Can You Market Luxury Brands Online?

AdWeek looks at an interesting question this week, asking whether digital is killing luxury brands. As the article notes,

“…the question of how brands that pride themselves on exclusivity—indeed, that depend on it—can keep their brand image from taking a turn for the tawdry in a digital universe is one luxury designers can’t afford to ignore. “

Well, sure. But does that mean that luxury brands should ignore digital?

No.

In fact, AdWeek gets it most right when they point out the elephant in the room:

“The reality, of course, is that brands are being watered down whether they like it or not. In some cases, they’re even speeding things along, as bottom-line concerns push them into big-box collaborations and less expensive line extensions. Image still counts, and some companies aren’t navigating their dive into digital as carefully as they should be.” [Emphasis mine]

The problem for many luxury brands isn’t inherent to online. It’s how true to itself the brand remains. Reach and exclusivity are often, as you might guess, contradictory. But if your digital efforts center around reach, you’re probably heading in the wrong direction.

For example, a luxury brand I worked with a few years ago tried a massive reach campaign and discovered that most of the “customers” we found were only in it for a one-time experience, never to be seen again.

By contrast, when we sent targeted discount offers only to best customers, the customers upsold themselves to higher-priced products and often acted on the brand’s behalf, spreading news of “the deal” they’d gotten to their equally well-heeled friends.

The lesson: Speak in your customer’s language. If you’re an exclusive, luxury brand, remain exclusive, online and off. Otherwise, you risk telling your customers that you’re no longer right for them.

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