Based in Monaco and the UK, Relevance is a strategic and creative digital agency. It specialises in profiling and targeting Ultra-High-Net-Worth Individuals for the world’s most exclusive brands and companies. Its list of happy clients includes Fraser, a leading full-service superyacht company, and NetJets, one of the top private jet aviation companies in the world.
With a well-established — and multi-lingual — team, Relevance services clients from all corners of the ultra-luxury sector, including real estate and hospitality, private travel and super toys, wellbeing, gastronomy, fashion and apparel, jewellery and accessories, and finance.
Recently, the LUXUO team caught up with Relevance founder and president Rumble Romagnoli to learn more about the company. Romagnoli is a veteran of the industry, having worked in the digital landscape for over 25 years, and has helped over 200 businesses — from international companies to start-ups — navigate their marketing approach. In his spare time, he is also a sought-after speaker at marketing and digital conferences and is also an adjunct professor of Digital Marketing at the International University of Monaco.
In our chat, Romagnoli tells us all about how his company helps ultra-luxury companies find their footing when it comes to digital marketing. Read on to find out more.
We hear that Relevance has quite an intriguing story. Tell us more about it.
Relevance was born in Monaco, home to many of the world’s UHNWIs. We work across a range of brands marketing to HNW and UHNWIs, including superyacht brokerages, high-end real estate companies, luxury fashion brands, gem and jewellery, private aviation, and watch brands. Then we came to London. London is a great place to find the best marketing and creative talent. Relevance acquired a luxury branding and design agency and secured our location in Chelsea, a prime central London location, which is also home to some of the world’s wealthiest.
The plan is to find a suitable location in the US in the coming years.
You have firmly established Relevance as a leading SEO agency. How many years of experience in digital marketing do you personally have?
I started as an SEO in 1997, when Google launched. It was clear Google would become an important part of our lives, and I have been working in SEO ever since. I suppose I am one of the oldest SEOs in the world [laughs].
To rank on Google, it’s vital to understand the entire digital marketing ecosystem, including PR, great content, social media management, reputation management, website usability and advertising, and how all those different elements combine as part of a larger digital strategy.
Why have you become one of the leading PR and SEO agencies within the yacht/superyacht segment?
Location, location, location. We have been based in the French Riviera for over a decade, and I personally have represented Relevance at Monaco, Cannes, and Fort Lauderdale Yacht Shows for 15 years. Lots of conversations about marketing yachts led to some of the leading yacht companies in the world becoming our clients. We have developed Relevance Yacht around these clients, hiring the best yacht marketeers and working with the most relevant yacht marketing suppliers and publications. Our speciality targeting UHNWIs also helps, as yachts are the most expensive product you can buy on the planet.
You are also very close to the private aviation world. What is specific to the needs of this particular market targeted at HNWIs?
Yachting requires targeted B2C marketing and some developed B2B marketing. Private aviation is very B2B. Relevance specialises in targeting and working very closely with family offices, accountants, and legal advisors – in essence, the entourage of UHNWIs decision-makers. This has worked very well for our work with NetJets and other private aviation companies.
How do you view the latest developments of AR / VR technologies? Any substantial impact amongst your high-end clients?
Yes and no. Lots more video, full production as well as influencer-led virtual tours. Some AR in Instagram and Tiktok – but nothing major, just augmented content. Not really much VR/Gaming yet, but watch this space.
Overall and in the face of the current pandemic, what have been the major trends in terms of communication for luxury brands?
All our clients have had a bumper 2020/2021. Website visits sometimes doubled, social media engagement spiralled, advertising scores hit top levels. The lockdown forced everyone onto digital channels, specifically mobile. This led to an increase in demand for digital services, more luxury clients, and a stronger business for Relevance.
What project that you have launched recently are you the most proud of?
It is a side project called Chilli No. 5, which is a recently launched gourmet chilli brand. After just a year we have become the go-to healthy hot sauce brand, and in the process have added a strong luxury brand E-Commerce capability offering branding, packaging, review management, event management, Amazon listing SEO, product photography, and film.
Can you describe in a few words your working process: how do you work on a project from start to finish ?
Every business is different and is approached in a unique manner. We must understand the business we are promoting and we often start with a pre-branding workshop where we discover the psychology behind the brand, the target audience, how that audience is segmented and the company vision and manifesto. This process of consultancy and workshops allows us to understand the brand better than other agencies. Then we use our content team to create the right content for the right audience. Then, the performance team will offer that content to the target audience using segmentation and the relevant channels. After that, it is fine-tuning and an established CRM funnel to gather the leads.
In a fast-changing environment, how do you keep your SEO knowledge constantly updated? How is your team encouraged to do so?
We are partners of BrightonSEO, the largest SEO conference in the world. We speak at Brighton SEO, attend lectures, and listen to podcasts to keep up-to-date with an ever-changing environment. Thanks to our concentration on brands that target HNWIs and UHNWIs we can gather insight across all our dashboards to hit the ground running.
Any new SEO and digital marketing techniques developed lately at Relevance (tool/apps, courses, products)?
Our CEO Ned Queckett has developed a very useful competitor Keyword Research tool that allows us to quickly discover easy wins and opportunities even in a competitive space.
What is your checklist when doing a website audit?
- SEO Visibility
- Technical Considerations including Page Speed
- Content Optimisation/Strategy
- Usability/Architecture
- PR & Backlink Profile
How do you see the future of both PR and SEO since your agency covers both worlds?
Google will continue to develop new features that the world of SEO will need to adapt to. It will not completely drown out SEO as this is an integral part of how they make their money from advertising. Video will become increasingly important as a feature of integrated search. SEO on Amazon, Alibaba and Google Shopping will become more interesting. You may see SEO becoming a feature on social media platforms, such as Facebook and Instagram. PR will continue to head to digital but will be as important as ever in guiding search engines and a source of relevant traffic and engagement.
What strategy do you prefer: launching and growing many small projects or working on a few larger projects?
I love small projects and seeing these businesses grow. These are the businesses of the future. However, our agency has evolved over the years, and we are now adept at working on larger projects, ones that require a full team of skilled specialists working across the digital marketing mix.
Where do you see Relevance in five years? What are the major challenges ahead?
Relevance has adapted over the last 15 years. We were an SEO agency in the south of France and have become one of the most important full-service digital agencies targeting HNWIs and UHNWIs in the world. Why? We have a very agile structure and a perfect balance between creativity and performance. Relevance will grow steadily into a large agency continuing to work with the leading world brands and bolting on any new services as they come up, such as VR/AR and video production. Our most important challenge is to get the best young creative minds on our team and nurture them in a brave new world.
Would you like to name a mentor who is inspiring you in your daily work?
I have a real drive that comes from within — I really love business and watching Relevance help to grow these incredible businesses. As for mentors, there are several. Anyone who works hard to make sustainable change to our world. It could be people getting in front of whaling vessels, poachers, polluting companies, or people standing up for their neighbours at any level. I respect brave people.
For more information visit relevance.digital.
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