Using the Concept of Transvaluation in the Branding Process to Create Essential Stickiness -

a case study of the launch of O, the Oprah Magazine: how embedding brand character changed the function of the product in the eyes of those who live the brand.

The process of branding has evolved to include the integration of embedded brand character into the sum total of the user's experiences and interactions with the message, product, service, and the business itself. Katherine McCoy asks "How can user experience design create essential stickiness, developing branded character rather than superficial veneer?" This study attempts to answer this question, seeks to understand the difference between embedded brand character and superficial veneer, and how to translate brand values into actions using the concept of `transvalutation'.

In his book Beyond the Brillo Box, Arthur Danto looks at works of art that began as simple objects from the real world and were transformed into works of art. He establishes that, in the end, it is the function of the work of art that determines the value. When the function changes, so does the value. Danto refers to the changing value of art as `transvaluation'.

With regards to the brand, the belief is that changing the function of a product into an object that embodies the values or essential purpose of that brand will change the value of the product in the eyes of those who live the brand. Employing this process produces products with double identities; they are objects of use and the material embodiment of the brand.

An analysis of the voice and visual language of O, the Oprah Magazine