C. Gaston-Breton, ESCP Europe (Madrid)
B. Heilbrunn, ESCP Europe (Paris)

MANAGERIAL CONTEXT
Designing “happy products and services”, Delivering “happy experiences”
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MANAGERIAL CONTEXT
A Human vs. Customer centric approach to Marketing
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MANAGERIAL CONTEXT
Millenials are looking for meaningful life and relationships with the brands
Source: ZenithOptimedia, 2015, The Pursuit of Happiness Study for Millenials (18-34 years old), based on 6,000 respondents across all continents
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MANAGERIAL CONTEXT
Source: ZenithOptimedia, 2015, The Pursuit of Happiness Study for Millenials (18-34 years old), based on 6,000 respondents across all continents
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MANAGERIAL CONTEXT
Source: ZenithOptimedia, 2015, The Pursuit of Happiness Study for Millenials (18-34 years old), based on 6,000 respondents across all continents
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RESEARCH CONTEXT
Roundtable sessions at CB conferences
Special session of the 2014 Association for Consumer
Research (ACR) Conference, titled " What Makes
People Happy? Antecedents and Consequences of
Happiness .".
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RESEARCH CONTEXT
Research Dialogue in 2015 at Journal of Consumer Psychology
(JCP)
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RESEARCH CONTEXT
Recent research papers in Journal of Consumer Research (JCR)
2016
2015
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RESEARCH AGENDA i. Impact of Emotions (joy) / Attitudes (optimism) / Practices
(mindfulness) on Consumption (consequences and drivers) ii. Measure of consumer happiness(es),happy products, services and experiences (measures) iii.Moderating influence of consumer characteristics (sociodemographics, psychographics, ..) on the relationship between happiness & consumption (moderators)
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PITCH
What makes you more happy: an experiential or a material purchase?
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EXPERIENTIAL PURCHASES
The distinction between Material and Experiential Purchases was first introduced by Van Boven and Gilovich (2003)
EXPERIENTIAL PURCHASES
“Spending money with the primary intention of acquiring a life experience _ an event or series of event that you personally encounter or live through”
MATERIAL PURCHASES
“Spending money with the primary intention of acquiring a material possession _ a tangible object you obtain and you keep in your possesion”
EXPERIENTIAL
PRODUCTS/BENEFITS
Cultural products (43%), Travel (32%),
Restaurants (17%)
“Having fun watching a TV program”
MATERIAL
PRODUCTS/BENEFITS
Clothes (62%), TV & Computers (26%)
“Having a TV”
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EXPERIENTIAL PURCHASES
Source: L.V Boven & T. Gilovich (2003) To Do or to Have? That is the question,, Journal of personality
an social psychology, 85 (6) 1193-1202.
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VALENCE OF THE OUTCOME
Greater happiness for positive experiential purchases but also greater unhappiness for negative experiential purchases.
Source: L. Nicolao, J. Irwin, J. Goodman (2003) To Do or to Have? That is the question,, Journal of
personality an social psychology, 85 (6) 1193-1202.
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NATURE OF THE EXPERIENCE
Source: Bhattarcharjee and Mogilner (2014) Happiness from ordinary and extraordinary experiences, Journal of Consumer Behavior, 41, 1-17.
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NATURE OF THE EXPERIENCE
Source: Bhattarcharjee and Mogilner (2014) Happiness from ordinary and extraordinary experiences, Journal of Consumer Behavior, 41, 1-17.
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UNDERLYING PROCESSES
“The ambiguous nature of some purchases highlights the fact that it is not whether a purchase is material or experiential per se that determines the satisfaction people derive from it. Instead, it is the set of psychological processes that tend to be invoked by experiences and
material goods that determine how much satisfaction they provide.”
(Gilovich, Kumar and Jampol, 2015)
(1) Experiential purchases enhance social relations more readily and effectively than material goods
(2) Experiential purchases form a bigger part of a person’s identity
(3) Experiential purchases are evaluated more on their own terms and evoke fewer social comparisons than material purchases
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PITCH
Does having kids make people happier?
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HEDONIC & EUDAIMONIC
DIMENSIONS
Hedonic well-being is measured by the occurrence of positive affect and the absence of negative affect => Focuses on the outcome of good living and temporal emotional pleasure.
Eudamonic well-being, a doctrine of the ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle, is explained by self-actualization, selfacceptance, or commitment to socially meaningful goals =>
Focuses on the way one lives and achieves purpose in life.
Source: R. Ryan and E. Deci (2001), A review of research on Hedonic and Eudaimonic well-being, Annual Review of Psychology, 52, 141-166.
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PRESENT & FUTURE
FOCUS
Mogilner, Aaker, Kamvar (2012), How happiness affects choice, Journal of Consumer Research, vol. 39, no. 2, pp. 429-443.
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SATISFACTION/HAPPINESS WITH…
“How satisfied/happy are you with your current lives?”
UK Happiness Index
Primer Minister David Cameron has launch an on-line survey to 200 000 household/ year.
First findings indicate that the level of life satisfaction is on average a 7,4/10 but the level of anxiety is high for more than 25% of the population (especially for women).
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SATISFACTION/HAPPINESS WITH…
“How satisfied/happy are you with your …….?”
“When you think about this purchase, “how happy does it make you?”
Buthan GNH vs. GNP
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PURPOSE/CONTROL IN…
“To which extent do you feel that you have a purpose or meaning in your lives?
“How much does this purchase contribute to your happiness in life?”
OECD Guidelines on Measuring
Subjective Well-being (2013)
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POSITIVE & NEGATIVE EMOTIONS
“For each emotion in the list, indicate the extent to which it is related to a purchase? “(intensity and direction)
MAIN POSITIVE
EMOTIONS
JOY (HAPPY, PLEASED, JOYFUL)
GLADNESS
EXCITEMENT
MAIN NEGATIVE
EMOTIONS
SADNESS (DEPRESSED, SAD,
UNHAPPY)
PAIN
ANGER
HEDONIC
SADNESS
EXCITEMENT..
SELF
CONSCIOUS
PRIDE
GUILT..
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POSITIVE & NEGATIVE EMOTIONS
Harmon-Jones et al. (2011), The expression of determination, Journal of Personality & Social Psychology, 100(1), 172-181.
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HAPPINESS CONSTRUCTION
Narratives, Diaries, Videos…
Costley et al. (2007), Happiness, Consumption and Being,
Consumer Culture Theory, Vol. 11, 209-240.
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HAPPINESS CONSTRUCTION
EXPLORATORY STUDY with Spanish students (20 students / 80 pictures and text related to last purchases that made them happy and why)
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HAPPINESS CONSTRUCTION
EXAMPLE WITH Spanish students (20 students / 80 pictures and text)
Calm
Conscious
Health
Authenticity
Participate
Projects
Sharing
With and for oneself
With and for the others
Feel
Esthetic
Stimulation
Play
Humor
Creativity
Exitement
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SOCIAL CONTEXT
World Happiness Report, 2015
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SOCIAL CONTEXT
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ECONOMIC CONTEXT
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ECONOMIC CONTEXT
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ECONOMIC CONTEXT
Source: Hsee, Yang, Li and Shen (2009), Wealth, Warmth and Well-Being, Journal of Marketing Research, June.
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DEMOGRAPHIC CONTEXT
World Happiness Report, 2015
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CULTURAL CONTEXT
World Happiness Report, 2015
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CULTURAL CONTEXT
World Happiness Report, 2015
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CULTURAL CONTEXT
World Happiness Report, 2015
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