Luxury Brand Marketing Done Upside Down
CEO of Our Club Collection talks about challenges luxury brand marketers face in the digital arena and how their private social platform takes a much different approach
Our Club Collection is not just a targeted solution but an entirely new way of thinking about digital marketing. This is probably because the platform was created for luxury brands - not the consumer - as a marketing tool to reach affluents.
“Our Club offers luxury brand partners a unique opportunity to build holistic relationships directly with pre-qualified, highly engaged affluent micro-communities online,” said Margaret Young, CEO of Our Club Collection.
It all started when Young was charged with assisting a major airline find new ways to reach their most coveted customers – first class and business class flyers.
“What we found was that affluents are time starved consumers so the most successful messages are ones that are well timed, highly niched and personalized to each user,” said Young.
Young continued to explain that online marketing has become much more sophisticated and is more about quality not quantity. Marketers need to know enough about the consumers’ passions to provide them with authentic shopping experiences. A recent marketing trends report echoes this position stating that, "marketers who excel at richer, more complex contextual targeting will be those who have created a culture of innovation. "
“Somehow we have lost the true beauty of online marketing as a way to capture people’s attention and participation in the purchasing process,” Young reflected. “One of our fortes is strategic placement of ad offers that result in more meaningful exposure and engagement for our brand partners.”
According to industry analysts, the digital advertising industry has been slow to adapt to the new landscape, as old-school metrics like impressions and clicks continue to hold on to their seat at the table. For brands to make the most of their audiences, they need to develop metrics for actual “time spent” engagement, wherever engagement happens.
“Finally it dawned on us. Instead of forcing our way into their world. Why not create a meaningful virtual experience that they will want to visit and share in. That’s when Our Club Collection was born,” said Young.
Young’s team began to identify clusters of affluents who were members of the same elite organizations. Ironically, it turned out that the airline had already formed relationships with these groups as an event sponsor.
“For years, these elite organizations were asking for support and it turned out that they represented their most coveted segment,” said Young.
It was agreed that a single category or single brand marketing website would not be interesting enough to drive engagement. What Our Club Collection needed was a cross category, cross segment presence online that would be all about the organizations’ membership not the brand.
“What we found then, fully birthed our vision,” said Young.
Most elite organizations were looking for a private and safe way to communicate and interact exclusively with their members online. Young began offering the Our Club Collection platform to affluent micro-communities that were already actively engaged offline. In 2009, they launched their first private social network for a reputable national skiers group.
“The significance of reaching people in a context where they are already interested and talking about your product is immeasurable. You can see the evolution taking place from the beginning when a brand first enters their community and starts to participate in conversations until eventually the consumer comes to them to make a purchase,” said Young.
This kind of “perfect timing” segment marketing is a high value proposition for most luxury brands that work hard to embody the persona of the affluent market. But Our Club Collection also caters to less familiar boutique brands that are experiencing equally high returns.
“We see a movement in redefining what luxury is,” explained Young. “While established brands still play an important role in the everyday life of affluents, they are also looking to explore new, emerging products and diversified services, so we are too.”
Our Club Collection has built an intimate virtual platform where they partner closely with brands to craft product offers that fit members’ personal interests, are paired with the most relevant content, engage and activate purchases. This is a stark contrast to the Wild West world of online advertising where brands batter anonymous consumers with ads and watered down marketing messages.
“We understand that most brands are challenged with preserving their brand identity through other digital channels. That’s why Our Club Collection was built so that our brand partners would retain full control over the buying experience,” explained Young. “What some call an ‘upside down’ approach to digital marketing truly leverages the power of social commerce.”
“Our Club offers luxury brand partners a unique opportunity to build holistic relationships directly with pre-qualified, highly engaged affluent micro-communities online,” said Margaret Young, CEO of Our Club Collection.
It all started when Young was charged with assisting a major airline find new ways to reach their most coveted customers – first class and business class flyers.
“What we found was that affluents are time starved consumers so the most successful messages are ones that are well timed, highly niched and personalized to each user,” said Young.
Young continued to explain that online marketing has become much more sophisticated and is more about quality not quantity. Marketers need to know enough about the consumers’ passions to provide them with authentic shopping experiences. A recent marketing trends report echoes this position stating that, "marketers who excel at richer, more complex contextual targeting will be those who have created a culture of innovation. "
“Somehow we have lost the true beauty of online marketing as a way to capture people’s attention and participation in the purchasing process,” Young reflected. “One of our fortes is strategic placement of ad offers that result in more meaningful exposure and engagement for our brand partners.”
According to industry analysts, the digital advertising industry has been slow to adapt to the new landscape, as old-school metrics like impressions and clicks continue to hold on to their seat at the table. For brands to make the most of their audiences, they need to develop metrics for actual “time spent” engagement, wherever engagement happens.
“Finally it dawned on us. Instead of forcing our way into their world. Why not create a meaningful virtual experience that they will want to visit and share in. That’s when Our Club Collection was born,” said Young.
Young’s team began to identify clusters of affluents who were members of the same elite organizations. Ironically, it turned out that the airline had already formed relationships with these groups as an event sponsor.
“For years, these elite organizations were asking for support and it turned out that they represented their most coveted segment,” said Young.
It was agreed that a single category or single brand marketing website would not be interesting enough to drive engagement. What Our Club Collection needed was a cross category, cross segment presence online that would be all about the organizations’ membership not the brand.
“What we found then, fully birthed our vision,” said Young.
Most elite organizations were looking for a private and safe way to communicate and interact exclusively with their members online. Young began offering the Our Club Collection platform to affluent micro-communities that were already actively engaged offline. In 2009, they launched their first private social network for a reputable national skiers group.
“The significance of reaching people in a context where they are already interested and talking about your product is immeasurable. You can see the evolution taking place from the beginning when a brand first enters their community and starts to participate in conversations until eventually the consumer comes to them to make a purchase,” said Young.
This kind of “perfect timing” segment marketing is a high value proposition for most luxury brands that work hard to embody the persona of the affluent market. But Our Club Collection also caters to less familiar boutique brands that are experiencing equally high returns.
“We see a movement in redefining what luxury is,” explained Young. “While established brands still play an important role in the everyday life of affluents, they are also looking to explore new, emerging products and diversified services, so we are too.”
Our Club Collection has built an intimate virtual platform where they partner closely with brands to craft product offers that fit members’ personal interests, are paired with the most relevant content, engage and activate purchases. This is a stark contrast to the Wild West world of online advertising where brands batter anonymous consumers with ads and watered down marketing messages.
“We understand that most brands are challenged with preserving their brand identity through other digital channels. That’s why Our Club Collection was built so that our brand partners would retain full control over the buying experience,” explained Young. “What some call an ‘upside down’ approach to digital marketing truly leverages the power of social commerce.”