From Ownership to Identity: How Brands Shape Experiences and Transform Us
How brands are moving from selling products to staging experiences and personal transformation, with examples from LVMH, carmakers, consumer brands and hotels.
At SmartZup, we champion the emotional bond between consumers and their favorite brands, and today, many brands realize that simply selling a product or service is no longer enough.
The shift from goods to experiences to transformations represents a profound change in how brands think and operate. It is a move from a transactional mindset (“sell a product”) to a relational one that builds a journey for the customer. This is the experience economy, first recognized in the book “The Experience Economy: Work Is Theatre & Every Business a Stage” in 1999. Experiences forge stronger emotional ties than products alone, and now, the frontier is shifting again: towards offering personal transformation or the transformation economy, where brand transformational offerings promise to deepen those ties even further by actually improving customers’ lives.
What does the data about experiences indicate?
According to Mastercard’s latest survey, two-thirds of Europeans plan to prioritize big experiences in 2025, with 32% spending over €1,000 on travel and tourism alone. Gen Z leads the trend, with 48% aiming to tick off multiple bucket-list activities, motivated by a desire for lifelong memories and shared moments. Travel, outdoor adventures, and food experiences top spending priorities, while many consumers are cutting back on material goods to fund these dreams. As confidence grows, experiences like sports, music, and cultural events are expected to dominate European spending in the year ahead.
Staging Experiences by the Luxury Industry: How LVMH Sells Experiences
Even at the very high end of the market, the trend towards experiences and lifestyle is undeniable. Luxury brands have historically sold dream products such as the couture dress, the prestigious watch, the rare bottle of champagne, but now LVMH, Prada, and Kering lead the charge to sell the dream life that goes with those products.
LVMH (Louis Vuitton Moët Hennessy) exemplifies this evolution. Its portfolio of luxury brands spans high fashion (Louis Vuitton, Dior), wines and spirits (Château d’Yquem, Hennessy, Moët & Chandon), hospitality (Cheval Blanc, and Belmond hotels), yachting (Feadship – Royal Van Lent), fine jewelry (Tiffany & Co.), and beauty retail (Sephora), crafting a full spectrum of luxury experiences. A customer might sip LVMH champagne at an LVMH resort, carry an LVMH bag aboard an LVMH yacht, and wear an LVMH engagement ring, fully immersed in the world LVMH has built. By creating a connected network of brands and moments, LVMH ensures its clients do not just buy luxury, they live it.
Automotive: From Driving Cars to Living the Brand
Automotive brands understand this. Volkswagen opened Autostadt in 2002, which turns car delivery into a full-day immersive journey, including showcase pavilions of all their brands, such as Lamborghini, Audi, Skoda, and many more.
The other German car brands did not stay behind, and BMW, Mercedes, and Porsche operate their exhibition centers and museums, such as Mercedes Museum (2006), BMW Welt (2007), and Porsche Museum (2009). However, car brands are extending these experiences into real driving experiences at specially designed car racetracks (Porsche, Mercedes AMG, and BMW-M centers) offering Lead-Follow Lapping, Timed Autocross, 0-60 drag-race challenge, or skid pad drifting. Finally, automotive brands have expanded into fashion and hotels, such as Porsche Design and Steigenberger Porsche Design Hotels.
Consumer Product Brands: Slower, but Steady Steps
For large holding companies such Unilever, Procter & Gamble, and Nestlé, who traditionally sell commodities: food, household goods, beauty brands, transforming these brand products into experiences or personal journeys requires more creative thinking.
For instance, Unilever is building “brand ecosystems” around self-care and sustainability. For example, with Dove, it does not just sell soap, it sells self-esteem campaigns, including partnerships with organizations promoting body positivity.
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P&G evolved Oral-B into a “personalized dental care journey” with smart toothbrushes and apps offering real-time coaching.
Nestlé moved into health science, beyond selling chocolate and coffee, aiming to “nourish and enhance life” through personalized nutrition programs, supplements, and medical nutrition initiatives. The Nestlé Nespresso brand has created retail stores and upscale coffee tasting experiences, emphasizing the ritual of coffee beyond the capsule.
Services: Hotels, Restaurants, and the Natural Advantage
For hospitality and food brands, staging experiences and transformations comes almost naturally, because they already sell services, not products. Hotel brands are rapidly moving from just “rooms for the night” to lifestyle brands.
Marriott’s EDITION Hotels and W Hotels emphasize not just stays but entire social experiences: rooftop parties, art events, curated local explorations.
Accor launched ALL (Accor Live Limitless), which offers not just hotel bookings but VIP access to concerts, sports events, and members-only parties.
Aman Resorts stages ultra-luxury “journeys of transformation”, blending travel, wellness, culture, and self-discovery in remote locations.
Hotel loyalty programs such as Marriott Bonvoy Moments™ allow members to redeem points for exclusive experiences across various categories Sports (major events like the Monaco Grand Prix or NFL games.), Culinary (private dining with renowned chefs and culinary tours), and Arts & Lifestyle (VIP passes to concerts, theater performances, and fashion shows).
The New Goal: Transformation
Ultimately, the most forward-looking brands move beyond experiences – they promise personal transformation. When a brand helps you become better, whether physically, intellectually, or emotionally, it earns a unique place in your life and, often, fierce loyalty.
Tomorrow’s consumers will have even higher expectations for personalization, meaning, and impact. They will gravitate towards companies that understand them as individuals and can guide them to where they want to be. This could mean more membership-based models, coaching services, personalized product recommendations that adapt as the customer grows, and immersive experiences (both in-store and online via virtual or augmented reality) that tailor themselves to each user.
Whether it is discovering a passion for driving, wellness, sustainability, or adventure, brands today aim to change the consumer’s identity, not just their possessions.
In the new era, consumers do not just buy a product.
They experience a journey.
They become a new version of themselves.
And the brands that guide them there will earn loyalty that no simple product ever could.
