The ‘digital age’ has transformed business and marketing in an unprecedented manner. Luxury brands now have more visibility and increased ‘brand awareness’ than ever before, due to consumers being interconnected through the adoption of digital technologies and social media platforms. This interconnectedness crosses national borders, social classes, religious groups and cultures. However, the dilemma for the luxury industry has always pertained to the digital side of marketing, this is especially true because of the need for luxury brands to convey exclusivity and prestige. Luxury brands need to tread carefully when formulating plans for their online presence.
In an online article by Forbes magazine, Marketing CEO Shama Hyder outlines four secrets she believes are essential for all luxury brands to incorporate into their digital marketing strategies.
1) Brand Narratives Matter
Shama explains the need for luxury brands to create a strong narrative which portrays the ideas behind the brand, e.g., short advertisements for Rolex displaying longevity and precision. Personally I think narrative is extremely important regardless of the product you are marketing, and I believe if you can provide a good narrative which is personally relevant you can just about sell anything. However, Shama highlights the symbolic and expressive nature of luxury products, which naturally leads us to consider how we present our brand narrative to the consumer online, and the importance this has on the value proposition.
2) Balancing exclusivity with visibility
Some people argue that a strong online presence from luxury brands takes away from their exclusivity, however, in the ‘digital age’ I feel luxury brands have no choice but to embrace social media and the online world. A report from McKinsey confirms this, which found that 50% of luxury consumers are influenced by content they read and view online. Therefore, Shama believes that exclusivity and visibility shouldn’t be a ‘zero sum’ game, and should be mutually beneficial. She uses the example of luxury brands partnering with high-fashion models on Instagram to promote their product. This platform is inclusive globally, however the association to the high-fashion models infers exclusivity.
3) Inspire a Sense of Belonging
This is where social media fits perfectly with luxury brands, if the brand can inspire a sense of belonging amongst its target market, it can create more engagement and create a sense of community amongst luxury consumers on multiple online platforms. However, luxury brands need to be careful as to which events or communities they will associate with, to ensure they do not tarnish the reputation of their brand.
4) Amplify
This concept, all comes down to seasonality and promoting your brand around suitable events online. This way you can drive consumer generated content through the use of #hashtags, social media commentary, and reviews. You can also source social media user generated photographs which picture your brand in a positive light. These images can then be displayed on your social media channels. A good example of this, was the #MyCalvins campaign on Instagram in 2016 right before the spring fashion launches. The campaign had a truly global impact going viral, and most certainly caused revenue to spike significantly.
In conclusion, the online world is something which can entirely augment and drive sales for luxury brands. However, I believe the brands themselves need to tread carefully and ensure they provide the same exemplary experience online as they do in their ‘brick and mortar’ outlets.
What do you guys think of these 4 strategies for luxury brands? Let me know below.
Warm Regards,
Eddie
featured image: http://www.newsweek.com
I think these 4 elements are essential to any business as it creates a presence and standing point for their brand. I also agree, I feel as though every brand should have a brand narrative as there is usually always an inspiration or definitive, unique selling point to every brand and this factor can appeal to their audience. Grat use of sources and content 🙂
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Absolutely agree, I think the challenge lies in which platforms Luxury brands use, and the balance between exclusivity and visibility.
It’s always interesting to see how luxury brands adapt their strategies to digital marketing, as key aspects such as social media and e-commerce seem to undermine the core principles luxury marketing to date.
Very true, that is why they need to be careful how they utilise social media and e-commerce, however, I think that the only way forward is digital, and I believe Instagram has done a lot for boosting sales in the luxury market.
Brands like Jimmy Choo maintain their exclusivity by offering an app with product customization in terms of size, fit and others. As for luxury brands to maintain their exclusivity, maybe they could offer some products or services or special collections that are only available through online portals.
Their is a lot of discourse around the balance of exclusivity and visibility, I read a great article from The economist which outlined how Moet & Hennessy are dealing with the problem. That is a great idea by Jimmy Choo, I wasn’t aware of that, customisation is a must with luxury products.
I think this is a very interesting issue for marketers of luxury brands. To me it seems that the most successful approach at the moment for luxury brands is the amplify strategy as it seems that a lot of brands are enjoying the exposure they are getting from influencer fashion Instagram pages. These influencers are regularly seen in well manicured expensive outfits and therefore the brand is reaching a large audience, but the image and message is still very exclusive.
I totally agree with your comment, I think Instagram has been a wonderful platform for the luxury sector, and has only driven the desire for luxury goods. And I think the platform works well, I’m not so sure about snapchat though, I feel as though it may cheapen the brand, however, their is one luxury brand who is doing quite well via SnapChat, I have just forgotten the name.
Interesting article ! As you may have seen on my blog, I think going digital for luxury companies is a vital step for them as long as they make effort to fit their core values. The first one is very important as it permits to convert an expensive and ‘extravagant’ purchase into something meaningful, like Tesla achieved to do with its futurist electronic car. The other three are also essential if luxury brands want to increase engagement and resonance.
Absolutely agree, there is no way around having a digital presence, it is essential in this day and age for almost every industry. Very true, I think the first principle is something that luxury brands do particularly well, they always seem to create and communicate the concepts behind the product extremely well in very creative and meaningful ways.