Symbiosis Institute of Media & Communication Module: New Media

Assignment: Strategic Plan for Launch of a Luxury Brand In India Faculty Guide: Sameer Aasht Submitted by: Kanika Tiwari 218 Divyaraj Brahmbhatt 045 MBA | Public Relations | Batch 2010 | SIMC

Objective accomplished via assignment

• Strategic Plan for creating online visibility for a luxury Brand of accessories

• Market Research for the category code and identifying the existing market trends

• Identifying the target segment and studying the consumer profile for luxury Brand

for accessories

• Identifying the challenges and innovating solutions through digital new media

• Brand Strategy for Luxury Brand for New Media / Online Branding

• Offline Branding strategies for an Accessory Brand in High End Luxury Segment

Brand Profile : FELDO ACCESSORIES LUXURY BRAND From Germany

Brand Introduction:

Brand Introduction:

Brand Introduction:

Brand Introduction:

Analysis of Existing Online Strategy:

1. Feldo’s has a website which is non interactive and is potential devoid of any customization2. The online visibility for Feldo is minimum and there is a great for its visibility in online media3. Feldo has undertaken few social media, networking websites ,channelizing the same to create new customers and making the brand more interactive is yet desired.4. Low online visibility as compared to its counterparts 5. Very few reviews by the experts resulting in minimum product knowledge and awareness.6. There is a corporate blog but merely for the sake of existence.Thus overall there is a below average brand visibility in the digital media which needs to be rectified in order to launch the Luxury Brand in India.

Analysis of Existing Online Strategy:

1. Feldo’s has a website which is non interactive and is potential devoid of any customization2. The online visibility for Feldo is minimum and there is a great for its visibility in online media3. Feldo has undertaken few social media, networking websites ,channelizing the same to create new customers and making the brand more interactive is yet desired.4. Low online visibility as compared to its counterparts 5. Very few reviews by the experts resulting in minimum product knowledge and awareness.6. There is a corporate blog but merely for the sake of existence.Thus overall there is a below average brand visibility in the digital media which needs to be rectified in order to launch the Luxury Brand in India.

Brand Positioning: Luxury Watches & Accessories

Analysis of Market Segmentation

1.The Buyers differ according to their unique needs, wants, resources, locations, buying attitudes & Practices thus each buyer is a potentially separate market. Thus the customization of marketing for each buyer is suggested.2.Agea. 20-35 years b. 35-50 years c. 50 yr and above3. Sexa. Male b. Female c. Unisex4. Attitude/Orientationa. Sporty b. Jewelry c. Technology5.Competitor Brandsa.  Bvlgari  b. Breitling  c. Omega  d. Patek Phillipe  e. IWC  f. Franck Muller  g. Movado  h. Chopard  i. Piaget 6.Pricea. 10-40k b. 40-100k c.   100k +7. Display : a. Analog b. Digital c. Dual8. Strap: a. Leather b. Metal c. Synthetic i) Steel ii) Gold iii) Titanium

The modern luxury brand consumer

•They are not a homogeneous group

•Luxury brand lovers display considerable differences in spending power, spending frequency, brand loyalty and purchase motivations.

•Consumer typologies range from fashion connoisseurs motivated by the idea of staying abreast of the latest luxury fashions to product

•connoisseurs driven to collecting luxury items within a specific product category, for example Breitling, Boucher on and Cartier watches.

• Whatever the typology characteristics for luxury consumers, purchase motivations fall into three distinct categories: •Indulgence•Exclusivity •Status

•Luxury brand consumers are considered purchasers. They enjoy the full sensory exploration of luxury products, the experience of the in-store environment and they actively engage with brands on many levels.

•High-involvement purchasing demands immersive brand marketing.

• This represents a huge opportunity aligned to the uniquely interactive qualities of digital media.

•Luxury consumers expect brand experience digitally wherever they can.

•They actively use digital media and technology to engage with brands well before purchase and to share and talk about luxury goods.

• frequent ‘pre-shopping’ through luxury brand and high-end retailer web sites, visits to fashion blogs and celebrity sites, luxury retailer and brand newsletters, sharing product links and images via email, Instant Messenger, and sending SMS/MMS messages during the in-store shopping experience.

•There exists a premium group of online luxury consumers that is price insensitive, loves shopping, consumes all kinds of media and is very receptive and responsive to advertising.

•Internet usage by luxury consumers typically ranges from 30 minutes to 5 hours per day. This presents a huge customer engagement

The modern luxury brand consumer

• Those who buy goods online are typically younger than their brick-and-mortar counterparts. • The internet and digital media continue to form a regular and growing element of consumer lives spanning a broad demographic stretching through to high-net worth individuals.

• To stay current and continue to attract younger affluent consumers, luxury brands must find a way to manage and retain brand equity in the expanding world of consumer 2.0.

• The good news is luxury brand consumers want digital communications.

Target: modern luxury brand consumer

On the whole, luxury brands have neglected the potential of the Internet. Luxury brand owners tend to perceive the Internet as not exclusive enough and so potentially damaging to their brands. According to research, affluent consumers are prepared to buy luxury goods online. Luxury brands could benefit in three ways from having successful sites: ability to sell to a far wider audience; offering customers the indulgence of convenience; and providing a space in which potential customers can do research and develop desire.Care must be taken to maintain brand values when developing a luxury brand Web site.

New Media Brand Strategy for FELDO

FELDO’s Online Branding Strategy contains:

•a customized Online Marketing Plan

•a search engine strategy and keyword research relevant to your services and/or products

•a great looking website with search engine optimization!

• fine-tuning of  the new media tools , social networking websites with the exclusive retail enviornment

Measuring Yard stick for the strategy • increased net profit • more visitors to the website • Increased Database of target consumers• increased sales•Increased Brand Visibility & Consumer engagement

•Over the past 12 months, growth in searches for luxury products has far outstripped that for mass-market

products.

•searches for jewellery grew by 1,290%

• watches by 372%

• perfume by 300%,

• compared to CDs, which grew by 83%,

• books by 49%.“

• The research by Ledbury found that the affluent are more likely to consider buying

from the Internet than from mail order.

•47% of them had bought a product worth more than pound 250 online in the past 12 months. In

comparison, only 16% of average consumers had done so.

•Finally, 77% of affluent consumers don't agree that a luxury brand becomes less exclusive if it sells its

goods online.

Market Trend for Digital shopping in Luxury SegmentMarket Trend for Digital shopping in Luxury Segment

FELDO’s Brand Strategy will transfer the marketing expertise from offline media to the web in a workable framework which will involve understand behaviors within specific customer segments and apply insight empathetically online.

Analysis of luxury brand engagement can be divided into six key phases, all of which present opportunities for digital brand strategy, as follows:1.Awareness FELDO online Creatives will be in sync to what the consumers have seen offline High quality production and execution will be critical to delivering consistency and a deeper, more interactive FELDO brand experience.

It will ensure Digital advertising should be captivating not irritating.

2. Admiration FELDO DNA- website will inspire admiration. It will have consumer ‘permission’ to take digital media communications beyond rational brand. The New Media initiatives will deliver involvement, entertainment and interaction in a personalized context.

New Media Brand Strategy for FELDO

New Media Brand Strategy for FELDO

3. Exploration

FELDO Online Communication will Convey the heritage, authenticity and quality of the brand, it will complement the in-store experience that the majority of consumers will ultimately enjoy.

4. Consideration

FELDO will emphasize on Personalized care and attention within a luxury retail environment digitally.

Live Chat Facility will enable real-time peer-to-peer consultation for online browsers – direct, contextual engagement with the online experience.

FELDO ‘s Website will Recognize online visitors, offer membership and will remember personal information enhance individual engagement.

5. PurchaseIntegrating the web with retail drives for brand reinforcement. Consumers will enjoy the ambience of the retail environment – enabling them to enhance this experience, by directing consumers to their most convenient outlet further improving brand experience, loyalty and talk ability.6. OwnershipFELDO will offer exclusivity through opt-in and individual communication channels which will enable one-on-one, personalized brand communications with every customer. FELDO will advocate desire ownership that will go further than an arms-length relationship and creating an online ‘club’ deepens engagement still further.

1. Put a link on the Feldo’s website to luxury blogs that offer news related topics.

2. Submit news about Feldo Accessories to luxury blogs.

3. Advertise on luxury blogs that offer news related topics.

4. Promote blog posts about your luxury accessories that are published on luxury blogs

5.Maintain a corporate blog

Online Luxury Branding

Blogs:

FELDO’s Blogging Strategy: The blog will tell the brand story and talk about where the brand is going in the future. Create a balance between design and function. Resisting the temptation to go overboard with technology. Emphasizing on making of each piece and exclusivity attached to it

Use of own Social Networking website: Feldo will have a premium membership only offered to selected customers where the elite can discuss the world of luxury and Feldo will enhance their experience by offering special deals and providing exclusive excess to these members for various on ground luxury events like auctions etc..

There would appear to be three tangible benefits to FELDO in using the Internet more fully.

First, with a limitation of handful of outlets across the globe. This potentially excludes those customers who can’t make it to those outlets. A Web site means the expensive goods are available to anyone around the world.

Second, the target market for luxury goods tends to be the cash-rich and time-poor, who place a high value on convenience. As Paul Dawson, head of usability at design agency Conchango, puts it: "Given the option, who wants to walk down Bond Street in the rain when you can sit on the sofa with a glass of wine, surfing the Web?“

The Second Life Avatar for Feldo : Feldo will venture into Second life and will emphasize on its positioning With a blend of technology, style & exclusivity factors. To catch in its target potential clientele.

FELDO will use the Internet as a means to disseminate information and create desire, use the Internet to find out where the shop is and what products are available.

FELDO will initiate the concept where consumers may want to go online to make an appointment with a personal shopper at Feldo Accessories

1. Feldo will create an online community for Luxury Segment.2. Feldo will be listed in all the premium luxury Portals3. Feldo will initiate the online auction forum in its community4. Feldo will further integrate its brand value by increasing the customer loyalty 5. The networking will include by invitation and referrals strategy to create the database for potential buyers.6. Feldo understanding the competition will use search engine optimization techniques to position itself in top three players of the luxury accessory segment.7. To enhance brand experience and customer interaction it will create online widgets, micro blogging website8. The designers profile will be use as the leverage factor online and the technology tour – Digital experience will be used to captivate the audience .

9.Short Product videos will be downloaded a u-tube and other website which have a premium Membership for exclusive customers.10 The appeal will reflect status, style , exclusivity with an X factor in all its digital communication

•Engage with bloggers – Twitter is a great place to start, Add bloggers who act as buying consultants for luxury shopping links section, make them comment on events - auctions sites, show your support – the fashion blogosphere is generally responsive to this approach.

•Identify where conversations are already happening about FELDO and industry (blogs, Twitter, forums, etc) – find a way to participate.

•Offer special promotions and use online exclusive shopping destinations(among other outlets) to help get the word out.

•Creation of weekly e-newsletter that includes the designers engagement at social level, the celebrity factor , the Product superiority

Social media . A few options:

The SEO strategy: •Use of Google optimizer to ensure that  every new webpage is fine tuned for Google. •Use of Google analytics to exclusively profiling the consumers in a particular region.

Challenge Identified: “The Web eliminates the fun of shopping."Internet offers a shopping experience diametrically opposed to that offered by high-end retailers. FELDO’s Solution:"The Web is all about being a smart shopper, saving time and money, and finding eclectic goods. Online Shopping with Feldo will be about an experience that feels exclusive.

•Feldo Accessories can get into partnership with DreamWorks revolving around the recent movie releases , taking the PR factor into consideration.

Offline Branding strategy

•FELDO will be promoting luxury goods as a wise investment instead of an expense – Feldo Auctions of timepieces. Digital Feldo Gallery will be established to launch new exclusive timelines & accessories

•Feldo will appeal to the refined tastes and matching egos of very upscale consumers. By backing off theblatant snob appeal of its products. One of its newest promotional efforts: an exclusive “over-the-top” tour of Europe, North Africa and Russia by private jet for two weeks this fall featuring “some of the finest cuisinein the world” and visits to the kitchens of “celebrated chefs” and private wine cellars. The tour can be co-sponsored by airline players and Food and Wine and Travel & Leisure magazines.

•Feldo will initiate its collaboration with various institutes – seminar on time & technology, Future chornography to entice the new tech savvy guy who falls in the young thirtyish CEO ‘s lead.

•The outlet itself will be one of the most premium shopping destination in India located in the only luxury Shopping destinations – Exclusive Luxury Hotels & The Emporio, Delhi where it makes s strong brand Presence using celebrity endorsement and leveraging the Feldo Designers - Their tours to India will be Strategically Planned.

Thank You