The agency built an interactive space with digital ultra-high resolution screens where consumers could try Vogue Sunglasses and project themselves in many different social contexts of this exotic destination: a pool party, a beach sunset, an elegant dinner and many others.
The Style Mirror, heart of consumer experience, was surrounded by sunglasses to try on: consumers could wear their favourite eyewear imagining being a star in Rio or dancing with friends in amazing locations. Connected via Facebook, consumers shared this fun, while in parallel posts generated also suggested the best retailers in the area. The idea of watching themselves from a new perspective in an exclusive environment made people feel like a star in a dream: this was the aspirational purpose of this campaign.
I divide the luxury market into “must-haves” and “wannabes.” Members of the first group have incorporated luxury into their lives and seek to retain that lifestyle in the face of recession. Very high net worth individuals occupy the top rung of the must-haves. They are largely inoculated from the downturn. Even if they’ve lost a lot of money in the recession, they are still ultrarich. On the other hand, those must-haves who have become financially strapped are now buying luxury items at lower price points or buying them less often, but never compromising on quality.
The luxury wannabes view luxury aspirationally, occasionally investing in luxury purchases in order to touch luxury without immersing themselves in it. They would never buy (or probably would never be able to buy) a Ralph Lauren suit. But they can afford a few lower-cost accessories such as a polo shirt with the logo.
You have to figure out how your customers’ behavior has shifted. Can you enable your more price-sensitive customers to continue to patronize you? It’s a balancing act, because you don’t want to taint the image of the brand.
This is more challenging at a time when cash-strapped companies are reducing spending on market research that could help them learn just how to reach those customers. Most large companies in the U.S. are cutting their research budgets by 10 percent to 20 percent. To adjust to this shift, I urge marketers to focus their research on the products, brand, and markets that are key to their strategy. Don’t waste resources on peripheral or potential consumers.
Simplifiers predated the recession, but the recession has accelerated the trend. These are people who trade down to a simpler lifestyle than they are able to afford. In particular, they seek to reduce the scope and scale of the stuff they own, because they simply find it too aggravating to maintain and less emotionally satisfying than they expected. Often, as they grow older, they place more value on — and invest more money in — experiences instead of possessions.
Savvy marketers will keep this new Simplifier in mind when creating an argument for their product or service.
The latest Lady Dior film already looks like it is going to eclipse the much anticipated (and deeply disappointing) Coco Chanel spot
Titled, The Lady Noire Affairs and shot in a Hitchcock style the six and a half minute short will include romance, gangsters, the Eiffel Tower and of course a beautiful heroine in Marion Cotillard.
One clue to the story being released each day over the coming week via a Twitter account and a widget is available to embed into sites and blogs.
Directed by Oliver Dahan of the BAFTA nominate La Vie En Rose, the preview is available online now, with the film being released on May 20th at ladydior.com. It will also be backed by a print campaign, shot by Peter Lindbergh atop the
www.ladydior.com
twitter.com/lady_dior
www.balistikart.fr/_lady_dior/
| ||||
That’s the power of brand marketing. “Crystal can sound a bit old-fashioned and grandmotherly so we at Swarovski have worked very hard to keep it modern,” says Peter Zottl, Swarovski’s corporate vice president of travel and retail (“Brand Profile,” The Moodie Report, October 2008). Modern is an understatement. Swarovski has single-handedly cut a swath through the designer and celebrity world. The Swarovski name is associated with miniature collectibles, sculptures, jewelry, fashion, lighting, watches and every type of accessory imaginable. It is a brand name that is the envy of every marketer who wants to garner the attention of the beautiful people. There was no indication that Swarovski would become such a sensation when Daniel Swarovski, son of a Czech glass cutter, patented an electric glass-cutting machine in 1892. In 1895, Swarovski opened his company in Wattens, Tyrol, in Austria, because of the availability of hydroelectric power. Swarovski has been in Wattens ever since. Still independent and family-owned, the company is managed by fourth- and fifth-generation family members. Swarovski employs about 26,000 people and maintains a presence in more than 120 countries.
As for brushing shoulders with celebrities, stars have been star-struck by Swarovski ever since the days of Marlene Dietrich. It hasn’t hurt that Swarovski has carefully cultivated the Hollywood relationship with its presence at the Oscars (practically defining the word “bling”), the Cannes Film Festival and the Toronto Film Festival. Swarovski has also played the product placement card brilliantly, collaborating with the costume designer of the movie Moulin Rouge, creating the crystal for the chandelier in the film version of Phantom of the Opera and making notable appearances in two James Bond movies, Ocean’s Thirteen, Dreamgirls and other films. You’ll also find Swarovski in the public eye, always in a high-profile way. For example, the star on the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree in New York City is Swarovski crystal. Swarovski is prominently present along the world’s finest shopping boulevards and in international airports. The company has pushed its brand beyond its own products. In an effort to have almost everything Swarovski-ized, the company recently introduced its “CRYSTALLIZED – Swarovski Elements” brand. Basically, the product “can transform any item into something entirely beautiful,” the company says. These loose crystal elements can be embedded in a limitless range of products, each of which carries the “Made with CRYSTALLIZED Swarovski Elements” tag. Think of this as the fashion equivalent of the computer industry’s memorable “Intel Inside” campaign. The result is almost overwhelming. Swarovski is showing up in products from the sublime to the ridiculous. How do you even begin to think about haute couture crystal-encrusted dresses, handbags and shoes in the same way as rhinestone license plates, iPod cases, cell phone faceplates, personalized baby bottles, pet collars, Havaianas flip flops and Phillips Swarovski-encrusted USB flash drives? And if you’re thirsty, try a bottle of outrageously expensive Bling H20—it’s water packaged in bottles encrusted with Swarovski crystals. You can even use CRYSTALLIZED Swarovski Elements to create your own products.
Despite Swarovski’s trendy, glitzy side, there remains a significant group of people who take its reputation for quality very seriously. The Swarovski Crystal Society, which began in 1987 as the Swarovski Collectors Society, today has more than 400,000 members in 35 countries worldwide. These enthusiasts receive a quarterly magazine and can purchase annual editions and exclusive products. If you are not quite ready to own the brand, you can still interact with it up close—if you visit the Swarovski Kristallwelten (Crystal Worlds) in Wattens. Swarovski calls it “a guided tour through a sensual kaleidoscope.” CNN says it is “as fascinating as one of the Seven Wonders of the World.” Swarovski Kristallwelten attracts 700,000 visitors annually. It is second only to Vienna’s Schönbrunn Palace as the most visited tourist attraction in Austria. There is little Swarovski hasn’t thought of. It is crystal clear this brand has every sparkling facet of marketing covered. |
