Why Instagram Reels are an essential part of a strong marketing strategy
Instagram Reels are a great way to increase your engagement on the platform. They provide an opportunity to share short, dynamic content that can capture the attention of your followers and potentially attract new ones. The algorithm prioritises reels, therefore pushing your reel content to more users than it would still images or carousels.
This leads to more awareness for your brand and what you are featuring in the video. If done correctly, you could also push people to your link in bio to make a purchase, sign up, or other desired call to action for your business.
Reels can also help you create more meaningful connections with your audience by allowing you to showcase your brand personality and humanise your brand all around. In this day and age, consumers want to be treated like human beings and individuals and not another sale to add to your business.
In order to meet this demand and create relationships and communities in the digital space, it is crucial to take advantage of the Instagram algorithm and reel content to succeed and connect with your audience.
Why should you post reels?
Reels get 22% more interaction on Instagram than standard video postings in a carousel
Reels have 2 billion Monthly Active Users
91% of Instagram Users watch Instagram Videos Every Week
According to Meta, Instagram Reels ads can reach up to 675.3 million people
Since the introduction of reels in 2020, the Instagram algorithm has continued to favour reels
Data from Meta shows that approximately 200 millions users look at the explore page daily, making it an excellent tool for increasing engagement and expanding your reach.
[Source: Influencer Marketing Hub]
At LMH, we specialise in content and provide the tools to create storytelling content that can describe and visualise your service or product in an engaging and succinct way. Some of our recently produced reels below:
From luxury home accessories to latest wellness and immunity workshops – our LMH Luxe List rounds up what’s on our to-do list for the month…
The Morgan Stanley Exhibition: Peter Doig at The Courtauld Gallery
The Morgan Stanley Exhibition: Peter Doig presents an exciting new chapter in the career of one of the most celebrated and important painters working today. It is the first exhibition by a contemporary artist to take place at The Courtauld since it reopened in November 2021 following its acclaimed redevelopment.
The exhibition is sponsored by Morgan Stanley. Supported by Kenneth C. Griffin and the Huo Family Foundation, with additional support from the Art Mentor Foundation Lucerne.
Claridge’s has opened the doors to its first-ever café. The ArtSpace Café, which has its own dedicated entrance on Brook’s Mews, will be open daily for breakfast and lunch.
With interiors by British designer John Pawson, the café features a patisserie counter, marble communal tables and entry down to Claridge’s ArtSpace — a vast gallery with rotating exhibitions, free for all to view.
Immunity Herbal Workshop with herbalist and founder of Labtonica, Kitty McEntee
Join herbalist and founder of Lab Tonica, Kitty McEntee, for an evening of herbal exploration and remedy creation to help support the immune system.
Spring is on its way and as the seasons change so too do our bodies; but we can help boost our vitality and immune system with seasonal plants and herbs. In this workshop you will get hands on with seasonal medicinal plants, learn how to identify them and create your own remedies. You will be guided through an immersive herbal workshop creating immune supporting herbal infusions, a healing throat spray and herbal tinctures to take away with you. And of course there will be a gorgeous Lab Tonica goodie bag.
Emma Gannon has been a beacon of common sense for most millennials. Her next book, The Success Myth, unpicks the most commonly held myths about what it traditionally means to be successful, from money to happiness to ticking society’s ready-made boxes.
The Success Myth will give you the belief and tools to walk away from ‘having it all’. A manifesto to craft work (and life) on your own terms, it encourages you to be honest about what truly sparks your interests, and helps to uncover your individual path to a truly fulfilling life, whatever that may look like.
Burberry’s new chief creative officer, Daniel Lee, has unveiled his first collection, which had a youthful energy with clear links to its heritage. Daniel is an award-winning designer and one of the most exciting British creative talents of his generation. From 2018 to 2021, Daniel served as Creative Director at Bottega Veneta, where he helped reinvigorate the Italian luxury brand.
Lee’s debut was one of the most anticipated for the Autumn/Winter 2023 season, expected to usher in a new era for Burberry, remaking it in the aftermath of the Riccardo Tisci era.
Vogue x Snapchat: Redefining the Body, curated by Edward Enninful OBE, is a groundbreaking collaboration between Vogue and Snap Inc. that illustrates how augmented reality can advance the realm of physical fashion, amplifying and transforming clothing designs through innovative digital experiences.
The exhibition debuted in June 2022 at the Centre d’art La Malmaison in Cannes, and opened for its second iteration in Central London on 18th February 2023, with an exclusive event at London Fashion Week.
LINLEY have launched Star Gazers, beautifully crafted Zodiac Boxes in Bolivar, Koto, and Birch veneer with a fine marquetry detail on the lid representing each of the Zodiac star signs.
The boxes have a Walnut lined internal base, engravable plaque and a hinged opening, and they make for an ideal keepsake box for all ages.
Luxury goods consumers are increasingly active on the web, as are high-end brands, which are continually strengthening their online presence and luxury retail marketing strategies. In this article, we take a look at digital trends and the future of the luxury goods market.
Luxury Retail: What it is and What it offers Consumers
Digitalisation of the luxury market, as well as of every other sector, is increasingly rapid and ultimately unstoppable. To give an idea of how the luxury consumer landscape has changed, the average age of luxury goods buyers is much lower: by 2025 it is expected that those born between 1991 and 2012 (i.e. “Millennials” and “Generation Z”) will cover more than 40% of the total luxury goods market. As a result, purchases will increasingly shift to mobile devices – smartphones, first and foremost – while still maintaining a high spending capacity per individual.
The luxury market is also expanding geographically, especially to the East. Chinese luxury consumers are projected to be 40% of the total luxury market by 2024, while Europe will be left with only 20%. This change in target audience has, and will have, repercussions on luxury retail marketing strategies, which must adapt to follow the new needs of luxury consumers. Namely: an impeccable shopping experience, which, in 65% of cases, is carried out in-store, a uniform brand image, and attention to issues related to sustainability – both ecological and related to social impact. Cutting-edge technologies are also increasingly prominent in the luxury world, including those that improve and optimise the users’ shopping experience. Luxury retail marketing is focusing on ways to build consumer loyalty through an omni-channel approach, which we know is increasingly digital, but equally placing an importance on integrating physical reality and the virtual world.
Digital and Marketing
The sale of luxury goods is progressively taking place online, or at least it is increasingly linked to the opportunities offered by digital. This situation has given rise to a series of digital trends in luxury retail, which are changing the way consumers interact, and also expanding the luxury market. One of the most relevant developments, is Amazon’s launch of Amazon Luxury Stores – a private area of the platform available only to certain Prime subscribers in the US. Thanks to this new feature, haute couture brands will be able to show their garments through interactive 360-degree content via ‘View in 360’ mode, allowing users to view details online like never before. Amazon Luxury Stores have brought luxury to the US e-commerce universe and are about to expand into the UK, Germany, France, Italy and Spain. In addition to this definitive move into the world of e-commerce via Amazon, many haute couture brands have also launched themselves into the virtual world, the Metaverse. But the new trends in the luxury market don’t end there.
Luxury and Social Media
We are all aware of the presence of luxury on social media and the virtual world with more and more high-fashion brands leading the industry. But the art market is now consolidated in the Metaverse too, thanks to NFTs and crypto art.
The World of Luxury on Social Media
The integral role of digital is nothing new, just as the importance of the Metaverse, is not new. This is evidenced by both the growth of the luxury real estate market in the Metaverse and the investments of the most famous fashion brands in the virtual world, culminating in Metaverse Fashion Week.
Focusing, however, on the aspect of communication and marketing, it is important to emphasise the weight that social media plays today in the strategies of brands operating in the luxury market. Social media are decisive for luxury brands to evoke emotions and engage the public in a genuine and spontaneous way, less formal and elitist than the communicative traditionally used in the luxury segment. Today, the interaction between the brand and the user on social media has become central to the marketing strategies of luxury brands, as has the creation of digital content in collaboration with celebrities and influencers, which are a common tool for increasing the popularity of brands, especially in specific market segments such as the younger generation.
Thus, luxury communicated through social media brings the user to the center, as a co-creator of content within a virtual community centered on a specific brand, where consumers are not just recipients of a message, but interact and form an opinion that contributes to the brand’s own business decisions. Luxury brands can amplify and enhance their communication, get a realistic view of the market, receive additional support for product development, strengthen the relationship with existing customers and increase their loyalty, as well as have access to all the data voluntarily provided by the users. Confirming this trend is some data referring to Twitter where, as early as 2020, 86 percent of users were interested in viewing more content from brands in the industry, and in 2021, there were more than 400 million views of Live Fashion events broadcast on the platform (about 250 million more than the previous year). Luxury brands that have live streamed on Twitter include Louis Vuitton, which boasts more than 9.3 million followers, as well as Balenciaga, Prada, and Hermès, already pioneers in the Metaverse.
Digital Trends
Many luxury brands are already present in the Metaverse, including Gucci, Dolce & Gabbana, Balenciaga, Louis Vuitton, and Moncler. These high-fashion brands testify to how the luxury market in the virtual world is already flourishing, thanks in part to the many VIPs who have pioneered the purchase of virtual products signed by famous brands. Indeed, in recent months, the Metaverse has become a theater for selling and buying luxury items, but the growth trend of the fashion and design industry in the Metaverse is continuing exponentially, and is set to go on without slowing down. And there are several examples of this trend. One is the rush to Web3 adoption undertaken by Gucci with its two NFT collections launched in 2022 and the announcement of the inclusion of cryptocurrencies as a payment method for its products. This second aspect is a really important step, as it will allow Gucci to unite its digital Web3 community with its physical ones, as well as facilitate various marketing strategies and facilitate the fight against counterfeiting, thanks to initiatives such as “#GucciGram” on Instagram or the “FAKE/NOT” collection, which is at the center of an awareness campaign on the issue.
But there is another Italian haute couture giant that has launched itself decisively on social media, Fendi, which has chosen to use Tik Tok to reach the younger market segment, leveraging ad hoc content and partnerships with influencers beloved by the youth audience. Turning to French high fashion, it is impossible not to mention Chanel as an example of using all the different social channels for its communication. The French luxury brand is one of the most influential brands on social media in the luxury sector, thanks to optimising its content to fit each platform. This is how Chanel manages to create videos with millions of views (YouTube), to be at the center of industry narratives (Pinterest), and to publish iconic images of the brand and user-generated content (Instagram). In this way, the French luxury brand has managed to create its own unmistakable communicative language and, at the same time, retain its audience. From Gucci to Fendi, Chanel, Dolce & Gabbana, Balenciaga and Louis Vuitton, it is now evident how, albeit with different modalities and strategies, all brands operating in the luxury segment are present in the virtual and digital worlds, essential pillars for any brand that wants to succeed within the current marketing and consumer ecosystem.
NFTs and Cryptocurrencies
The growth of luxury digital trends also involves the art world, particularly with the phenomenon of crypto art and NFTs. In particular, the link between luxury brands and the virtual world is getting stronger, and it also passes through the world of NFTs and cryptocurrencies. Going back to mention social media and Twitter in particular, it is worth noting that the 2022 Twitter Trends Report found a 320% increase in conversations on topics such as the relationship between NFTs and fashion or collectibles.
For example, Dolce & Gabbana launched its NFT collection “Genesis” through a virtual discussion with Twitter Spaces, while Gucci chose Twitter to publicise its NFT collection “#10KTFGucciGrail” and launch “Supergucci” on Gucci Vault. In short, as also noted at Metaverse Fashion Week, the luxury fashion segment is expanding faster and faster in the virtual world, as are all business areas that are part of the luxury market. Indeed, experts expect rapid and exponential growth in the Metaverse, where more users are accumulating cryptocurrencies in their virtual wallets.
In conclusion, the luxury market is expected to continue growing in the future, and brands must be creative and agile to keep up with the ever-evolving market. In the coming years, luxury companies will need to embrace digital innovation both to drive an increasingly sustainable turnaround, to be able to effectively convey their heritage, and to develop new creativity by making luxury relevant, exciting, unconventional, engaging and experiential by knowing how to connect and exploit all current consumer touch points, from virtual and augmented reality to the Metaverse and NFTs.
“People do not buy goods and services. They buy relationships, stories and magic.”
– Seth Godin, Entrepreneur & Best-Selling Author
There are many definitions of a ‘brand’. Often, when people talk about a brand, they are thinking of the physical mark or logo imprinted on something to identify the business that manufactured it. But a brand is also an emotional experience, strengthened or weakened through every interaction with that business; it is what people think, feel, and say about a business. With our purpose being to create meaningful connections between premium brands and high-net-worth audiences, we always start our client partnerships with a brand strategy.
Shaping Success
A brand strategy is a plan for the systematic development of a brand in alignment with a business strategy. A brand strategy helps our clients understand who they are and acts as a blueprint to help us express:
What a brand stands for (purpose, vision, mission, values)
What a brand does (tagline and value proposition)
How a brand looks and feels (personality, voice, experience)
With a unified brand, everything from a client’s content, to its culture, to its core business is influenced. Indeed, when a company doesn’t know who it is, why it exists, what it believes in, or what it is trying to achieve, that company’s business suffers.
Guiding Decisions
Without a brand strategy a company makes business decisions that do not reflect the foundations of its reason for being, and hope that whatever marketing they do will work. Without a brand strategy, often a company’s teams can become fractured by disunity, confusion, and conflict, making it hard for employees to feel engaged and interested. When a company does not have cohesive brand messaging, marketing content tends to be inconsistent at best, and contradictory at worst. Ultimately this means a company can not carve out a discernible place in the market.
Future Fit Marketing
Central to a brand strategy is the brand vision and the brand mission. A brand vision is a future objective, a future state a client is ultimately working towards some day in the future.
From an evaluation of stakeholder thoughts, company assets and market position, the brand visions we develop for clients help us create a differentiated visual identity and marketing campaign that will resonate with their customers; as well as energise and inspire everyone inside their company. Our brand visions contain unique adjectives and verbs that reflect a company’s world view, and this shapes the look and feel of a brand.
For example, if a company’s vision communicates that it sees the world as a project and aims to make the world humane and democratic, then the brand identity will portray a personality that is about stability and control to provide structure to the world; and togetherness and belonging to be a connective force for good. If however a company sees the world as a problem with which it can and must cope through making a living and pleasing those who control its future (i.e. shareholders), then the brand identity will portray service and interdependence, safety and mastery.
Reflecting Reality
While a brand’s identity reflects a company’s future state and intention, it must also reflect the actual steps a company takes to move forward.
A brand mission is present tense, why a company does what it does and who benefits from this work every day. The brand missions we develop for clients ensure we create visual identities and marketing campaigns that provide clarity and unity inside and outside a business, and drive a team forward to a clear destination. Indeed, a brand mission determines the way a company behaves and what it believes, and therefore when we translate this into marketing campaigns that align all touch points with our client’s company, cultivate relationships and ease communication.
For example, a client’s mission might be incremental in nature, which means it must exploit what works, focus on organic growth and appeal with existing customers. Our marketing campaign would therefore demonstrate existing ideas, ways and means a company uses, and serve to meet the needs of customers. Indeed, this type of content will be conservative and safe in tone and subject matter.
However, a client’s mission might be more radical in nature, which means it is keen to explore the new, explore inorganic growth and fascinate existing and new customers. Our marketing campaign would therefore celebrate the creation, discovery and acceleration of completely new ideas, ways and means, and serve to uncover unspoken demands customers might have. This type of content will be more progressive and expressive in tone and subject matter.
Adapting to Change
Successful companies keep an eye on the market to assess whether it is the right time for a refresh or reinvention of a brand identity and marketing campaign. Marketplaces are increasingly turbulent and transformative, and that means brands need to be resilient, open minded and prepared for what happens next. A modern brand needs to inject emerging growth drivers like connectivity, sustainability, trust, simplicity, creativity, and digital into its vision and mission, and identity if it wants to stay relevant and meaningful.
Indeed, things change, and we find clients are adaptive if we give them a good enough reason to relook at how they engage audiences and possibly refresh their brand identity and marketing campaign. It’s important to embrace change and stay ahead in the transformative times we live in.
If you are nervous of a rebrand, evaluate the opportunity and risk of not staying relevant, meaningful and connected to the changing marketplace. Determine what precisely needs refreshing and redirecting (logo? name? look and feel? vision and mission?) and ask yourself if your brand currently sells a differentiated relationship with audiences, with a clear, compelling story, and full of magic that only your company can conjure.
Get in touch with our strategy and brand communications team to talk about your branding and marketing strategy by emailing hello@luxurymarketinghouse.com.
From luxury wellness pop-ups to the hottest collaborations – our LMH Luxe List rounds up what’s on our to-do list for the month…
David Hockney ‘Bigger & Closer (not smaller and further away) at Lightroom
Located in King’s Cross on Lewis Cubitt Square adjacent to Coal Drops Yard, Lightroom is a new home for artists to showcase their spectacular art.
Using large-scale projection in a remarkable new space, David Hockney takes us on a personal journey through sixty years of his art. Utilising vast walls and a revolutionary sound system, Lightroom brings Hockney’s art to life and enables us to experience the world through his eyes.
Richard Caring’s next big Mayfair project, Bacchanalia, welcomed guests last November with hand-selected menus of Greco-Roman classics, reimagined for modern palates.
In addition to the remarkable sculptures by Damien Hirst, hand-painted ceiling murals, and 2000 year-old antiques arranged for decoration, Bacchanalia also offers a private dining room, outdoor terrace and an exclusive members-only club, Apollo’s Muse.
Anya Hindmarch’s first concept store of 2023 takes a deep dive into sleep.
Located at The Village in Chelsea, customers can expect a line-up of specialists, experts and sleep products all presented in a beautifully sleep-centric space.
From luxurious pyjamas and blankets to wearable tech, Anya’ZZZ encourages people to educate themselves on sleep through talks with world-renowned sleep experts and specialists to transform many people’s understanding of the complicated subject.
The Lehman Trilogy, by Stefano Massini, adapted by Ben Power
The Tony Award®-winning Best Play makes a return to London, following an acclaimed season in Los Angeles and a highly lauded run on Broadway.
The Lehman Trilogy is the story of a family and a company that changed the world. On a cold September morning in 1844, a young man from Bavaria stands on a New York Dockside dreaming of a new life in the new world. He is joined by his two brothers, and an American epic begins.
163 years later, the firm they established – Lehman Brothers – spectacularly collapses into bankruptcy, triggering the largest financial crisis in history.
MY WARDROBE HQ has launched the first ever luxury monthly multi-label rental subscription. The subscription model will allow customers to rent seasonless luxury items while enjoying a ‘new’, refreshed sustainable wardrobe on regular rotation, choosing items they can change up as regularly as they wish, in a truly circular offering.
Launched with the aim of encouraging customers to support the fashion industry by looking at new ways to shop, MY WARDRBOBE HQ champions conscious consumption. Now, by subscribing to a rotating wardrobe, customers can be climate disruptors: 1.2 billion tonnes of carbon emissions globally and 300,000 tonnes of textile waste in the UK can be saved if we approach fashion in a different way.
Creating Infinity: The Worlds of Louis Vuitton & Yayoi Kusama
After 10 years, Louis Vuitton and preeminent Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama have collaborated again for the second time. The launch of the collection is celebrated with a campaign starring internationally renowned models with the Maison’s iconic pieces infused with the artist’s signature motifs and vibrant colours.
Unsaid have unveiled the world’s largest lab-grown diamond ring. The 35.90-carat Reminiscence Ring took nearly two years of calibrating lab-grown technology with hand-craftsmanship, grown at their lab, ALTR Tech in India, which is powered by renewable energy. The ring is an ode to our planet with fourteen signature bubble-cut diamonds to symbolise collective memories of the Earth.
From magical luxury pop-ups to the hottest vegan restaurants – our LMH Luxe List rounds up what’s on our to-do list for the festive month.
‘Making Modernism’ at the Royal Academy of Arts
Making Modernism is the first major UK exhibition devoted to pioneering women working in Germany in the early 1900s: Paula Modersohn-Becker, Kӓthe Kollwitz, Gabriele Münter and Marianne Werefkin.
The exhibition reframes subjects such as self-portraiture, still-life, the female body, depictions of childhood, landscapes and urban scenes through the experiences and perspectives of these ground-breaking artists who were no less central to the development of radical new approaches to art in Europe.
In celebration of World Vegan month, we have chosen to highlight our favourite plant-based restaurant Holy Carrot. Open for all-day dining with the goal to create a warm and inviting environment with a vegan menu that focuses on using ethically sourced, seasonal produce, prepared in a mindful manner, all dishes are gluten-free, sugar-free as well as being free from preservatives and additives.
You can find them in the heart of Knightsbridge or their Bicester Village pop-up for the next 2 months.
Wellness and health is key when it comes to the winter season and there is no better way than Solice. Solice Health is London’s leading bespoke medical concierge, providing around-the-clock care, specifically tailored to each of their members personal needs.
As a member, you have a personal doctor, dedicated nurse and medical secretary, on-call 24 hours a day, seven days a week. With additional benefits including a holistic wellness offering, preventative care and unlimited private GP access included in membership, your concierge will optimise and tailor every aspect of your healthcare.
Stella McCartney has been a huge force in changing fashion’s landscape and was among the first luxury houses to offer products with a conscience. As always, the Winter 22 collection was free of leather, feathers and animal fur and it included forest-friendly viscose, organic cotton, recycled nylon, recycled polyester, regenerative NATIVA wool and RWS wool from traceable sources to keep us warm this winter.
Discover the enchantment of ballet with the Nutcracker for the whole family. Supported by Van Cleef & Arpels, the festive period setting, dancing snowflakes and enchanting stage magic has become the perfect Christmas entertainment, with Tchaikovsky’s sumptuous, sugar-spun music accompanying the Nutcracker.
Make your wish come true with the fairytale ‘Fabulous World of Dior’ exclusive pop-up at Harrods. Open until January 3, 2023, visitors have the chance to discover this exclusive celebration of Dior with glowing installations, window displays, interactive adventures, and more. Honouring the bond that has connected both Houses since 1953, this momentous occasion brings forth the very dreamlike qualities that make them so iconic for everyone to enjoy this festive season.
All three of December’s birthstones are best known for their beautiful shades of blue. These gemstones range from the oldest on Earth to one of the first mined and used in jewellery, to one of the most recently discovered. Admired since ancient times, turquoise is known for its distinct colour, which ranges from powdery blue to greenish robin’s egg blue. Nothing says Tiffany like the colour blue. A favourite stone of Tiffany designers for over a century and the perfect gift to give this year.
Team LMH’s Favourite Memories of Queen Elizabeth II
HM Queen Elizabeth II
As the world continues to mourn the loss of Queen Elizabeth II, the LMH team has come together to share our most lovely moments and memories of Her Majesty that will stay with us forever.
Jemma
Although very difficult to pick one singular moment, one of my most joyful and memorable moments has to be James Bond sketch for the 2012 Olympics. The story of how it unfolded – with a Queen ‘double’ pitched to play the part of the Queen, and the Queen responding with a request to play the part herself – is just fantastic. A truly special memory and such fun to watch.
Chloe
“He is someone who doesn’t take easily to compliments but he has, quite simply, been my strength and stay all these years, and I, and his whole family, and this and many other countries, owe him a debt greater than he would ever claim, or we shall ever know.”
One of the many inspirations I’ve taken from Queen Elizabeth II is her timeless and enduring partnership with Prince Phillip. As a total romantic, watching their commitment, laughter and loyalty for each other over their 74 year marriage is something I have admired and enjoyed wholly. Knowing they are reunited provides me with great comfort through such a difficult period of mourning.
Freya
This is my favourite clip referring to the Queen as it highlights beautifully that whilst being the most influential woman of our age, she equally had a fierce sense of humour and lovely relationship with all who were lucky enough to work alongside her.
Izzy
This is my favourite photograph of the Queen. Prince Phillip is dressed in full ceremonial uniform for a ceremony at Windsor Castle and together they chuckle as she walks past him. We are let in to a glimpse of their friendship, a key component their lifelong love and companionship.
Jamie
This wonderful clip of Queen Elizabeth II and Paddington Bear perfectly encapsulates her brilliant sense of humour. The Queen always found a way to balance duty, strength and respect with humour and compassion – a show of her incomparable leadership.
Rebecca
Definitely a world icon. Although I am Italian, I have always had great admiration and respect for the queen who has never hidden her mutual love for Italy.
Since 1951 there have been five visits of Elizabeth II to Italy, official meetings with presidents of the Republic and popes, but also with personalities from the world of fashion and entertainment such as Valentino and maestro Riccardo Muti.
Times have changed, and with such a big global shake-up, we’ve decided it’s time to pivot. To bring a fresh look, perspective, and energy into LMH – and so we’ve gone through a rebrand. We’re not alone, many of our clients have decided now is the time to refresh and align with societies evolvement – summer is here and it’s the first ‘normal’ summer we’ve had in years. There is excitement and positivity in the air and so we agree – now is the time to change.
In business, change is often regarded as a risk. It’s to be feared and, whenever possible, avoided.
Change in business is absolutely vital if businesses are to realise growth potential, propel teams onto greater things and keep their audiences engaged.
The world changes every day. Society is constantly changing. If businesses fail to keep up with these constantly-moving targets, they lag behind, become stale and, ultimately, fail. Great business leaders understand this, which is why they continually look for ways to evolve and improve.
So what are the benefits of change?
Change helps you take advantage of technical advances.
If anything changes quickly, it’s technology. Businesses that are willing to change the way they operate are far better placed to take advantage of new technological advances.
Change presents teams with new opportunities.
Teams that aren’t subjected to change, quickly become stale and disengaged. They lag behind on what’s trending and seem old-fashioned. In order to foster an emotional connection between the business and its employees, change is usually required.
Change ensures you’re ready for the new breed of customer.
Customers evolve. The people you were selling your products to last year have already changed; they’re aware of the new strategies they want to be associated with, they take a different buyer’s journey and expect an entirely different customer service experience. Are you ready for them?
If your business is incapable of change, your customers – both existing and potential – will leave you behind.
Change challenges the status quo.
It’s easy to get comfy in business, and if things get too comfy, complacency usually follows.
A question every business leader should ask is “why?”. Why do certain processes exist? Why do you develop your product that way? Why does it take forever to invoice clients? This should lead to looking deeply into the problem and getting a solution, to change the whole system.
Change challenges the status quo and enables businesses to hunt down inefficiencies within the organisation and act accordingly.
Keep asking “why?” and don’t settle for the norm and neither for the less.
Still afraid of change?
A leap of faith in business is often required to make the biggest changes. That ladder is what everyone should desire to make a step day in and day out. Even if there is a shred of doubt, the very fact you’re considering change gives it credence.
Be brave and make changes. There’s nothing worse in business than looking back and thinking “what if?” – every successful entrepreneur has, at some stage, made significant changes. They don’t always work, but when they do, the results can be transformation and rewarding as well.
[Source: Business Partner Magazine]
Get in touch with our strategy and brand communications team to talk about your branding and marketing strategy by emailing hello@luxurymarketinghouse.com.
On Monday 23rd May, we had the pleasure of attending Walpole British Luxury Summit 2022 at The Londoner.
As associate partners of Walpole, we were delighted to be on-site with our content team capturing BTS footage, and filming exclusive interviews with some of the key speakers and guests.
“It’s like an MBA in Luxury all in one day”
– Helen Brocklebank, CEO Walpole
At the Walpole British Luxury Summit this year we captured:
2 x live Instagram interviews
6 x BTS pre-records with some of the leading experts in the industry
A reel capturing the stunning attention to detail and F&B provided by The Londoner
A reel speaking with our Founder & MD, Jemma Lester, on our involvement with the Walpole British Luxury Summit
Why targeting Millennials is imperative for luxury brands
Millennials are fast becoming the most valuable luxury consumer segment. Together with the younger Generation Z consumers, Millennials are making up more than 40% of all luxury spending and generated 100% of the global luxury growth.
Bain & Company predicts that Millennials and Gen Z will account for nearly half of the total luxury goods sales by 2025, bringing the value of the global luxury industry to €290 billion ($356 billion).
As a result of the pandemic, Helen Brocklebank, CEO of Walpole, thinks the industry will exceed forecasts to generate 25 per cent of revenues online by 2025. “Way earlier, and by 2025 it will be 30 per cent-plus,” she says. “One of the things that’s very exciting is that brands now have a three to four-month dataset they never had before of how people have behaved online, so the opportunity now is to really mine that data.”
As Millennials enter their prime spending years, luxury brands need to understand how Millennials think and shop differently from the previous generations if they want to remain relevant.
Millennial-savvy and digitally-nimble brands are the ones that will win in the business of luxury.
There are four important Millennials characteristics that high-end brands need to cater for:
Millennials seek self-expression
Millennials value experience over ownership
Millennials spend more on brands that are socially responsible and environmentally conscious
Millennials are omnichannel shoppers
Millennials value luxury brands that celebrate their passions and individuality in a way that can be visually shared on social media.
Millennials are curators and creators, appreciating personalisation and the ability to share their opinion. Millennials value self-expression and they have an unlimited amount of digital platforms to choose from to express themselves. From Instagram to YouTube, Facebook and Snapchat, Millennials share their thoughts, opinions, and experiences with ease.
Exceptional quality is not enough to justify a premium luxury price for Millennials. Luxury brands need to craft an immersive story and provide a unique experience around their products if they want to appeal to their Millennial consumers.
Millennials are said to prefer to spend their money on first-class, authentic experiences rather than material objects. Millennials want to be “living a brand”, both online and offline, instead of just owning a brand.
Millennials can be distinguished from the previous generations for their relationship to the Internet and how comfortable they are with digital technologies. The generation can be defined as having a digitally-infused lifestyle. The Millennial generation is the first to come of age with the Internet and mobile phones. According to Nielsen, technology is essentially baked into every Millennial’s DNA.
As Millennials hear messages from multiple channels simultaneously, they expect a consistent and integrated experience regardless of the touchpoints. They want to be able to switch from one device to another, from online to offline, seamlessly.
It’s important to note that Millennials are greatly influencing the consumer habits of other generations as well, particularly their elders. In that sense, “Millennial” is not just an age group, but rather “a state of mind that affects consumer behaviour across generations” as research firm Bain & Co. highlighted in its report The Millennial State of Mind.
An anchor of the digital transformation, the Millennial generation loves to shape opinions and inform conversations, actively participates in brands’ stories, and expects brands to be connected 24/7. Millennials are the generation of social media. To authentically engage with Millennials, marketers need to communicate their stories and values through a completely digitally-integrated world.
By focusing more on selling an experience rather than a product, listening to what they’re asking for and offering relatable, authentic content, brands can empower Millennials to discover their products or services on their terms.
[Source: Luxe Digital, Raconteur]
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