10 Insights from Fashion, Luxury, and Beauty Experts

After kicking off 2022 and starting to take steps towards achieving those new year resolutions, the first industry event on brand performance was underway. At our virtual Performance by Launchmetrics summit we hosted fashion, luxury, and beauty experts from companies like Lush, Farfetch, Coty, Google, and many more to bring industry insights and scope for what the future looks like for brands and their consumers.

In this article, we reveal ten key insights and takeaways from #performance2022 from some of our summit speakers, who gave in-depth advice and major learnings throughout the three-day online event.

It’s all about the consumer!

In recent years brands have taken a strategic approach to keep up with fast-changing consumer needs, and finding relevance in connecting with the right audience through the right channels. Francesco Passone, Klarna’s Head of Southern Europe, notes a “growing importance of the new generation of consumers”, and that we must understand two key insights about their behavior.

That this new generation is  driving market growth and that younger consumers are more sensible and influenced by social media.

Klarna better understands this steadily growing group of shoppers by acknowledging their need for convenience and financial control. Doing so with an all-in-one shopping experience through their app and offering flexible payment options like ‘buy now, pay later’. 

Looking forward, Passone encourages brands wanting to grow to continue with small changes at faster iterations while keeping consumer interests at their core.

Consistency in communication is key

Brands have turned much of their focus to online communication channels. And with such a variety of brand touchpoints, segments, and ways to engage with audiences, it has become vital for brands to communicate clearly and consistently.

Coty’s Global Communication Director, Letizia Calcamo, explained that “Brands need to share experiences and engagement that is understandable in the same way to many different people.” 

Considering that consumers are using multiple social media platforms, brands are being pushed to create a variety of content. It is necessary to build your brand voice and mission with your customer in mind. By keeping a clear brand message consistent across platforms, you can skillfully avoid fragmentation and build towards creating a strong brand identity.

From Key Opinion Leaders to Key Opinion Customers

Brands are continuously finding ways to grow valuable connections with Eastern customers. This evolving relationship is now defining how brands work with Key Opinion Leaders (KOL) and shifting of collaborations towards Key Opinion Consumers (KOC) for more authentic interactions.

Luca Rovere, Social Commerce, Advocacy and CRM Sr. Director at Coty, notes that “the authenticity of people and micro-influencers is a great power [brands] need to leverage, because people aligned with our values are the most valuable advocates we can have.”

This is observed with major brands like Chanel incorporating Micro Creators on TikTok in their marketing strategies. Viewers are turning to these Creators to find new and interesting brands. In fact, viral video trends like ‘#unboxing’ of luxury goods has gathered more than 12.6 billion views on the platform, indicating a tremendous opportunity for brands to build awareness. 

If you want to learn more about leveraging TikTok’ for your strategy, watch our “TikTok’s Takeover: The Power of Creators” webinar with TikTok’s Head of Luxury Brand Partnerships, Kristina Karassoulis.

Investing in technology

As a result of the global pandemic, fashion brands have transitioned towards utilizing more digital channels to engage with consumers looking for unique experiences. However, not all brands are leveraging these platforms to the full extent.

YouTube’s Head of Fashion and Beauty, Derek Blasberg, uncovers the five important pillars of YouTube content that will entice an audience:

1. Write a catchy and interesting video title to hook your viewer’s attention.
2. Choose a stand out visual feature for your thumbnail. If it is a runway show, pick a notable look from the collection.
3. End cards are important in getting your viewers to find your other videos and engage with your content.
4. Embedding your YouTube video links onto your other channels can increase views and generate higher performance and search visibility for your brand.
5. Descriptions are the best place for contextualizing the content for your viewers.

A strong video marketing campaign can have a significant impact on your brand’s performance. You can check out our recent collaborative report with YouTube, “‘YouTube’s Fashion Effect’ to learn more!

The next phase of the digital landscape

Everybody is talking about the Metaverse, but what does this mean for brands? Companies are taking steps to learn about and implement blockchain technologies to stay relevant. However, firstly brands need to be aware of their current consumers and the extent of their knowledge of this new landscape.

In August 2021, NARS Cosmetics released a series of NFTs on the Truesy marketplace. 

Dina Fierro, NARS VP of Global Digital Strategy Engagement, notes that this choice of marketplace was strategic. They understood their customers had limited knowledge of the crypto-space and ensured that the platform was credit card accessible. Not only did it help drive sales, but it also created a memorable experience for customers likely acquiring their first NFT.

Similarly, Arianee Co-founder, Pierre Nicolas Hurstel, suggests that companies need to consider the barriers for entering crypto-space. Network fees and exchange rates can be confusing. Therefore, by combining physical products and NFTs, brands can incorporate fees into their pricing strategy yet offer customers an experience to acquire tokens and access exclusive brand content.

Moving towards a Phygital future

The definition of physical and digital are pushing brands towards offering an omnichannel experience. Farfetch CEO, José Neves, remarks this as “not a merging of online and offline, but removing the boundaries” - in turn, offering a seamless customer journey. This can be a customer’s purchase history being accessible from different outlets or even having the right language or currency on your eCommerce website.

With this in mind, the phygital approach needs to also create engagement and a meaningful experience for consumers. Launchmetrics Chief Customer Officer, Tatiana Ferreira, highlights the growing importance of unified platforms to manage, plan and deliver phygital experiences, like the use of RFID and QR codes for check-ins. This can easily integrate seating plans, segment guest lists, tailor invites, and even notify teams when VIPs arrive.

Meet consumer expectations

In recent years, many customers have had higher expectations for brands to be appealing and engaging in order to cut through the noise of a crowded marketplace.

Rupi Goel, Head of Luxury at Google UK, explains that engaging content can create lasting momentum for brands, with audiences interacting days, weeks, and even months after posting. She notes that purpose-driven brands see 30% more growth, especially when consumers relate to them. 

Taking Balenciaga’s Simpsons collaboration for example, the mini-episode alone generated Media Impact Value™ (MIV®)  of more than $630K and brought the house an additional $5M in MIV®. Their goal was not to sell products, but to use storytelling to create a fun and relatable experience for their audience to connect with the brand.

Don’t be afraid to take risks

Adapting to keep up with the ever-changing needs of consumers can be challenging. Josie Cartridge, The Outnet’s Global Marketing Director, offers advice for brands planning to adopt a successful omnichannel approach:

1. Keep your customer journey consistent - think carefully about your communication and what you want your followers to see at every step. 
   
2. It’s hard to get things right the first time, so don’t be afraid to try different strategies, fail, and then re-strategize to try again.
   
3. Before implementing your strategy, set up controlled tests to measure what works and what doesn’t, and keep fine-tuning.

Winning China’s consumers

When entering new markets, brands need to pay close attention to the local consumers. Lisa Yu, VP of China market entry company, Genuine German, highlights three important strategies brands should consider when entering the Chinese market.

1. Localized content that still aligns with your consumer values is necessary for brands to attract Chinese consumers, however, you must be cautious not to lose brand identity.
2. Take a look at your followers to get an insight into who they are. Social listening and digital tools made for KOL campaigns can help when selecting the right Influencers.
3. Leverage what multi-channel networks have to offer. It may be a challenge to find a perfect match with your business objectives, but using their tools can help boost your brand’s Chinese platforms.

Choosing the right KOLs and Influencers

In China, KOLs and Influencers offer a different advertising opportunity for brands, even dawning a new industry with Influencer companies professionalizing the whole concept. 

Co-founder of Half a World, Yishu Wang, advises brands on three key points to consider when working with Influencers.

1. Establishing long-term relationships with influencers can be cost effective. If they are early in their career, your support can turn them into loyal brand advocates.
2. It is vital to understand their content to ensure they align with your brand objectives -  analyze their online profiles, social media style, posts, and their community interactions. It is also important to have a sense of their offline character.
3. Have clear guidelines of your brand. Set clear expectations and must-haves, yet allow them to have creative freedom. This will result in more authentic engagements.
   
   

To hear more top insights from key industry leaders, watch the on-demand sessions from our #performance2022 virtual summit by clicking the banner below!

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