An Insight Into the State of Luxury Branding Today

The concept of what makes a luxury brand attractive is changing a lot. The future luxury consumers are referred to as the Millennials and Gen Z, or even more precisely HENRYs. There has been a supply of new customers for a long time.

The younger group of would-be spenders have a different idea of what a luxury brand should look like. They value luxury experience more than luxury products and are looking for more authentic moments with which they can connect emotionally. It has become less about status and more about the emotional outcome of a product. New luxury commodities such as health, happiness andMindfulness are gaining in popularity. Changing consumer values are putting pressure on the luxury sector to wake up.

“Experience Economy”

Fifty years ago, economy precepts were laid out. To understand how to weave new value into luxury branding, a lot of inspiration can be found in the writings of authors such as the Tofflers in their 1970 book 'Future Shock' and Pine and Gilmore in their 1998 article 'Experience Economy'. Today's thought leader in digital analysis, Brian Solis, has based his entire business strategy on "designing products for emotional outcomes" Brand authenticity is the name of the game these days.

According to Euromonitor, there is a shift in consumer values towards luxury experiences over things that bring happiness and well- being.

What can luxury brands do?

Even though luxury brands are aware of this important trend, they don't seem to be seen as such by the younger generations. According to a survey of 1590 consumers from the U.S., UK and Australia, Stackla says that authenticity is important when choosing which brand to buy. What can brands do to improve their authenticity perception?

A team of researchers from Swiss and Canadian universities identified the dimensions, antecedents and consequences of perceived brand authenticity thanks to an extensive literature review. It is possible to suggest a set of recommendations for luxury brands that want to become more authentic.

How to reach the consumer?

Understand how brands are judged. Consumers rely on three different sources of information to judge a brand authenticity, so luxury brands should use all three sources to influence their perception. Since objective facts are hard to influence, luxury brands should be more transparent about their practices and highlight parts of their history that may appear to be authentic. Luxury brands should use real content such as user-generated stories or non- photoshop pictures to communicate their values and roots. To influence consumers' feelings of authenticity, luxury brands should help consumers find their true selves through innovative processes such as upskilling.

How to measure brand authenticity?

Four dimensions of perceived brand authenticity include continuity, credibility, integrity, and symbolism. The scale developed by the researcher team would allow luxury brands to assess the authenticity of their brands. The ability of a brand to stay true to its roots is related to continuity. A brand's ability to deliver on its promise and not betraying its customers are related toCredibility. The genuine purpose behind a brand's values and non-commercial aspects are related to integrity. The ability of a brand to help its customers in constructing their identity is related to symbolism.

There are references.

• Euromonitor (2018). Luxury Goods: Half Year Update 2019. Retrieved from: https://www.portal.euromonitor.com
• Morhart, F., Malär, L., Guèvremont, A., Girardin, F., & Grohmann, B. (2015). Brand authenticity: An integrative framework and measurement scale. Journal of Consumer Psychology, 25(2), 200-218.
• Stackla (2019). Consumer & Marketer Perspectives on Content in the Digital Age. Retrieved from: https://stackla.com/resources/press-releases/stackla-survey-reveals-disconnect-between-the-content-consumers-want-what-marketers-deliver/

There is a business school called EHL.

The department of communications.

It's EHL.