Luxury brands must conduct Brand Health Check (BHC) constantly to evaluate their current status in the perspective of the present and future market trends. BHC is an instrumental tool to evaluate and understand the current status of the brand and its capacity to manage expectations of the futuristic luxury market regionally and internationally. The BHC should be conducted by a futuristic luxury marketing expert online or in-person depending on the need and capacity of the brand.
The Business of luxury (BOL) is turning into a critical phase as commercialism is departing and exclusivity is becoming the new source of sustainable future of luxury. The BOL has already surpassed the prerequisites such as service, quality, price, and prestige and now proceeding with the new dynamics of non-branding that involves personalisation, exclusivity, and technology. The modern jargon of personalisation that transforms an experience into an expression is the innovative and new world order of the luxury kingdom. Connoisseurs of luxury around the globe are intelligently evaluating the brand experience but surely connect with the brand that satisfies their self-expression. The BOL has its unique positioning with pleasure, prestige, and profitability.
In today’s rapidly changing environment, it’s critical for a luxury brand custodian to evaluate if the brand is futuristic and to which extent it can serve the expectation of futurist consumers.
We have articulated the following 7 checkpoints to evaluate if your luxury brand is ready for the future:
Checkpoint 1 — Brand Name & Identity
We are not suggesting to change the name of your existing brand or its identity, but a little tweak can surely turn your brand name, its look and feel into more modern and futuristic. If your brand name is too local or regional- centric, you could perhaps alter it such that the name can be understood internationally. Long brand names are not problematic if they serve the purpose of reflecting the essence of your brand. Clarity is far more crucial than style.
Checkpoint 2 — Taglines & Brand Statement
Your tagline should be able to serve as the functional descriptor of your brand. Please evaluate if your brand statement or tagline depicts the core nature of the business. Smart, elegant but to the point tagline will be the first short descriptor of the essence of your brand, and it must sound luxurious, futuristic, and international.
Furthermore, the tagline should have the capacity to transform and grow into a phrase/ slogan that a brand can carry as a symbol of recognition and pride in the foreseeable future.
Checkpoint 3 — Website Theme & Tech
This is the first storytelling of your brand without you being there. Ensure that your brand’s URL accomplishes the objective of your brand towards your internal, external, current, and protentional customers.
Another crucial component is the user-friendliness of your website, it should be updated with the latest technology to aid in the navigation of the site. For example, is the website equipped with AI (Artificial intelligence), cookies technology, and viewer’s interests tracking? How personalised this digital space is to manoeuvre in the areas of interest of the browser. With minimalistic text, videos and pictures, your brand should be able to steer the entire web experience to a luxurious path.
Checkpoint 4 — Are You The Brand?
What correlation do you have with your brand? Futuristic luxury brands are not independent of their custodians, in fact, your brand should be the extension of you. It must transcend your true personality as a living brand. You are the most valuable asset your brand has, and this fact must be conveyed in the most authentic, realistic, and simple form of storytelling.
Connoisseurs of luxury are equally interested in the creator of the brand as they are keen on the brand. The credibility of the custodian authenticates and strengthens the connection between the consumer and the luxury brand.
Checkpoint 5 — Social Media Space
Does your social media tell the story of what your brand is about and what you believe in? Do you engage in exclusive and “By invitation only” interactions with only a chosen few? A brand’s social media space should not only serve as a positioning statement but also act as an extension of your luxurious branding. The real purpose of the social media space is to have continuous interaction with the regional and international target audience. One way communication is becoming redundant day by day. Exclusive yet reachable social media branding will improve the quality of your audience.
One last but extremely crucial point: the number does not matter at all. What matters is the quality of the audience and how you are connected to them.
Checkpoint 6 — Speaking Your Language
A factor that could help your brand to be recognised internationally is being multilingual. Being connected with the world is one of the core attributes of a distinctive luxury brand.
Communicating effectively on a global scale will improve your brand’s deliverance of its ethos and philosophy. This is paramount to any luxury brand that operates globally. Understanding and valuing global culture is the key to getting acquainted with the crème de la crème of the desired market.
Checkpoint 7 — PR, be in the news for the news
Which type of media will you utilise and what do you hope to achieve? Have you got real news to share, or are you in the news simply for the sake of it?
Futuristic luxury brands must create, if they do not already possess, authentic news that appeals to their target audience. Paid PR and advertorials are old news. For a few forward-thinking brands, even PR agencies are obsolete. Your luxury brand should have the strength and unique character that creates the right pull on its own, instead of relying on paid pushers.
Once the 7-step evaluation is complete, jot down a summary of the brand’s future capability, including a brief analysis that identifies areas for improvement. The objective of this evaluation is not to restructure the brand, but to help it transition into the future without compromising its unique DNA and ideology.
Futuristic transformation is the key for any luxury brand that aspires to go global and be appreciated for its core values. Remember, this is a continuous process and must be exercised at regular intervals depending on the nature, and business objectives of the luxury brand.
Contributed by Shahzad HAIDER, https://shahzadhaider.org/. New York based Transformation Consultant – The Future of Luxury
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