Inside the World of Luxury Branding
Throughout my semester in my Contemporary Marketing Management class, I have done an in depth brand analysis and study of one of my favorite luxury brands: Dior. To wrap it up, I decided to conduct an interview with an industry professional and mutual connection of mine, Susie Park-Casimir. Ms. Park-Casimir is a Team Manager for Client Development at Louis Vuitton, a major brand under LVMH, the same parent company as Dior. Due to their similarities in status, luxury and importance in the fashion industry, many parallels can be drawn in both their brand images and marketing strategies. The way that Louis Vuitton caters to the new generation of customers is very similar to Dior and it was very interesting to have someone with firsthand experience in the field shed light on it.
I began the interview by learning more about Ms.Park-Casimir's role with the company and the steps that brought her to the position she is at today. She said that she has been with Louis Vuitton for over five years and prior to this she had worked for the brand Coach for another seventeen, making her no stranger to the fashion industry. She said that her favorite part of her job is building relationships with her loyal clients and working alongside a strong team that inspires each other. I believe that the strength of these connections made through the job is telling of the fundamental marketing strategies for a lot of luxury brands. Due to their long standing presence and the status that goes along with wearing them, customers return with each new collection. They are not simply the owner of one particular bag or pair of shoes but rather a patron of the brand as a whole.
Keeping in touch with that idea, Ms. Park-Casimir's response to my next questions about Gen Z were very interesting. When I asked if she believes that Louis Vuitton makes any steps in order to keep in touch with current trend cycles and styles she said that more often than not, that is not necessary. “The brand sells itself, because the name is there,” she said. When a brand is as big as Louis Vuitton, it becomes less important to cater to the changing times but rather to a variety of audiences and age ranges, which she believes the brand does a great job of. The one aspect in which she believes the brand falls short however, is that they do not have enough product to cater to everyone. This poses a follow up question of if this is an intentional move on the part of the brand to create exclusivity within their clientele.
In order to fully understand Louis Vuitton, we also discussed some of the brand's competitors and compared their differing marketing strategies. Ms.Park-Casimir said that in an attempt to keep up with the times alot of brands find themselves in a cycle of playing catch up. Whether that be reflected in their ever changing representatives, styles or marketing tools, in the long term, these practices could confuse customers and encourage them to break away from buying their products. When a brand is as established as Louis Vuitton or Dior, they do not need to engage in this because they know their buyers will come due to their legacy and heritage.
Overall I gained a lot of valuable insight from this interview. After looking back at Diors advertising I realized they are never too loud or in your face, but rather a creative display of their newest ideas. I now understand why they do not need that typical cheesy “catchiness” to their ads. They are able to attract customers solely based on their rich legacy, impeccable status and beautiful high quality products.
