BRAND POINT OF VIEW – Luxury Brands Collaboration
Trends are changing and times are changing also this is what some people might call the Experience Age. From everything we share and see on social media, to travel, we could say that today’s generation is more emphasising on ‘doing and sharing’, rather than ‘buying and owning’. This makes creating a great importance of great experience in the world of luxury brands.
There is no guarantee that brands have the correct formula to reach customers. But to really have an impact, luxury brands should be striving for relevancy, exclusivity, and being ambitious, and to ensure the customer is always put first.
Brands are pressured to infiltrate on people’s lifestyles as we have moved on from merely consumers of products, to searchers of experiences. The world of travel is on an upward trajectory. Fact which is creating a big opportunity from other fields of the luxury industry to integrate their self in this action of experience delivery. Collaboration may became the key of success giving the advantage of being in the right place at the right time.
And because some brands are ready to test the market one of the earliest collaboration has been already prepared, the collaboration is between Alexander McQueen’s and Globe Trotter. Well-known brands known for exquisite craftsmanship, have come together to create a range of limited edition luggage. With McQueen’s popular detailing and globe Trotter’s well known luggage, featuring an limited outstanding design for a travel piece with black and ivory skull print patterns .
Another example of a luxury collaboration is between Magellan Jets and new luxury label Passavant & Lee. Designing an exclusive edition of the brand’s No.25 briefcase. Clients who have booked a 10 hour holiday jet card could receive the briefcase as a thank you.
Travel isn’t the only area where collaborations are having an effect. Inundated with constant streams of data, today’s market is causing advertising to keep growing in importance as a means to connect with consumers. Partnerships are a good direction to go in to keep ahead of the competition.
It is thought, according to a global trend forecast by WGSN, that luxury brands need to invest in three key areas. These are, exclusive collaborations with relevant partners, secret and exclusive brand experiences, and personalised online experiences.
Robert Ettinger, CEO Ettinger London, comments: ‘Niche brands, personalised products and carefully chosen collaborations with like-minded British brands are the future for luxury accessory businesses, such as Ettinger. Being different, yet still desirable and succeeding in making people feel that they have connected with something special, that’s what’s important.’
The luxury ‘game’ is changing and just the ones prepared to play after the new rules will survive. In this very moment luxury industry is facing a moment of changes, getting a new type of expectations from customers. What was extraordinary two years ago seems to be nothing today. Rapid changes is the latest and most common element which can be find in all the industries. And to satisfy the customers is becoming a competition harder and harder to win.
The old days will never come back, what is changed remain changed. Now brands have to be focus on delivering customer value, not just products. Great services and good materials are expected. Those who win can make the experience “branded” very different and distinct from their competitors not just in terms of aesthetics but also in terms of the emotions which they create. The brand’s must be focused on giving a great customer experience, providing a very meticulously detailed journey and making sure that all the staff understood the purpose of the brand. Strong training sessions will be required to reach the purpose of the brand.
Value creation will be the key of success for the ones gaining in the luxury industry. Creating surprise elements, unexpected and exciting experiences will be the way to go from now. In our fast-changing times, with millennials and generation Z demanding such high levels of disruption, creating these experiences is more important than it has ever been before.
References:
Collaboration, Exclusivity and Personalisation to shape luxury brands future success, September 8,2016: https://www.wgsn.com/en/article/collaboration-exclusivity-personalisation-shape-luxury-brands-future-success/
Luxury Brands Aim to Stand Out with Smart Partnerships by Charlotte Wooding , Feb. 20, 2017: https://www.luxurysociety.com/en/articles/2017/02/luxury-brands-aim-stand-out-with-smart-partnerships/
How Experiences are Defining Today’s Luxury Market by Daniel Langer, October 28, 2019: https://jingdaily.com/how-experiences-are-defining-todays-luxury-market/
Magellan Jets website: https://magellanjets.com/blog/magellan-jets-announces-luxury-briefcase-collection-ahead-of-holiday-season.html
Alexander McQueen website :https://www.alexandermcqueen.com/us?gclid=CjwKCAiAluLvBRASEiwAAbX3Gehm0yeXh4adlFJUOK38nOtz25JeMpg-zP6mimcZftpP3N–tTasahoCqqUQAvD_BwE&tp=62564
Globe-Trotter website : https://www.globe-trotter.com/journal/globe-trotter-collaboration-alex-mcqueen/
Passavant and Lee website : https://passavantandlee.com/