The French art de vivre—the philosophy of savoring life’s moments with elegance and authenticity—is set to redefine how brands craft their narratives and engage consumers. In 2025, this cultural influence will push brands beyond traditional marketing, emphasizing immersive experiences, emotional storytelling, and refined aesthetics that celebrate quality over quantity.
We asked 14 thought leaders how art de vivre will inspire brand storytelling and experiential marketing. Their insights highlight how brands can embrace authenticity, craftsmanship, and sensory-rich experiences to create deeper, more meaningful connections with consumers in a world that increasingly values slow living and sophistication.
French Lifestyle Shifts Brand Storytelling
The French “art de vivre” will shift how brands approach storytelling and experiential marketing in 2025. People want more than products; they want an experience that feels personal, authentic, and refined. With the French lifestyle focus on quality, elegance, and simplicity, brands can build deeper connections by telling stories that evoke feelings of luxury and enjoyment. For example, a beauty brand could craft content that highlights moments of self-care, making the consumer feel like they’re indulging in something truly special, not just buying a product.
Brands can tap into this idea by weaving everyday moments into narratives that celebrate joy and sophistication. Think about using visuals that emphasize beauty in simplicity—less clutter, more focus on how products enhance life. This approach creates a bond, showing your audience that they are part of something more significant. It’s about setting a tone, making your customer feel valued with every interaction. This kind of storytelling creates an experience that’s hard to forget.
Natalia Lavrenenko, UGC manager/Marketing manager, Rathly
Art de Vivre Shapes Marketing Approaches
The French ‘art de vivre,’ will significantly influence brand storytelling and experiential marketing approaches in 2025. As consumers increasingly seek deeper connections with brands and experiences that resonate with their values, this cultural approach offers an authentic and aspirational lens through which brands can position themselves.
By embracing the essence of ‘art de vivre,’ brands can communicate luxury, quality, and an elevated lifestyle, aligning themselves with the desire for meaningful, sensory-driven experiences.
For instance, a brand could leverage immersive storytelling that invites customers to experience the finer details of life in a way that feels both aspirational and relatable. Think of a luxury fashion brand not just showcasing a new collection, but weaving a narrative around the craftsmanship, the emotions tied to wearing the pieces, and how they fit into a lifestyle of enjoyment and sophistication. This level of storytelling helps build a stronger emotional connection with the consumer.
Additionally, in experiential marketing, personalized, multisensory experiences will likely become more prevalent. A brand may curate an event or product experience that involves fine dining, exclusive tastings, or a sophisticated ambiance that evokes the luxury and joy of French living. This type of approach transcends mere product interaction, offering customers an immersive journey that appeals to all senses and creates lasting memories. The goal is to allow consumers to feel part of something more significant than just a transaction-immersing them in an experience that evokes indulgence, elegance, and pleasure, much like the French philosophy of enjoying life’s small luxuries.
In 2025, integrating the ‘art de vivre’ into brand storytelling and experiential marketing will allow brands to elevate their identities while appealing to the increasing consumer demand for authenticity, quality, and enriched experiences that go beyond traditional advertising.
Georgi Petrov, CMO, Entrepreneur, and Content Creator, AIG MARKETER
Brands Embrace Refinement and Sophistication
Art de vivre is a French concept that translates to the art of living. It encompasses refinement, sophistication, and an aspiration to the finer things in life. This philosophy will massively influence brand narratives and experiences in 2025.
Consumers should expect brand stories to reflect themes such as the return to ‘realness,’ luxury, and lives not measured by speed. A key aspect of storytelling will remain emotional and reference the sense of history that includes French gastronomy, fashion, and art in the campaigns. This concept is also applicable to experiential marketing in that the latter will focus on unique, otherworldly events, such as wine tasting, craft making, or opening a small and personalized pop-up store.
Thus, adopting the values associated with refinement and cultural diversification becomes key to brand appeal and interacting with worldwide audiences in pursuit of luxury and exclusiveness.
Fahad Khan, Digital Marketing Manager, Ubuy Nigeria
Crafting Narratives Around Quality and Elegance
The French “art de vivre,” emphasizing elegance, authenticity, and meaningful experiences, will shape brand storytelling and experiential marketing by prioritizing quality and emotional resonance. In 2025, brands will focus on crafting narratives that celebrate craftsmanship, heritage, and the joy of simple pleasures. Experiential marketing will embrace curated, immersive events that evoke sensory and cultural richness, fostering deeper connections. By aligning with these values, brands can elevate their appeal, offering consumers not just products but moments of timeless sophistication and fulfillment.
Brenton Thomas, Founder, Twibi
Celebrating Life’s Moments Through Storytelling
The French “art de vivre” will shape brand storytelling by emphasizing authenticity, emotion, and a focus on savoring life’s moments. It’s not just about selling a product-it’s about weaving a narrative that elevates everyday experiences into something meaningful and memorable.
Brands will lean into this by crafting campaigns that celebrate quality over quantity, encourage connection, and highlight craftsmanship. Experiential marketing will likely shift toward creating intimate, sensory-rich activations, immersive events where customers not only interact with a product but truly feel its story. Storytelling will also tap into themes of simplicity, elegance, and timelessness, aligning products with a lifestyle that prioritizes mindfulness and joy.
My prediction? Brands that embrace this slower, more thoughtful approach to storytelling will stand out in an increasingly transactional, fast-paced digital world. It’s about creating an emotional resonance that lasts well beyond the initial interaction.
Alena Astravukh, CMO, Elemup
Highlighting Expertise and Marketing Practices
In B2B, we’ll see art de vivre in two areas: highlighting expertise and experimenting with existing marketing practices.
Firstly, we’ll see a higher emphasis placed on who the people behind the business are. What are their stories? How do they produce the product customers end up using? Values are a strong differentiator, and art de vivre reaffirms them as a valid marketing practice.
Secondly, existing marketing practices tend to go stale. Art de vivre perks them up by taking channels and tactics that already work for brands (e.g., awareness webinars for productivity software) and adding a hedonistic work/life balance twist (e.g., awareness webinars promoting well-being and healthy habits).
There are a lot of areas to experiment with, and I look forward to seeing the creativity in marketing spark again!
Lana Rafaela Cindric, SEO & Content Manager, SiteGuru
Showcasing Authentic Experiences and Craftsmanship
The French “art de vivre” celebrates simplicity, quality, and attention to detail, which will shape brand storytelling in 2025. Brands can adopt this ethos by showcasing authentic experiences, focusing on craftsmanship, and promoting a sense of connection.
For example, a luxury skincare brand I worked with embraced this by hosting intimate in-store events featuring local artisans and fresh ingredients, creating a story of heritage and care. This idea of savoring life translates into experiential marketing by offering moments that feel personal and intentional, like curated dining pop-ups or tailored workshops. Consumers are craving substance over flashy campaigns, and brands that embrace thoughtful, meaningful engagement will stand out.
Elisa Branda, Founder & CEO, NuvolediBellezza
Elevating Brand Identity with Cultural Richness
The French “art de vivre” will profoundly shape brand storytelling and experiential marketing in 2025 by amplifying the concepts of elegance and cultural richness. At Ankord Media, I’ve seen how integrating design aesthetics with a deeper narrative can transform brand perception. For instance, when crafting digital experiences, we prioritize authenticity by blending local culture and sophisticated storytelling techniques to connect meaningfully with audiences.
One approach that mirrors the French lifestyle is our Brand Sprint, which distills the essence of a brand into its core values and narratives, much like how French culture encapsulates elegance and heritage. This method has proven successful in creating a compelling and resonant brand identity. Our collaboration with non-profits, like Narratives, reflects a similar principle by intertwining purpose with brand storytelling, which resonates strongly with audiences.
Moreover, I’ve found that leveraging AI tools to gain customer insights aligns with the mindfulness seen in French culture. By understanding consumer behaviors and preferences, brands can tailor their strategies to focus on the pleasures and elegance that define the French “art de vivre,” fostering genuine and lasting connections.
Milan Kordestani, CEO, Ankord Media
Prioritizing Authentic Narratives and Heritage
In 2025, the French ‘art de vivre’ concept, emphasizing quality, elegance, and authentic experiences, will significantly shape brand storytelling and experiential marketing. Brands will prioritize authentic narratives that highlight craftsmanship and tradition, appealing to consumers who value authenticity and a connection to heritage, especially in the affiliate marketing sector.
Michael Kazula, Director of Marketing, Olavivo
Embracing Elegance and Sensory-Rich Experiences
From my experience, the French art of living will push brands in 2025 to embrace elegance, simplicity, and sensory-rich experiences. Storytelling will center on quality over quantity-highlighting craftsmanship, authenticity, and emotional connection. Experiential marketing will shift to immersive events that engage all senses, like wine tastings, curated ateliers, or scent-driven pop-ups. Focus on creating moments that feel exclusive yet attainable, evoking a lifestyle people aspire to.
Tomasz Lewandowski, Business Owner | Web Designer, 2D Figure Painting
Selling Feelings, Not Just Features
You mean besides every startup founder suddenly claiming their SaaS platform is “artisanal” and their API responses are “hand-crafted”? Look, French luxury brands have mastered something most tech companies still struggle with: selling a feeling, not just features.
By 2025, smart brands will stop trying to squeeze engagement metrics out of every interaction and start focusing on creating moments worth remembering. Less “optimize your workflow” and more “imagine working in a way that doesn’t make you hate Mondays.” The real art of living isn’t about slapping French words on your landing page – it’s about treating your customers like humans who want to enjoy life, not just maximize productivity. And yes, I fully expect to see at least three blockchain startups call themselves “Le Web3” by then. Don’t be those guys.
Tim Hanson, Chief Creative Officer, Penfriend
Focusing on Real Stories and Genuine Connections
Art of living is going to shake up how brands tell their stories and connect with people. Instead of just pushing products, brands will focus on real stories that show the heart and soul behind what they do. It’s about sharing the “why”-why the product matters, where it came from, and how it fits into a meaningful life.
On the experience side, brands will aim to create moments that feel special and personal. Whether it’s cool packaging, events that make you stop and soak it all in, or services that actually make you feel seen, the focus will be on building genuine connections. It’s less about selling and more about offering something people want to be part of-something that feels like a lifestyle, not just a transaction.
At the end of the day, it’s about making marketing feel less like marketing and more like something you actually care about. It’s storytelling and experiences that stick with you and make you come back for more.
Tom Malesic, CEO, EZMarketing
Promoting Sophistication and Emotional Connections
The French “art de vivre” emphasizes elegance and quality, shaping brand storytelling and experiential marketing by promoting sophistication and emotional connections.
As we approach 2025, brands will highlight craftsmanship and quality, reflecting the French appreciation for artisan skill. This trend will encourage narratives that convey authenticity and celebrate the finer aspects of life, resonating with consumers seeking meaningful experiences.
Mohammed Kamal, Business Development Manager, Olavivo
