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The Future Beyond Brands
Lovemarks Book.jpg
Cover of the first edition
Author Kevin Roberts
Country United Kingdom
Language English
Subject Marketing
Publisher powerHouse Books
Publication date
April 2004
Media type Print
Pages 224
ISBN 978-1-57687-204-8
Followed by The Lovemarks Effect: Winning in the Consumer Revolution (2006)

Lovemarks is a marketing concept that is intended to replace the idea of brands. The idea was first widely publicized in a book of the same name written by Kevin Roberts, CEO of the advertising agency Saatchi & Saatchi. In the book Roberts claims, "Brands are running out of juice".[1] He considers that love is what is needed to rescue brands. Roberts asks, "What builds Loyalty that goes Beyond Reason? What makes a truly great love stand out?"[2] Roberts suggests the following are the key ingredients to create lovemarks:[3]

Sound, sight, smell, touch, and taste
Commitment, empathy, and passion

Roberts explains the relationship between lovemarks and other selling concepts through a simple schema based on respect and love. The full schema is as follows: mere products (commodities) command neither love nor respect. Fads attract love, but without respect this love is just a passing infatuation. Brands attract respect, even lasting respect, but without love. Lovemarks, explains Roberts, command both respect and love. This is achieved through the trinity of mystery, sensuality, and intimacy.

Kevin Duncan describes the concept in more traditional marketing terms, noting that there are "two axes," one of which runs from low to high respect, and the other which runs from low to high love.[4] For a brand to transcend into "lovemark" category, it has to be high on both axes at once. Duncan sums up the concept in one sentence thus: "Creating loyalty beyond reason requires emotional connections that generate the highest levels of love and respect for your brand." [5]

Some marketers question the usefulness of the Lovemarks concept. A recent study tested whether one of Robert's Lovemarks - Nike - actually enjoyed higher than expected brand loyalty. The study, based on analysis of TNS consumer panel data, found Nike did not exhibit higher than usual loyalty.[6]

In September 2006, Saatchi & Saatchi won a US$430 million JC Penney contract because of the idea of lovemarks.[7][8]


In the current world of marketing, there are a plethora of brands that use the concept of lovemarks behind their marketing strategies.[citation needed] One of the biggest examples is The Coca-Cola Company whose marketing campaigns are focused on transmitting emotions to the viewers of their TV advertisements.[citation needed] Another notable example is Cerveza Quilmes, an Argentine beer, who broadcast a commercial titled "#IGUALISMO", which translates as equality in English, and branded a medieval war between modern men and women, showing the differences between the two genders. At the end of the advertisement, they start begging for pardon from each other, and the Cerveza Quilmes' slogan is shown:- (translated from Spanish): "When machism and feminism encounter, equality borns. Quilmes, the flavour of encounter." In this example, the product (a beer) is not shown in the whole advertisement and instead, it is focused on transmitting a certain emotion to their target market (young adults, both male and female).


  1. ^ Lovemarks, p.35
  2. ^ Lovemarks, p.76
  3. ^ Lovemarks, p.77
  4. ^ Duncan, K. Marketing Greatest Hits: A Masterclass in Modern Marketing Ideas. A&C Black, 2010, p68
  6. ^ Dawes, J. "Brand Loyalty in the UK Sportswear Market" International Journal of Market Research, Vol. 51, 4, 2009
  7. ^ How 'Advertising Age' was wrong about Kevin Roberts
  8. ^ Kevin and Penney

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