Living up to the promise
A friend of mine recently wrote the letter below. It resulted in an immediate call from Bernard Arnault's PA and the CEO of LVMH Sweden greeting him when he took the defunct bag back in to the Stockholm store. I think it says a lot about luxury brands needing to support their premium price tag with quality and outstanding customer service, and living up to their advertising!
M. Bernard Arnault
LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton
22, avenue Montaigne
75008 PARIS
FRANCE
Dear M. Arnault,
In December 2007 my dear wife bought me a Louis Vuitton carry-on travel bag as an expensive, but wonderful, Christmas gift. As someone who travels a lot, I was delighted. It looked beautiful, and coming from Louis Vuitton, I imagined spending a lifetime with this particular item of luggage. Growing old gracefully together, aging beautifully with it as my constant travel companion. Maybe I’d even end up looking just a little like Sean Connery in your ads.
Ten months later things had gone very sadly wrong. On a trip to London in October 2008, the wheel fell off my bag. Literally fell off. I spent the rest of the day dragging and carrying the bag around the city. My immediate reaction was that the bag was, to borrow a car analogy, a Friday bag. The artisan French worker who had crafted my $1200 bag must have just had a bad day. Maybe he didn't feel too well after a heavy night out with his friends and a little too much Pernod perhaps? Anyway, I was sure the Louis Vuitton store in Stockholm where my bag was purchased would immediately replace or repair the defective bag. Ten months old and only used on about eight trips as cabin luggage. Louis Vuitton must have a lifetime guarantee right? At $1200 a shot, I expected it.
The answer when I returned the bag to Louis Vuitton Stockholm was - forget it! LV does not have a lifetime guarantee, nor does it have even a 12-month guarantee. In fact it has NO GUARANTEE WHAT SO-EVER! None. Zippo. Zilch. After two years of complaining, I’m just totally appalled at the service LV offers its customers in Stockholm. But I haven’t given up hope.
I write to you to find out if the LV Stockholm store and its response reflects the standards of Louis Vuitton. Can you help me?
With Regards,
Julian Stubbs
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New blog
I've started a new blog www.philipbeeching.com - I currently have the grand total of zero followers, so if anyone feels so inclined, please do
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In the lap of luxury
attended The Walpole Luxury Forum 2010. The Americas' yesterday. It had a particularly interesting line up of speakers and although many had felt the chill wind of the recession running through their businesses, there was cautious optimism about the improving economic situation. In the morning session Dr Jim Taylor of the Harrison Group, presented research which showed that since the financial meltdown there had been a fundamental shift in the attitude of wealthy consumers in the States. They had become far more discerning in evaluation of a luxury brand - a premium price needed to be matched by substance: quality, craftsmanship, exceptional materials, sheer hard work and love on the part of the producer were all seen as essential to a luxury price tag. Harrison had also been measuring and tracking a 'happiness' indicator for many years and paradoxically this was at all time high. It transpired that the financial crisis had forced many couples to evaluate what was important in their lives and indeed for them to work through their financial problems together, which had brought them in to a closer relationship.The afternoon session focussed on South America and particularly Brazil. It was evident that many of the attendees were there to learn more about the opportunities for their brands in this market. Carlos Ferreirinha, Chairman of
MCF Consultancy in Sao Paulo did an outstanding job of painting a picture of the Brazilian market and the potential opportunities. Carlos managed to convey his subject with real enthusiasm and one was left with a feeling of excitement about the extraordinary potential for Brazil. He explained some of the challenges faced by luxury brands when entering this market and the cultural differences; he related an anecdote of how Tiffanys had had to succumb to the Brazilian habit of paying in parts for goods on interest free credit, whatever they may be - even Tiffanys diamonds!
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What makes a TV spot successful?
I read an article in Saturday's FT how judging the success of a TV series in America has become so much more than simply measuring how many people watch a particular programme. How about all the other ways an audience can engage with a show and get involved? Online and mobile audiences, how many Facebook friends a show has, followers on Twitter, positive sentiment on blogs and so on. And this of course is all important to advertisers. Optimedia US, a Publicis owned agency has developed what they call 'Content Power Ratings'. CPR looks at more than just the traditional audience numbers and seeks to capture 'advocacy' and 'involvement'. The CPR ratings are made up from data using Nielsen BuzzMetrics, ComScores Media Metrix and Google Trends. The Fox show, 'House' for example leads the Facebook fan league table and the ABC show 'Lost' registered the most positive BuzzMetrics score. Glee was the CPR's top newcomer thanks to an online competition and karaoke contest.I think the success of a TV commercial can also no longer be judged on ratings alone and in the same way as American TV shows are now being looked at in a wider context, we need to look at TV commercials in the same way.
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Colour = Power?
I had the chance to sit in on a lunchtime session this week with our Creative Director – Russell to walk through some very successful campaigns like Lynx, Old Spice and the Compare the Market to name a few. One of the key points that Russell made was to be in a mindset to push the everyday boundaries we have on creative work.
So with all this in mind I couldn’t help looking at each of the campaigns shown which made me realise how much colour is used to influence how we live every part of our lives. Throughout history, colour has expressed and represented status, religion, origin, feelings and much much more. To be able to afford clothing or other possessions in certain colours meant you were wealthier than most, as some ingredients to produce specific colours were not available everywhere.
These days we see more colour in commercial and residential architecture, interior design, art and installations, events, retail and hospitality.We also see more colour in products — from aircraft to fashion to everyday items — and in many of the advertising and communications.
Perhaps it was the recessionary economy that enticed designers to use more colour, and attracted the rest of us to it. Whatever the underlying reasons, we see more colour and we love it.
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