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<strong>Luxury</strong> brands are all about their heritage, quality<br />
craftsmanship, finesse and most importantly<br />
possess an air of exclusivity. For decades now<br />
these brands have thrived on their prestige and have<br />
been extra conscious of the fact that their narrative<br />
and storytelling is controlled and guided by them,<br />
especially when it comes to marketing. So how is that<br />
this scenario has taken a complete U-turn? And why<br />
are these brands now consciously entering into this<br />
new age of influencer marketing?<br />
Let’s first look at what this rage is all about. Influencer<br />
Marketing has been a buzzword for quite some<br />
time now. It’s basically a mix of traditional and modern<br />
ways of marketing, using influencers like celebrities<br />
or bloggers or social media content creators<br />
in order to endorse products and services. What’s<br />
new is that this kind of marketing also results in the<br />
creation of collaborations between these brands and<br />
the influencers.<br />
Well, it isn’t the case that luxury brands have been<br />
alien to the use of this form of marketing. It’s just<br />
that these brands have gravitated more only towards<br />
having celebrity ambassadors, endorsements, and<br />
partnerships. However there has been a worldwide<br />
shift from traditional media to new media or social<br />
media, especially now during a time like this when<br />
the entire world is facing a lockdown, the consumers<br />
are spending time on social media.<br />
<strong>Luxury</strong> brands have been more than cautious<br />
while approaching this form of marketing. However,<br />
the scenario is changing; brands are no<br />
longer about secrecy, intimidation, and mystery.<br />
It’s all about the values, quality, sustainability<br />
and more. That is why it’s become even more<br />
difficult for luxury brands to retain customers<br />
and bring new consumers on board. Especially<br />
with the millennial generation resonating to<br />
different values and lifestyles.<br />
Consumers today are more conscious and critical of<br />
what they are consuming, even as advertisements.<br />
Influencers not only have a relationship in the form of<br />
engagement with their followers but also a relationship<br />
of trust. Most followers know that these bloggers<br />
are authentic in their voice and this is exactly what<br />
luxury brands need at this point. This has necessitated<br />
the need for luxury brands to turn to influencer<br />
marketing. A hidden benefit for luxury brands is that<br />
these content creators who are fashion icons for their<br />
millions of followers usually already endorse products<br />
(without paid promotions) which is passive yet organic<br />
marketing for luxury brands.<br />
Brands like Chanel, Gucci, and Dior have gone the<br />
extra mile to build their relationship with these bloggers<br />
by inviting them to fashion weeks in order for<br />
their content to reach out to millions and make an<br />
impact. Several accounts of successful collaborations<br />
are witness to not only increased media value but also<br />
conversions in terms of sales.<br />
<strong>The</strong> famous YouTube vlogger Jeffree Star, for instance,<br />
and his love for Gucci was known to all. Gucci<br />
took advantage of this opportunity and ended up designing<br />
a custom ‘Pink Luggage’ collection exclusively<br />
for him. What came next was millions of followers<br />
reading about this gesture in detail along with pictures<br />
and videos on social media, thereby making him<br />
the top influencer for the brand. And as for Gucci, it<br />
earned not just media mentions but also sales worth<br />
$1.6 million! (Source)<br />
<strong>The</strong> Influencer marketing industry has grown to become<br />
a billion-dollar industry especially with social<br />
media apps like Instagram with over a billion users<br />
these numbers are here to stay for long. (Source) Furthermore,<br />
with the onset of Artificial Intelligence in<br />
this spectrum, there is nothing but more engagement.<br />
Virtual influencers like Miquela, Bermuda or Imma<br />
who practically don’t even exist and yet have thousands<br />
of followers on Instagram. <strong>The</strong>se virtual influencers<br />
have already undertaken influencer campaigns<br />
for Louis Vuitton and Calvin Klein amongst others.<br />
<strong>The</strong> only thing that is there for the brand to decide is<br />
the kind of influencer they want as their brand representative<br />
and the kind of content that they would like<br />
to display; is it influencer-driven, a collaboration, an<br />
endorsement or what? Especially keeping in mind, the<br />
niche audience that they want to cater to and most<br />
importantly not dilution their brand identity.<br />
Quintessentially, it can be said that influencer marketing<br />
has proven itself to get a large number of engagement<br />
and buzz for the brand. <strong>The</strong> luxury brands<br />
that are on board with this kind of marketing are<br />
already reaping the benefits for the same. <strong>The</strong> only<br />
crucial thing now is for brands to create authentic<br />
content, keeping intact their brand values and equity<br />
as more and more people indulge in the luxury world.<br />
Written by Heena Manghani<br />
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