derived from the rise of inconspicuous consumption in China and a rejection of status brands due to being less famous than well-known Western brands, superficiality of status branding, and limited production capability. Second, we argue that inconspicuous branding can encompass developing luxury brands that avoid overtly displaying wealth and social status. Third, we identify three ways of crafting brand authenticity to build inconspicuous brands by using (a) nature to craft quality commitment dimension of authenticity (places and rare raw materials); (b) traditional Chinese craftsmanship and symbols to craft heritage dimension of authenticity; and (c) sincere stories (of how innovations are used in traditional craftsmanship), and the use of sustainability (sustainable raw materials, traditional craftsmanship, luxury production process, and saving resources) to craft sincerity dimension of authenticity in developing inconspicuous brands.
当前，我们正目睹一种走向微妙或毫无奢华暗示的趋势，这反映了不张扬的兴起。我们试图探讨为何以及中国奢侈品牌管理者如何在品牌传播中，不采用许多西方品牌那种引人注目的品牌塑造方式，而是制定不张扬的策略并打造真实属性。在中国奢侈品牌背景下，我们运用人种志研究方法，通过对八个具有不张扬偏好的中国奢侈品牌进行深入访谈、实地考察和拍照，揭示了促成不张扬的三个主要主题。首先，中国奢侈品牌的不张扬方式源于中国不张扬消费的兴起，以及因不如知名西方品牌出名、地位品牌的肤浅性和生产能力有限而对地位品牌的摒弃。其次，我们认为不张扬的品牌塑造可以包括打造避免公然展示财富和社会地位的奢侈品牌。第三，我们确定了三种打造品牌真实性以建立不张扬品牌的方式，即利用（a）自然来打造真实性的质量承诺维度（地点和稀有原材料）；（b）中国传统工艺和符号来打造真实性的传承维度；以及（c）真诚的故事（关于创新如何应用于传统工艺），并利用可持续性（可持续原材料、传统工艺、奢侈生产过程和节约资源）在打造不张扬品牌时塑造真实性的真诚维度。
