The Relationship Between Brand Experience and User Experience: A Phenomenological Study of Daily Experience Design

As academic circles have paid growing attention to the experience economy, various theories have emerged that place a high value on the likes of experiential marketing, customer experience, and experience design in business. Brand experience (BX) and user experience (UX) are commonly referenced in the industry and have been studied in various academic contexts. UX has primarily been addressed in human-computer interaction, while BX is mainly taken up by marketing. Although BX and UX are often referenced in design, few studies discuss the intersection.
For this reason, the starting point is to segregate BX from UX. This study explores the experiences of two brands, BMW and Netflix, and interprets those of BX and UX with phenomenology. The difference in physical conditions of interactive products, BMW being tangible and Netflix being intangible, offers a comprehensive and balanced per-spective on the experiences.
The research was conducted in the everyday context of customers because the ways the product is used in their lives connote concrete and in-depth experiences. Assuming that the product is used frequently and continuously, it is possible to juxtapose BX and UX by setting the same direction of a holistic customer experience. Through qualitative interviews, individual customer’s experience descriptions characterize the two con-cepts and imply how those experiences are integrated into their lives.
This study offers the following findings and contributions:
1) a clear explanation of what constructs BX and UX differently;
2) a clearly articulated understanding of the relationship between BX and UX;
3) a proposition for an integrative experience design strategy that eschews the dualistic divide between BX and UX.
By clarifying that BX and UX are not identical and are not included in either, the study configures a new theoretical model with an integrative standpoint on both concepts. Further, the study facilitates the structural approach to the experience design practice.