Embedding Intangible Rewards of a Brand Using Transvaluation How embedding the intangible rewards of the Oprah brand changed the function of O Magazine Paula Chenchar Hänus, MFA Paula Chenchar Hänus, Clear Lake, Iowa, USA, paulahanus@gmail.com 1. Introduction In his book Beyond the Brillo Box, Danto looks at works of art that began as simple objects from the real world and were transformed into artwork. He establishes that, in the end, it is the function of the work of art that determines its value. When the function changes, so does the value. Danto calls this concept of the changing value of art ‘transvaluation’. Danto uses Warhol’s Brillo Box and Duchamp’s Fountain to illustrate how artifacts from the real world, such as a Brillo box or a urinal, can transform into works of art. He says that by reappropriating the meanings of the artifacts, the artists were able to transform the artifacts into objects that embodied thought and content, which increased the value of these objects. The objects no longer existed as objects of use, rather as the material embodiment of Warhol’s and Duchamp’s thoughts and values [1]. Another important concept that Danto offers is that simply putting objects from the real world on display in an art type setting does not change the value of the object. He uses the example of a museum director hanging an African net at the entrance of an African art exhibit as a way to connect the audience with the exhibit. The function of the net was to help link the viewer with the exhibit. Danto says making the audience aesthetically responsive to an object does not transform the object into a work of art. There is a difference between art and artifact and the circumstance of display itself does not affect the value. By adding the net to the exhibit, the value of the net did not change. Its value only existed in that system, at that time, and in that space. In industry, one might say the net was a value add proposition. Whereas, the value of Warhol’s Brillo Box and Duchamp’s Fountain is in the broader social context in which the objects exist. The value of their artwork is in their ability to embody thought and content. It is in the social value. When the function of the object changed to an object that exists for the greater good of society (and the viewer/audience believes this), then the value changes. Abstract: In Beyond the Brillo Box, Danto looks at works of art that began as objects and were transformed into works of art. He establishes that it is the function of the work that determines the value. When the function changes, so does the value. Danto calls this Transvaluation [1]. With regards to changing the value of a brand, the belief is that consideration should be given to the function of the designed affordances. Is the function of these brand experiences to link the viewer/audience with the product/organization; or is the function of the product/organization to express the values behind the brand? An analysis of the launch of O, the Oprah Magazine discovers that within the first few months of publication, the function of the designed affordances in the magazine changed from objects that link the reader to the brand to embodiments of the emotional rewards of the brand. Keywords: Transvaluation, intangible rewards, Hearst/Harpo-driven, double identities