Balancing Luxury with Digital

Note: Image from The Sartorialist

In addition to my love affair with branding, I am crazy about fashion. I have every AmericanVogue from November 1999 to December 2009. That's 10 years worth of Vogue magazines! I can even show you the transition period when Anna Wintour started to put celebrities on the cover rather than models.

Ok, so now you're wondering what does any of this have to do with branding.  Well having been an avid reader, borderline collector, of Vogue  for so many years, I thought it was interesting when I suddenly stopped buying Vogue without even noticing. What was filling the void for my insatiable desire to know what's in and how I should be styling myself for the season? Well...blogs -- The Sartorialist; Garance Dore; The Glamouria; etc.

This is not to say magazines are dead, but it got me thinking about how even luxury fashion brands cannot avoid the rise and influence of digital.  Their apprehension, although lifting slightly, towards digital platforms, like e-commerce and social media, is understandable.  Many brands feel their luxury experience cannot by adequately translated online.  In addition, these platforms democratize the access to information making brands more accessible. This is not ideal for brands whose value is based on exclusivity and rarity.

However, according to Forrester, luxury consumers love technology and tend to be early adopters. They expect luxury brands, whom which they perceive as innovators and trendsetters that, for so many years, have created breathtaking offline experiences, to translate online with high quality rich media experiences that evoke the brand essence, provide unique services and share value-add content.

The need to be online, to remain relevant and modern for its consumers, while maintaining the mystique that drives its brand value creates an interesting challenge. How do luxury brands balance exclusivity with accessibility and rarity with being known?

First, we need to stop looking at digital as a communications channel and see it more as a behaviour. Rather than a 2-dimensional medium to showcase designs and send out one-way messages, digital platforms enable the brand to come to life, interacting with its customers and delivering the brand promise, similar to its offline presence.  For all intents and purposes the two (online and offline) fold into each other.

Second, demand for luxury brands, like I mentioned two weeks ago, is driven by the story/lifestyle behind the brand, more than the product itself.

Lastly, there are three consumer groups who will interact with the brand and, therefore, need to be considered:

1. Experience Group: This group actively buys luxury products and are considered regular customers, if not already the muse to the designer.  These people are often the early adopters and influencers within the market.  They want to feel special and unique -- after all, they are the "in crowd". This group is looking for a tangible experience where the brand delivers added value beyond the product.
2. Inspire Group: These people love fashion, but don't buy their entire wardrobe from luxury labels. However, they do look to them for inspiration on what are the upcoming trends, 'it' products, unique ways to style certain looks or the story behind each season's collection. Here they want a more informative experience.
3. Aspire Group: The aspirational audience longs to be a part of this world. They escape into the brand's story by purchasing its signature fragrance or beauty products. It's important to note that this group may be the future experience group, so they mustn't be completely forgotten. Millennials have a tendency to establish their brand relationships early and when treated right will form an incredible long-term bond with that brand. However, this also works in the reverse.  This group is looking for insider information and an opportunity to be lost in the essence of the brand.

There are few luxury brands who are using digital platforms to their full potential. I think there is still opportunity to create more value-add services/utility through digital technology to deliver the brand. Oscar de la Renta is starting by offering in-store services like styling advice via phone and email, but this could become a much richer experience with all the available technology today.

However, I'm really impressed by Burberry with their live broadcasted fashion shows, Art of the Trench campaign or recent show in Beijing with 3D models where they use digital to create environments that allow consumers to dream and get closer to the essence of the brand.  Dolce & Gabbana are also making a big push to remain modern by using social media to mesh their online and offline worlds together by bringing bloggers into their stores to style the windows, or having live twitter feedback from guests featured during their latest menswear fashion show. Lastly, Karl Lagerfeld, for Chanel, has been doing a fantastic job of leveraging digital to position the brand as an innovator (being one of the first fashion brands I can remember having a mobile app) and creating content for people to become lost in the spirit of Chanel.

In fact, Chanel did a show, in St. Tropez, for its Spring/Summer '10 collection, where I thought it mastered bringing online and offline together, evoking the brand story and satisfied each group without alienating anyone.

Note: Images from Garance Dore's documentation of the event seen here.

Chanel’s Spring/Summer ’10 fashion show, Croisiere, maintained the balance of exclusive yet accessible. They created a 2-day experience where St. Tropez was transformed into Chanel's world -- how you would live your summer if you truly lived the brand's lifestyle.  Celebrities, socialites, editors, models and muses were all invited. Talk about the ultimate customer appreciation night.

Note: Images from Garance Dore's documentation of the event seen here.

In addition, bloggers, photographers and journalists were invited to document the 2-day experience and share with the general public. This did two things: first it created inspiration on what's in, how to wear it and where to wear it.  Second, having the full lifestyle showcased created the ultimate in aspiration and ability to daydream and escape into the luxurious world of Chanel through blogs, like Garance Dore.

All-in-all, I felt this was a great example of how a fashion label can turn their brand into a tangible entity, bringing the dream to reality and making its core audience feel special and unique, while leveraging digital to extend the impact of the experience in ways suitable for the other audiences.

Today, luxury brands need to find unique and innovative ways to use digital technology to remain relevant and cutting edge to its audiences. Yet, they must do it in a way that balances exclusivity with accessibility and rarity with being known. 

Are there any luxury labels you feel are using digital technology to take their brand to the next level?