Strategic positioning of luxury brands

“The basic approach of positioning is not to create something new and different, but to manipulate what’s already in the mind, to retie the connections that already exist,” said Al Ries and Jack Trout in their book Positioning: The battle for your mind.

It is all about battling for your mind. The classical definition of positioning is a marketing strategy that aims to make a brand occupy a distinct position, relative to competing brands, in the mind of the customer. So let us understand the phases of this extraordinary make-or-break tool.

The quote has a classical approach to brand positioning but primarily is referring to positioning of an existing brand.

First, let me discuss the strategy for debut positioning of a brand in the luxury space. When you conceive of launching a brand in the luxury space the step is to study the market. The existing players or rather your competition and how they have positioned themselves all this while will give you a fair idea of the positioning that you are looking at.

Also read: A guide to strategic luxury brand marketing

Strategically, if the brand has a strong recall then it is prudent to find a new positioning for your brand. In case the existing brand is new, you may even try to replace its positioning.

For example, when the incumbent is a brand that is positioning itself as a brand with heritage and legacy, your move will be to position your brand as youthful or rather “cool”. Yes, luxury brand can be positioned as “a cool brand”. The greatest advantage of such a brand positioning that is connected to youth is that it appeals not only to the young people who can afford, but also to the young at heart people who want to be associated or who want to sport a brand that is “cool” and sporty and youthful. Tom Ford is such a brand that has appealed to the youthfulness of the clients. And small wonder, not only youth but also clients from more senior demography even James Bond have been loyal to Tom Ford brand. Other top designers like Michael Kors and Marc Jacobs have also made a niche for themselves by appealing to the youthfulness and vibrancy of their clients with their labels.

So when you are conceiving of a luxury brand, its positing will make or break it.

Now let us examine the positioning or rather re-positioning of an existing luxury brand. When I saw Rolls Royce launching a Wraith, I wondered for a while, “how is this sporty looking car fitting into the family of RR beside Phantom and Ghost?” The reason is simple. RR doesn’t want to confine its positioning to a brand of legacy and heritage that is associated with a certain level of power and seniority. A similar example is Louis Vuitton. LV’s brand ambassadors have classically been Bono, Angelina Jolie and Sean Connery. This was essentially “Core Values” campaign about how “a single journey can change your life”. The idea was to create aspiration for the youth and create a pull for both the young and the not-so-young. However, they realized it is time to tap into the market that they are missing out on. So the then creative director Marc Jacobs designed the Damier series of designs to attract youth and to reposition LV brand as youthful.

Now let us discuss the third and final facet or rather a dilemma that every luxury brand faces. It is a choice between exclusivity and dilution. When a brand is snob and will price itself at such a level that it is crowding out or alienating a greater part of the potential clients, it is gaining exclusivity. It remains an aspiration. For people who can’t afford, some resolve to buying first copies and fakes. However, some other brands make the pricing in such a manner so as to include a large pool of clients who are ready to invest significantly on a first copy. So they are drawing that money and making luxury brands affordable. Welcome to the most tricky client cluster, the Masstige. Handling this segment is the toughest for any brand manager. To what extent can you dilute your brand to gain volume and tap into the wide pool of counterfeits and provide clients with originals that they can afford. It can be a key chain or a coin purse or a wallet or a belt, it is all about flaunting the label, that too original. The pride associated with it is enormous, so the aspiration to buy bigger product only grows and the brands get a new set of wider client pool.

The only risk being brand dilution. Such a dilution may position the brand away from exclusivity and result in loss of loyal big-ticket clients who want exclusive rights to “luxe”.

So, be it positioning a new luxury brand or repositioning an existing brand or even handling exclusivity versus dilution debate, the efficacy of the job of a brand custodian lies is in his or her power of knowledge of the brand. The more you know your brand, you will know how best to position it.

Let your quest for luxury continue.

http://retail.economictimes.indiatimes.com/re-tales/strategic-positioning-of-luxury-brands/862

In Conversation with Mahul Brahma: The CEO Magazine

Communications and Branding Expert

The CEO Team • New Delhi

Q: From a senior editor you have become an expert on communications and branding. It must be an interesting journey. Please share with our readers.

It really was a very interesting journey indeed. I started my Corporate Communicator career as Media Advisor to Mr Sanjiv Goenka, Chairman of RP-SG Group, and as a PRO of CESC. Being the spokesperson of the power utility company and handling media from the other side of the table is a very challenging task. It was baptism by fire. I later joined Ambuja Neotia as Head of Corporate Communications and Branding and media advisor to MrHarshavardhan Neotia, Chairman and MD of the group. I am currently Head of Corporate Communications and Branding for a Tata Steel and SAIL joint venture, mjunction. I am the brand custodian and responsible for making the mjunction brand most admired. Being a part of Tata group has a great advantage as I get to connect with the entire Tata family including the Chairman Mr Cyrus Mistry. In the book “Intrapreneurs@mjunction” the author has also thanked me in the acknowledgement segment for my contribution in bringing out the book.

Media has been very kind to frequently seek my opinion and thoughts as an expert in Branding and Communications in their stories. I love sharing my ideas and thoughts on communication and branding with live audience in open forums during my speaking sessions at esteemed institutions like IIM Calcutta and industry bodies like CII and ASSOCHAM. I am also an active member of Public Relations Society of India (PRSI).

Q: You have been an accomplished journalist. Please share with us the story?

Journalism was my passion. I have been a journalist for over a decade. I have been lucky to work with some brilliant editors and journalists. I started my career with The Economic Timesin Kolkata in 2002. Then I moved to Mumbai and started working with Reuters and then joined the launch team of DNA in 2005. Soon after, I moved back to The Economic Times and started managing the Op-Ed page while extensively writing on entrepreneurship. I have held Senior Editorial positions in BusinessWorld magazine andCNBC TV18 Group’s Newswire18. In my last stint as a journalist, I was a Senior Editor with the India partner of the New York Times, Financial Chronicle (FC). I have written Editorials, Op-eds and on luxury extensively, I was also editor of a luxury supplement.

I am currently a columnist with The Economic Times on luxury branding. I write on the world of “luxe” and how it can be strategically marketed, positioned, branded and on its various other unknown facets.

I have also co-authored a book that was launched by Ms Jaya Bachchan in Kolkata titled “Durga: A woman of Substance”.

Q: Tell us a bit of your early life and educational background.

I was born on 15th February, 1981 in Kolkata in a Brahmo family. I graduated in Economics from St Xavier’s College, Calcutta and I am currently an advisor on entrepreneurship to SXC Entrepreneurship Development Cell. I completed my Masters in Economics from University of Calcutta and I was a ranker. I am currently pursuing my PhD in Economics.

http://theceo.in/2015/10/in-conversation-with-mahul-brahma-communications-and-branding-expert/

Why e-commerce in luxury will fail

In order to fully understand the inherent contradiction in incoherence at the core of the marriage between e-commerce and luxury and why it is destined for a divorce or a failure, let us first look into these two individually.

E-commerce or e-retail has been a game changer. The valuation game in which these biggies have entered into is a completely new premise for any business. Their valuation is increasing at the cost of making losses. But the million dollar question is how are they sustaining it? They are sustaining it because of the valuation game that will fetch them a buyer with very deep pockets. The buyer will look into the transactional value and the spectrum of offerings, so the focus is that and not profit. It is a great joy run for us consumers as the unrealistic discounts offered at the cost of company money may be funded by a private equity fund in China.

But as all good things come to an end, the risk of the bubble bursting is imminent. Business models can’t run on losses. Period.

E-commerce has changed the way we shop. Even a few years back, we couldn’t even fathom buying clothes or shoes without trying them on, but today it has become the norm. It has penetrated our lives like the way mobile phones have. Shopping has never been this convenient and cost-effective.

(Photo credit: Getty Images)

The core reason behind the success of e-commerce in India is our love for price-sensitivity. We love discounts, we love value for our money. The entire machinery of e-commerce or e-retail runs on unrealistic deals and discounts.

And this is where the meeting of hearts between ecommerce and luxury doesn’t happen. So let us understand the premises on which luxury buying is based in India.

I have oft repeated in my columns that luxury comes from the word “luxe” which means dazzle. Anything, as long it makes you dazzle, is luxury for you and you will pay a premium for it.

Luxe is a purely experiential phenomenon as it is heavily dependent on how your senses perceive something. If your senses feel dazzled, you are convinced to shell out that premium for a luxury brand.

Exciting and convincing our senses via a laptop, tab or mobile screen is next to impossible. And that is why the ecommerce companies try the same strategy of heavy discounts that they try for premium products. Unfortunately, this story of crazy discounts opens another can of worms. Welcome to the world of luxury counterfeits that are sold online. (Read my column: The world of luxury counterfeits just a click away: http://retail.economictimes.indiatimes.com/re-tales/The-world-of-luxury-counterfeits-just-a-click-away/184).

So with a seller’s warranty and not a manufacturer’s warranty, you never know you are getting a great deal or a counterfeit.

My friend very recently sought my advise for buying an Omega through a ecommerce website which was offering a discount of 40 per cent. But Omega was not offering that discount at any of its retail outlets. Although the price was realistic, I advised her against it as you will never know for sure without the manufacturer’s warranty, in this case Omega, whether it is an original or a counterfeit.

(Photo credit: Getty Images)

When you are paying a heavy premium for a luxury purchase you are paying for the experience. You walk into a luxury boutique, the way you are greeted with a smile and offered a special treatment from the word go, it is bound to make you feel good and special. The boutique manager will make you realize that you are almost on the verge of entering an exclusive and elite club with an amazing history and legacy -- it is just a purchase away. Then your senses, which are already feeling special, actually experiences the goods feel more special. For example, you are wearing the latest Omega watch that James Bond is sporting in the upcoming movie “Spectre” on your wrist and looking at the mirror, how can you not feel elated? You have already “bonded” with that timepiece. You just know this is the one. The boutique manager keeps pampering you, sometimes even with a glass of Champagne. So finally when you make the payment, it feels so justified and incidentally also “value for money”. You will revel in that Bond moment.

The entire ambience, the entire experience cannot be created online by any ecommerce company, even via simulation. No matter how much convenience or best deals you are offered, luxury shopping can’t happen without experience. It is not worth the money for the buyer and no amount of discount can replicate that experience.

So value of money as understood by e-commerce and e-retail players are not the same in case of luxury buying. In the former, it is just the hefty discounts, but in the latter, it is experiential worth of money.

So, no wonder the marriage between e-commerce and luxury is destined for failure.

Let your quest for luxury continue.

http://retail.economictimes.indiatimes.com/re-tales/why-e-commerce-in-luxury-will-fail/967

My interview to the Public Relations Society of India (PRSI)

Interview with Mr. Mahul Brahma, Corporate communications and Branding Head, mjunction. Some of the excerpts of the interview:

1. How do you manage the heterogeneous consumers?

For a PR professional, the customer is media. For a branding professional, the customer is the internal business heads and the Chairman/MD/CEO. For a corporate communicator, the customer consists of all the above three types and also employees (internal PR).

I was with CESC as a PRO and the most interesting facet of that job was the brand recall only happened in absence of the service. So when it when the power supply was disrupted people remembered CESC and media remembered its PRO. So with CESC it was baptism by fire. Once you learn to deal with the frantic calls from the media, you become an expert in firefighting and in dealing with crisis.

At Ambuja Neotia group, I was heading brand and corporate communications. It is a BtoC business, and the focus was hospitality. I was fortunate to be part of the team that launched a new restaurant and learn how best to communicate to the consumers and popularize it with clients using media and publicity. I learnt how a new brand (in this case a restaurant) is created and popularized. Another challenge was reputation management of Mr Harshavardhan Neotia, Chairman and MD, and my former boss. 

At mjunction, a JV between Tata Steel and SAIL, I am heading corporate communications and branding. My biggest challenge here was that it is a B to B business and there is no product that I can showcase. We are e-auctioning company, primarily steel and coal. But this was my opportunity to learn something new, a new challenge.

So, heterogeneous customers can only be managed if you take keen interest in understanding their needs and customize your work accordingly.

2. How do you manage the inhouse employees(internal PR)?

Managing internal PR is always a challenge. The key is to keep the employees engaged. Corporate newsletters are a great tool. At mjunction, we have mjPost that reaches out to not only the current employees but also to former junctionites. The newsletter should encourage participation from employees and try to capture their creative side that usually stays in the background. The more creatively and interestingly it is done the better is the engagement.

Another tool that can be used is mailers. As the newsletters aren’t the best tools to communicate news that have a short shelf life, these mailers keep employees abreast with the developments of the organization and its chief.

3. What are the CSR initiatives taken and why?

·        ejunction: A trust promoted through mjunction, ejunction is dedicated to providing basic computer and communication skills free of cost to members of the underprivileged sections of society and creating employability opportunities for them. In FY14, ejunction trained 938 students and created 391 employment opportunities.

·        MET: The Movement for Efficiency & Transparency, or MET in short, is a brainchild of the company’s founder CEO & MD and MET is an initiative to provide a platform to people who have transcended barriers of inefficiency and opaqueness to share their success stories and ideas for the future with a select audience. Eight MET events have been held so far and has had partners such as Tata Steel, SAIL and 5th Pillar, a Chennai-based anti-corruption organisation.

4. Who is the nearest competitor? Competition strategy if any?

mjunction is in a unique business and we don’t have strong competition. However, in Ambuja Neotia, especially in hospitality, it was a big challenge. The strategy is always to identify the unique selling proposition and showcase it in an innovative and engaging manner so that you stand out.

5. How is Ad and PR necessary in today's market?

In today’s market it is all about getting the mindspace of your customers. There are so many engagements of an average individual that one really needs to fight for a piece of his/her mindspace. Advertisements and PR help achieve that objective effectively. These two means are critical in today’s market and no corporation can even think of surviving without these two critical, life-savingsupports.

However, we must also understand that advertisement and PR are intrinsically different. And thus one needs to understand the effectiveness of each format to use them intelligently so that the return on investment (RoI) is maximized.

Advertisements have cost implications, whether outdoor or indoor. Be it print or electronic or a hoarding, it is a costly affair. So that has to be judiciously decided so as to maximize RoI. However, there are areas where you can’t help but spend as your business will not grow otherwise and competition will crush you just based on an expensive campaign that you avoided as it was not in your budget. 

As far as PR is concerned, editorial coverage is a very powerful tool for establishing the credibility of an organization. But managing the media is a very challenging task. They will always act as the devil’s advocate and you have to convince the editors the worth of the news that you are sharing. However, every PR person needs to have/develop news judgement, at least, a sense of what makes news. Journalists have an edge in this aspect when they move over to the other side. But it is critical that the journalists take you seriously and trust that you will not give them wrong information. Once that is established, a PR professional has done the job well. At times, when ads lose impact, a great editorial coverage can work wonders.

6. Advise to young professionals:

For corporate communicators, my word of advise is that continuously keep honing your language skills. Read a lot and try to avoid jargons in your communications. Make the language as fluid as you can be. And always be focused in your communications.

I have a column with The Economic Times on luxury branding and I still make time to write for it, no matter how busy I am.

http://retail.economictimes.indiatimes.com/re-tales/The-theory-of-relativity/253

Young PR professionals: Be very honest in your dealings, especially with the journalists and your own organization. Engage with journalists and try to get a sense of what makes news. Never try to sell non-news to them just because your boss has asked you to do so.

For young branding professionals, my advise is that any branding decision needs to have a definite RoI, it is never ambiguous, although you may like to think it that way.

I wish all the very best for your future endeavours and always try to be creative and innovative.

Interviewer Name: Mohit Chomal                Corp. Name: Mr. Mahul Brahma                     Date of Interview: 25^th july 2014               

Celeb Address: mjunction services limited
Godrej Waterside, 3rd Floor, Tower 1, Plot V
Block DP, Sector V, Salt Lake,
Kolkata - 700091.                                                                                                                              Celeb Mobile No: +91 8420146592

Of counterfeits and the democratization of luxury

When my friend Raghavendra flaunted to me his brand new all gold Rolex I was taken aback for a minute. He comes from a modest background and the watch costs over 20 lakhs INR. This particular rose gold Day Date model is something I have always aspired to buy. Some day, I had always consoled myself. It has exquisite craftsmanship, the right mix of luxe and panache, and the patented hand-crafted Rolex movement. I took the watch very carefully and started checking out the dial, old habit. I realized the unique identification number that is etched in every Rolex, was missing. I knew at once it was a fake, rather a first copy. The quality of steel and its heaviness was as good as real. The gold was plated and not solid. The movements are re-created by some craftsman in a remote Chinese or South East Asian town and not in Switzerland. But a great counterfeit, I must say as it is usually quite difficult to escape my eyes at first glance.

So I asked Raghavendra how much did you shell out? He said 10,000 INR. I told him great. He had purchased it from a website selling luxury brands at a crazy discount, like many others which are doing a roaring business across the globe selling counterfeits. I reluctantly told him that it is a first copy, but a good counterfeit. He said, “Of course I know that. I just wanted you to see how good it was. See, I don’t know whether I will ever be able to buy the real one. But this I can experience today. I am happy. Unlike people like you who are experts, how can anyone say that it is a fake? It is automatic, looks the same, I am happy that I won’t have to wait a lifetime.”

His parting words made me think. Is it worth the wait for people with limited means to get something they aspire for but can’t afford? Are counterfeits helping democratize luxury?

Snob value is an integral part of luxury brands. In the core they are supposed to be exclusive and not available for all. Democratization will kill a luxury brand. This exclusivity is why a premium is charged by these luxury brands. This exclusivity is usually a legacy that you are made a part of. The dazzle can be replicated by a counterfeit and so is the label, but you can’t replicate the exclusivity that the original can offer. The gold plated watch may shine more than the solid gold one, but this can’t give you the legacy of a Rolex or a Patek or a Breguet.

I think the luxury brands in order to be more inclusive and to tap the Great Indian Middle Class have made a mistake of focusing on masstige. The biggest folly with masstige is that the focus is only on the label, the monogram. And that is why even a key ring with just LV will be very coveted as you think you have become a part of that legacy.

A world-class brand attains a certain stature not only for marketing or branding. We need to delve deeper and understand what makes it so sought after in the first place -- it is the exquisite craftsmanship, the intense labour hours given by masters, the elegant design, the patented movements, the finishing and the hand crafted creations. These can’t be replicated. These can’t be cheap, these must have a premium, these must be exclusive, just like all good things in life.

Luxury is not skin deep.

So luxury brands need to move beyond just focusing on the labels and popularize how these labels have become what they are. It is the responsibility of these luxury brands to make people aware of the difference between a Rolex-patented movement and the one my friend is flaunting. It is the responsibility of these brands to share with its clients, both current and potential, why they are exclusive and how futile it is to buy a fake, a counterfeit or a first copy.
Although it might look that the world of counterfeits are democratizing luxury but in reality it is just taking you further away from the real world of elegance, luxe and exclusivity. Luxury brands surely have a role cut out for them in achieving this desired outcome.

Let your quest for luxury continue.

http://retail.economictimes.indiatimes.com/re-tales/Of-counterfeits-and-the-democratization-of-luxury/722

A guide to strategic luxury brand marketing

 horse, a horse! My kingdom for a horse!

Well, that’s luxury marketing opportunity the bard William Shakespeare has spelt out for you. A game of pureplay demand of luxe-addiction and constrained supply in the name of limited-edition or handcrafted-edition.

The first step is in understanding the very basic difference between marketing of luxury brands vis-?-vis non-luxury.

A marketer needs to understand that straightforward cost-effectiveness card is off the table. You have to sell the dazzle card, not the value-for-money card (not upfront, it will come in a very different format much later in the play).

So luxe is your USP.

The second step is to sell the story – a tale of aspiration, a tale that you will want the buyer to crave to be a part of. This story will justify to the buyer the premium you are charging. This needs to be a story of legacy, of historical stature and of aspiration.

The third step is n convincing the client that this is the only chance, the only window of opportunity to become part of that legacy. The object, be it a watch (say a Rolex) or a pen (Montblanc) or a trunk (Louis Vuitton) or a car (Rolls Royce), will make the client a part of that proud history. So the strategy is that even after listening to the history the client still is not convinced, convince him/her that he/she is making the biggest mistake of his life as this is an opportunity of a lifetime.

The key(words) that usually opens the doors of the minds of the clients are – handcrafted, limited edition, special edition, exclusive, hand-picked, exquisite craftsmanship in some remote hamlet, say in Venice.

The mindset of a typical Indian buyer seldom goes beyond “value-for-money”. So at some level you have to address that. But never in the first step, but only after the story is sold. The premium charged is complete value for money because the legacy is priceless. The moment the client is sold on the value proposition the deal is sealed.

Now let us look into the steps that need to be taken for strategic marketing of news brands which want to make a mark in the luxury space.

First, define the brand aspiration, the strategic objective. For example, 10 years down the line you want to become the most-sought after watch brand among men in the age-group of 30-45 years at a certain price-point in China. So the objective needs to be very specific and spelt out – period, geography, target audience, price point, etc.

Second, weave a story, a story of legacy, of exquisite craftsmanship, a story that willjustify your raison d’erte in the luxury brand space.

The third step is to understand and take stock of the initial conditions: What is the current positioning, which is the current target group, what is the current price point, which is the geography currently present in, and what’s the position vis-a-vis competition in minutest details.

This will give you clarity of the distance you have to traverse to reach your strategic objective.

The fourth step is to define is every minutest details the final conditions. This will flesh out the brand aspiration into specific targets. This will capture all the conditions that will enable attaining the strategic objective. Say, elimination of current market leader in that geography, dominating a certain geography, top of the mind recall among men in a specific age bracket, etc. This will help flesh out the final results that you want to achieve for reaching the SO.

The fifth and most crucial step is to formulate action points which will help map the starting point to the end points. These action points will show how to bridge the gap between the initial “have nots” and the final “haves”. This mapping will tell you how over the years, one year at a time, you will slowly reach your objective of brand aspiration. Study the model of competition and understand the modalities as to how marketing needs to be done differently, what is the selling point, what is the story, etc.

These action points are basically strategic marketing activities put together in the marketing plan.

Always remember, the story is priceless.

Let your quest for luxury continue.

http://retail.economictimes.indiatimes.com/re-tales/A-guide-to-strategic-luxury-brand-marketing/581

Seven Ages of a Luxury Brand

All the world's a stage,

And all the men and women merely players.

They have their exits and their entrances,

And one man in his time plays many parts,

His acts being seven ages.

Just like the Seven Ages of Man described by William Shakespeare, a Luxury Brand also has Seven Ages. The column aims to capture these stages of a Luxury Brand – from conception till death and rebirth. Just like a man, a brand also goes through the motions of life and has its share of ups and downs and it also evolves with time and maturity.

The infant

At first the infant,

Mewling and puking in the nurse's arms.

Conception:

This is a time when a luxury brand is conceived and the creator decides on the raison d'être. Sometimes a luxury brand is conceived by accident and some other times it is by planning.

This is a critical juncture for any creator as this is the story that justifies the birth of the brand. Be it creating a new luxury label from scratch or making the brand an offshoot of another established brand.

When Gucci acquired the house of Yves Saint Laurent (YSL), Tom Ford was named creative director of that label as well, displacing Saint Laurent himself as designer of the company's ready-to-wear line. Saint Laurent did not hide his displeasure with this development, openly and regularly criticizing Ford's collections. In April 2004, Ford parted ways with the Gucci group to launch his own label due to creative differences. Tom Ford brand now is a force to reckon with.

Birth

Determining the Brand Gender: Brands inherently have a gender. Say a Rolex or a Patek Philippe is a masculine brands whereas Chanel or Dior are feminine. It’s tagline says: “You never actually own a Patek Philippe. You merely take care of it for the next generation”, where it is always a father taking care of his son.

So based on the gender of the brand the entire life journey and positioning is planned.

Whether incubation is needed: If the brand is launched prematurely, there is a need for immediate incubation, just like with babies. The incubation saves the brand and makes it stronger to face the world. The parents realise that the brand is too fragile to withstand competition and will die prematurely. So this forces the parents to strengthen the brand and make it fit for survival.

The whining schoolboy

Then, the whining school-boy with his satchel

And shining morning face, creeping like a snail

Unwillingly to school.

The early years: This is the time of doubts, the irritation of failure, the sweetness of initial success. The exposure to criticism. This is the time when you realise the strengths and weaknesses, the areas that need nourishment for the brand to grow.

The teen/adolescent/puberty: You start realising the changes (hormonal) that a brand is undergoing. This is a critical time when you need to be patient as even a well thought through plan may go haywire and this is when the brand starts developing character.

The lover

And then the lover,

Sighing like furnace, with a woeful ballad

Made to his mistress' eyebrow.

A confident young luxury brand that falls hopelessly in love with itself. It just sees how beautiful it is and keeps admiring the story of its birth and growth. This is a time when “Brand Ego” takes birth.

A soldier

Then, a soldier,

Full of strange oaths, and bearded like the pard,

Jealous in honour, sudden, and quick in quarrel,

Seeking the bubble reputation

Even in the cannon's mouth.

The dominance of Brand Ego: This is dedicated to the facets of Brand Ego. “A car that runs of reputation” is one such example. Ego creates brands, makes them reach heights that they could have never reached with humility.

For more, Read:Luxury buying is driven by a three-letter word: EGO

The justice

And then, the justice,

In fair round belly, with a good capon lined,

With eyes severe, and beard of formal cut,

Full of wise saws, and modern instances,

And so he plays his part.

The maturing brand: Ego grows and so does wisdom. The luxury brand now has more clarity of its clients and its target group and even about its strengths and weaknesses. But ego still plays a significant role.

Into lean and slippered pantaloon

The sixth age shifts

Into the lean and slippered pantaloon,

With spectacles on nose and pouch on side,

His youthful hose, well saved, a world too wide

For his shrunk shank, and his big manly voice,

Turning again toward childish treble, pipes

And whistles in his sound.

This is a time when the brand starts to show signs of fading. This is when there is the conception of a revamp. The idea that the brand is nearing death looms large. So the custodian or the parent looks at ways to save the brand or rebuild the brand or even the birth of a new brand.

This is a time when the brand starts to reinvent itself. The brand identifies that its target has shifted and if it is not able to evolve it will perish. This is a time when very traditional and conservative brands such as a Rolls Royce or a Breguet or a Mont Blanc recognises the immense potential of the youth and remodels its brand to come up with sporty and more youthful versions of their products.

Second childishness

Last scene of all,

That ends this strange eventful history,

Is second childishness and mere oblivion,

Sans teeth, sans eyes, sans taste, sans everything.

This is the stage of the death of the old brand and the birth of a new brand. The second life of the brand.

“I'm like a phoenix. I rise from the ashes.”

Let your quest for luxury continue.



http://retail.economictimes.indiatimes.com/re-tales/Seven-Ages-of-a-Luxury-Brand/452

A brand’s guide to luxury retailing in India

When a luxury retailer wants to do business in India the brand has to understand that this is not China and thus cannot be clustered as emerging markets for these brands. The two markets are intrinsically different.

We are the old markets for luxury, unlike China. In 1926, the Maharaja of Patiala gave Cartier its largest commission till date the remodelling of his crown jewels, which included the 234.69 carat De Beers diamond. The result was the Patiala necklace weighing 962.25 carats with 2930 diamonds. In 1928, the Maharaja of Jammu and Kashmir placed 30 orders in six months for trunks from luggage maker Louis Vuitton. Not to mention that a certain Nizam had procured 50 Harley Davidsons for his postmen to deliver his messages.

However, things have changed, the texture of the market has changed, and more so, luxury has become democratized. There has been a rise of the Great Middle Class and they have been the primary drivers. In India, it is still a play on volume and not on ticket size. 

A.Challenges in luxury retailing and how to fight them:

1.The only big challenge so far to rapid expansion of luxury retail in India is the availability of the right real estate spaces to house international luxury brands. Apart from the few malls in the major metros such as DLF Emporio in New Delhi, The Palladium in Mumbai and The UB City in Bangalore and the recent opening of Quest in Kolkata, there have not been any other developments.

There is a need for many more such retail options in other cities too as there is a far wider target audience residing in smaller towns and cities which have the propensity to buy luxury goods. The reason China is 15 years ahead of us in terms of expansion of luxury stores is purely because they have developed their infrastructure that supports this expansion.

2.Luxury retailing cannot be confined to five star hotels as it is now widening the base to tap into a bigger pool in this country.

3.Besides real estate, there is another issue and it is deeper one: the perception of luxury. What people expect from luxury in India is very different from abroad. In the West, a bespoke suit is luxury, however, it isn’t here and customers ask, So, what else are you offering? In India luxury retailing is very service-oriented, in the West it is product-oriented.

However, customers are also ready to forgo service if they are offered a discount instead. India is still a price-sensitive market.

4.Adaptation is the mantra: Every luxury retailer worth their salt is up for local adaptation to make their slice in the luxury pie bigger. It gives so much comfort to walk into a Llardo boutique and see Rama Sita, Ganesha or Lakshmi created so beautifully with porcelain or to see Hermes coming up with a Saree.

B.Understanding the minds of luxury consumers

1.The Experientialists: This genre typically values new and exciting experiences more than buying products or brands. They spend on the experiences.

2.The Connoisseurs: This genre is passionate in certain areas of interest and makes it a point to be well informed and knowledgeable about it. These categories could be art, scotch, wine, watches, writing instruments, cigars, horses, and the likes.

3.The Flaunters: They are the force that drives luxury in India. They tend to value brand name over all other factors. Purchase of a brand is a signal of their status in their society and so visibility of the brand name is important. It is also important for the brand to be aspirational, otherwise, what's the big deal? Badge seekers at the stage where the brand name itself is the biggest status indicator is seen mostly with the newly rich or new money class, especially among their young members.

4.The Aesthetes: To this genre, the brand is much less important than the design. Aesthetes are luxury consumers purely because they have arrived at a state of income due to which they can indulge in their love for design among luxury brands or products.

They will shell out a bomb because the object of desire is hand stitched and not because of the label. They pride themselves for having an eye that picks out the unique and bold in design.

Built in rationality and conservatism still dominates our minds so one toe may be dipped in luxury, the other may be in a pool of value for money. Yes, it happens only in India.

C.Everything is relative

1.In luxury branding one size fits all just doesn’t work. It is a space for bespoke, for customization, for making every customer feel special and justify the brand premium in pricing.

2.The greatest challenge that a luxury brand faces is in mixing the right portion of snob-value. It can’t be so much that you alienate others but it can’t be so less that the clients don’t feel the exclusivity. The magic potion lies in the right portion. It is both the presence and the absence of snob quotient, both co-existing, side by side.

3.You need to have the low-hanging accessories like sun glasses or perfumes or key chains or coin purses or scarves or what have you. They will not only lure a genre of clients who are heavy spenders in premium brand space and are yet to turn big spenders in luxury space as they are not sure the return on investment or RoI as we call it in the corporate parlance. For them, these low-hanging fruits are only value-for-label. So they just pay for the logo and are happy as they spend it within their budget and not frivolous but smart. They think of these spends as it is a deal man to own an LV for such a price, the product may be a key chain or a coin purse but who cares. Logo rules!

4.With time, a certain segment of this class realizes the efficacy of the entire experience of luxury shopping, it is just not the product, it is the experience that you pay the premium for. Again to some it is worth the buck, to others it isn’t.

D.Brand Ego: The great driving force (read strategy)

1.It is all about being special or exclusive, to be someone who is not ordinary. Of being able to dazzle or “luxe”. Of being able to stand out in the crowd. This razzle-dazzle industry thrives on ego.

2.To idea that a marketer sells is that this luxury brand is exclusive and it will make you exclusive as well, you will belong to an elite club that you will be able to flaunt such as a Lamborghini Club. “Money can’t buy happiness. But, somehow, it is more comfortable to cry in a Lamborghini than on a bicycle”, Lamborghini Gallardo slogan quite captures the ethos.

3.The arrogance that a brand exudes, mostly using prohibitive pricing to crowd out clients, will make it aspirational. So the users will get an elevated feeling that he is part of an exclusive club. When Rolex says “Live for greatness” it is not talking about the product, or the patented perpetual movement, or the oyster casing, or the brilliant design, it is a life that the watch brand is giving you. It is making you part of a legacy of great people, of JFK or of Martin Luther King Jr stature. Rolex has always been a very masculine brand. The male ego that Rolex has been able to develop and nurture over decades has proved instrumental for the company’s success and it is still revelling in that glory. So Rolex is selling a legacy, a life of greatness, a masculine ego that craves for being distinguished.

E.The Great Indian Middle Class: The strongest driver

All the major luxury brands owe their existence this one class of buyers. The secret behind the survival of high-brow luxury brands is the play in volumes: 

Shopping malls in order to lure the middle class towards luxury and to give them its taste are mixing luxury, super premium and premium in the same shopping mall. The Palladium in Mumbai or The Quest in Kolkata has a mix of all three segments: all under the same roof. You can’t afford to restrict luxury retailing for five stars and exclude this group as they are your lifeline.

It is this aspiration that has led to the exponential rise of the market of knock offs and first copies.

To sell or not to sell (to the masses)? That is the big question that all retailers of luxury brands face.

Most of them have been able to strike a balance. The key lies in pricing. But the entire process has a few elaborate steps:

1. Identify the products that are your signature and add a signature premium to their prices. They are not for Great Indian Middle Class or GIMC to buy, but they are their aspirations. These products will always be displayed on the boutiques, mostly their pictures, as signature products are always out of stock and a fresh stock is always on its way from Germany or France. They make the GIMC keep coming back.

2. Identify the products that you want the New Maharajas to buy. Special edition pieces, hand crafted. These should be there for display so that they can feel it and then take it home. These have a premium attached to them due to their exclusivity. 

3. And then there are products that are masstige, they are to whet the appetite of the GIMC, so that they can flaunt that they own a logo of the brand they always aspired to buy.

The most interesting part about point 3 is that these companies never advertise to this class, so there is no brand dilution. This class, however, advertises and brands these products to the other target audience in the same class, all for free. So the companies generate strong brand pull with this segment, most importantly, the aspiration lives on and grows.

F.Democratization of luxury: The rise and rise of the masstige

1.Today, even the luxury of Royalty is available for a price. How does it matter if you are not born in a Jaipur palace, today Royal Weddings have become commonplace. Perhaps the opening up of palaces for hotels is the biggest step towards democratization of exclusivity of royalty. You will be treated like a king, if you have the moolah. Life is just that simple.

2.Now let us look at the rise of the so-called masses. These new customers -- luxury-rich but asset -- poor are both an opportunity and a threat to the traditional luxury-goods producers. As consumers, they are more demanding, more selective, and show less brand loyalty than the high net worth individuals who were the archetypal consumers of the old luxury. They are willing to pay high prices, but they expect commensurate quality; old luxury was never so fussed.

And they want the hottest, trendiest designs, which increasingly have to be marketed in creative (and expensive) ways including product placements on TV sitcoms.

They are the hottest clients for all luxury retailers and needs to be wooed with royalty and exclusivity.

Let your quest for luxury continue.A brand’s guide to luxury retailing in India

Luxury buying is driven by a three-letter word: EGO

Ego is very tricky. It can make you, it can break you. Sometimes you may also like to say like John Lennon: “Part of me suspects that I'm a loser, and the other part of me thinks I'm God Almighty.” Just like with people, brands also have to be careful in dealing with ego.

Ego creates brands, makes them reach heights that they could have never reached with humility.

My dear Watson, said Sherlock Holmes, I cannot agree with those who rank modesty among the virtues.

However, some other times it pulls them down and crushes them. Your brand has to be worth its ego.

A luxury car brand once run an ad where the car did not have a fuel tank. The arrogant tagline said: “A car that runs on reputation”.

It is all about being special or exclusive, to be someone who is not ordinary. Of being able to dazzle or “luxe”. Of being able to stand out in the crowd. This razzle-dazzle industry thrives on ego.

To idea that a marketer sells is that this luxury brand is exclusive and it will make you exclusive as well, youwill belong to an elite club that you will be ableto flaunt such as a Lamborghini Club. “Money can’t buy happiness. But, somehow, it is more comfortable to cry in a Lamborghini than on a bicycle”, Lamborghini Gallardo slogan quite captures the ethos.

The arrogance that a brand exudes, mostly using prohibitive pricing to crowd out clients, will make it aspirational. So the users will get an elevated feeling that he is part of an exclusive club. When Rolex says “Live for greatness” it is not talking about the product, or the patented perpetual movement, or the oyster casing, or the brilliant design, it is a life that the watch brand is giving you. It is making you part of a legacy of great people, of JFK or of Martin Luther King Jr stature. Rolex has always been a very masculine brand. The male ego that Rolex has been able to develop and nurture over decades has proved instrumental for the company’s success and it is still revelling in that glory. So Rolex is selling a legacy, a life of greatness, a masculine ego that craves for being distinguished.

Another example is Louis Vuitton. “There are journeys that turn into legends,” when LV used this tagline for Sean Connery during its core values campaign, it was not selling the classic keepall travel bag. It was selling legacy, the legacy of travel, of a great legendary travel, and that too with a legend. It is the club that you join for again, greatness, to become part of a legacy. It is never about the product, but the legacy, the greatness, the extra-ordinariness.

http://retail.economictimes.indiatimes.com/re-tales/Luxury-buying-is-driven-by-a-three-letter-word-EGO/336

The hunger to leave a legacy or become a part of it is what the brands sell. The art is in not only selling the inclusion but more so selling the exclusion.

India’s noted graphic novelist and my friend Sarnath Banerjee (author of Corridor and Harappa Files) in a story, has captured the essence of this “exclusion principle”, albeit in his own comic panache. There are customers who walk in and quickly check a few models and close the buy. However, there are others who come down to check out a an expensive car like a Rolls Royce or a Jaguar, but is not sure whether it is worth that premium and almost certain that it is not worth the value. He is a person who will go for a more economical car with a better mileage but is also greatly intrigued by the legacy of the car. The car salesman just senses that and tells him what he is exactly feeling like. So he is confused why isn’t the salesman hardselling the car? And thereby hangs a tale. The salesman very cleverly says that these luxury cars are not for “people like you and I” who will prefer more value for their money and not invest in such “esoteric and intangible” notions of legacy. After four-five such examples of “people like you are I” the salesman closes the deal. The customer buys into the legacy story just to prove he does not belong to class of “people like you and I”. He is different and definitely is part of the legacy. 

So this is how the “exclusion principle” works. You are in a queue, waiting eagerly, to be treated as special.

This is a strategy that luxury brands use in tapping into the potential customers who have the money but are not convinced about the value for their buck that such luxury product will bring to their lives. They are, however, also intrigued to see how people who are part of the existing esteem clientele are treated a little differently by the boutique managers. Not that the potential clients are ignored but they are subtly sent the message that “you also can become a part of this elite treatment and legacy if you use your cash or card a little more generously”. The exclusion principle makes these clients intrigued and they, in spite of having the means, feel dejected. This is where “greatness” and “legacy” comes to the rescue. So when that aspect is taken into consideration, the deal is no more only value for money but also “totally worth it”. 

And “for people like you and I” who doesn’t have the means, keep aspiring and writing about the legacy.

Your legacy is just a swipe away.

Let your quest for luxury continue.

http://retail.economictimes.indiatimes.com/re-tales/Luxury-buying-is-driven-by-a-three-letter-word-EGO/336My ET Retail story