Luxury branding has always been of personal interest to me because it represents the ultimate example of "design as perception" - the idea that the intangible associations that one makes are equally if not more important than the product itself. While so many other consumer transactions are driven by logic - weighing need against value - luxury goods are inherently an emotional purchase, driven by desire. Luxury branding is the art of aspiration and escapism, and as such, the emotional impact of the brand in all of its manifestations is crucial.
Interestingly, the emergence of luxury brands to the interactive space has been late, but it's not surprising they have had difficulty finding their place online. Most have a tremendous, and guarded, sense of history and tradition, so it's not always easy morphing them or translating them for new or different media platforms. Gucci was perhaps one of the first to take advantage of the opportunities of the internet. They approached the development of this presence not only as a method for increasing sales, but also to create an engaging interactive experience that reinforced the brand and its core attributes and, ultimately, made the brand more accessible to a wider audience. So, it was very rewarding that Method was able to help them make that leap.
Additionally, most luxury brands in the past were private, family-owned institutions - and some still are, such as Italian fashion house Trussardi, who I recently had the privilege of working with on redesigning their global web presence. The majority have become public in recent decades through purchase by conglomerates such as LVMH, for example, which necessitates increasing sales and profits, and therefore demand that their marketing efforts are also increased, to satisfy shareholder demands.
Another important consideration is that luxury brands have traditionally thrived on being considered "exclusive" and only attainable to a select few, as the value has been as much about cultivating lust - the idea of "wanting what we can't have" - as it has been about the quality and craft of the products themselves. At the same time, "high design" has slowly been moving downstream in the marketplace. A greater appreciation and demand now exists for well-designed, beautiful products, even everyday objects, evidenced by top designers creating product lines for mass retailers like Target. With the merging of these two trends, one begins to realize the need for luxury brands to better promote and, perhaps more importantly, distinguish themselves in a crowded marketplace, especially during times of economic slowdown in any sector. And that distinction can really happen at the experience level; not just reviewing a brand's product offering but engaging the user in an interaction that provides the same if not a more enhanced emotional take-away as the product and brand in and of themselves. That is where I would say Method is uniquely qualified to deliver success.
