At a time when lifestyle marketing has become a trending topic, how do luxury brands form associations that appeal to a customer’s aspirational view of themselves without diminishing their intelligence?
I have always been a fan of purposeful marketing, but it wasn’t until I saw a recent Diet Coke ad that I realized just how important this is, especially in the luxury category.
The specific ad referenced was part of the “Stay extraordinary” campaign and depicts a series of scenes that picture extraordinary people during their lives. Normally, my brain kind of glosses over these types of ads, but my first thought was, how does drinking soda help anyone to embody more of who they are?
As a marketer, it’s about forming associations that enable select customers to relate to the brand and feel validated in choosing to incorporate the brand into their everyday lives. Referencing the Diet Coke ad, the messaging is clearly intended to inspire, and in that respect, the ad was successful. But could that same commercial have been for a luxury brand? What if it wasn’t Diet Coke, but instead, a brand like Chanel, making the indirect claim that by wearing Chanel you as an individual were extraordinary? It wouldn’t work, because, unlike soda, Chanel and other luxury brands are not widely attainable.
Rather than inspiring through exclusion, luxury instead inspires through reward. For customers willing to spend on luxury goods, it’s less about purchasing a product to become someone or something, and more about making a luxury purchase to reward and validate oneself.
Luxury brands structure campaigns based on this notion by appealing to both the idea of superior quality and the idea of treating oneself to the act of purchasing.
Online, messaging should continue to rise above expectations and make users feel rewarded with superior site experiences and highly valuable content. Below are a few examples of brands that offer an impressive website experience, indicative of their high-end brand image and product offering:
-Gucci: A gorgeous display of product combined with knowledge of the digital landscape, providing flashes of beauty through a carefully constructed use of imagery and video
-Ferragamo: A beautifully positioned site that conveys the company’s storied success, seamlessly combining history with modern relevancy in a way that inspires
-Isaia: A multi-sensory site experience that engages and entertains while informing the user of the brand, the products, and the culture of Isaia
Photo Credits: Trey Hill
All articles are reviewed and edited by Gina Conforti
