The paradox of luxury brand marketing

Convention states that the success of marketing a brand pivots on pricing the product or service competitively, making it accessible by ensuring it's distributed in places where customers exist, the product or service needs to be extensively promoted with advertising that clearly communicates the USPs (which need to be authentic to its promise).

This doesn't necessarily apply to luxury brands. Their successes are based on pricing that's above the competition or middle-market brands, deliberate scarcity is established through limited retail outlets or distribution, no real USPs are established and the advertising is more on the ethereal side. Still, these brands are successful.

One of the essential ingredients for a luxury brand to be successful is to define and build on certain ethical and aesthetical invariants that are unique to the brand. They don't need to echo or cater to the mass consumption culture but need to be true in their essence and in most cases are emotional, aspirational and self-esteem drivers. This is the 'art' of marketing - therefore we see a surge since the 70s of luxury brands being closely associated with culture within societies - they drive art, they influence fashion, they create change.

Sometimes, anti-marketing is effective marketing.

What's your big idea?

Brand successes are all about ideas and ideas are all about innovation.

Now, ideas surround us everywhere we go, someone has a 'new' idea or a 'great' concept, something they truly believe to be innovative and ingenius; and people share them in coffee-shop type intellectual debates. I think the genius lies not in the idea but its implementation - get up and do something with your last brainwave, start by writing it down because ideas have a great ability to make a sudden arrival and an equally sudden departure from one's memory.

Innovation today also involves a collaborative management culture... companies now appoint idea spotters across the world who peep into urban consumer tribes and their lifestyles and help brands understand how to build relevance. And this is where one needs to listen - not management down, but street up - listen to what the public is saying and then make your product or service more relevant.

Don't create a new product or service; co-create it. Don't provide customization or custom-made products, make customer-made products, empower your consumer to have a say in what they truly want. That's when its relevant, effective, successful, profitable and most importantly memorable (as in our trade it's about the stickiness of our creative ideas).

So, if you have a sharp mind then it might be handy to keep a sharp pencil close by...

Who is in control of your happiness?

I believe if you like what you do, then you'll never tire of doing it. Similarly, if you're happy then you will end up being more productive.

At Insignia we believe a happy work environment is going to positively influence everyone to be more creative and productive. So, we've introduced the Happiness Program. The idea is simple, to involve everyone in the team to play an active role in creating happiness within the office. Here's how it works;

Everyday, one person gets to play the role of Happiness Manager and there's a roster for individuals to take the happiness helm, happily. They get to wear a name badge which states 'Happiness Manager' - they wear it proudly at work, to meetings and just about anywhere the day takes them. The HM for the day is responsible to do something special, whether it be a poetry recital or chocolates all around, something that makes people smile or keep them tickled.

You could bake a cake, share jokes, buy flowers, surprise someone or delight the team with anything your imagination allows you to think up!

So, what's going to make you happy today?