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.