Indian luxury : a brand idea whose time has come. Shaziya Khan, JWT Planning, Mumbai

“Beauty is the purgation of superfluities”
This is an old quote, attributed to the great Michelangelo.
But its spirit felt alive & fresh, at a recent conclave of luxury honchos in India recently. If one could sum up the singular hook that stuck in the mind - India is in the luxury state of mind, again. Give or take a few centuries, its long running royal patronage of all things fine and beautiful is coming keenly alive among the mass affluent and emerging rich of today.
And that luxury state of mind means to get rid of superfluities.
Sign 1: First things first, majority ownership has been allowed by law to foreign brands being welcomed to the great Indian beauty bazaar of things fine and fey. And the companies are cueing up at India gate. Salvatore Ferragamo, Hermes, Savile Row brands, Chanel, Ballantyne to mention a few.A small but telling gesture was the presence of both the French trade minister (3 weeks before elections in France, no less!) and the Indian trade minister at a luxury seminar. But their presence went beyond the powerfully symbolic to embrace the powerfully productive as well – for instance, each went on to openly discuss & welcome suggestions on a mutually beneficial way of doing away with countervailing duties that aids the entry luxury brands entry and yet prevents dumping by cheaper brands.
Sign 2: Secondly, luxury demands a beautifully luxe environment and in this matter too, Indian retail and business interests are stepping forward. They plan to create specialist luxury malls that will provide the appropriate brand neighbourhood and gilt edged physical ambience. As many a luxury honcho put it – the right retail environment is vital – to communicates the brand, not just to make the sale. Rarified iconic hotel environs like those of the Taj Mahal or Oberoi have housed the luxury brand pioneers from oversees such as LVMH; But are too small to take in the dozen odd more brands keen to enter. The demands in terms of marble, granite,fit, feel,finish, DETAIL are going to be hard to meet but the will to do away with second best and B++ is there. No matter if it takes months and millions – the Gucci store blue print from Paris will be adhered to inch by inch when it opens its Mumbai branch. Luxury retailing it is a game of gilt edged inches and it has begun. Watch out for luxury malls and exclusive luxury retail outlets. Where only the thinnest stilettos will tread in soft and but undeniable clicks …
Sign 3 : Aah but the greatest superfluity of them all – is being done away with. Why adhere to a foreign definition of luxury? Academics, designers, luxury CEOs are asking a new (Indian) luxury question. Indians are being asked to introspect and ask themselves what is the definition of Indian luxury? As distinct from French luxury or Italian luxury or British luxury; Each of these has a certain distinct appeal.
What is distinct about Indian luxury is the question of the moment. In other words, What is India’s brand of luxury? Here is a smattering of answers suggested by global luxury experts:
• The long running royal patronage of luxury. From Chanel to Cartier and the 360 circle of brands in between practically all evidenced familiarity with Indian tastes and the Indian clientele’s eye for luxury over a few hundred years.
• Craftsmanship is another. More than one world famous designer said he visits India often and is inspired by its quality of craftsmanship – in saddles, in weaving, in embroidery etc. A particularly enthusiastic one in typical ‘from the heart ‘ designer speak even proferred a spontaneous definition of Indian luxury. Pigeon English. But its says something “the Indian hand is the greatest”.
•“Made in India” as a label. “The world of luxury has no problem with the label made in India” – French designer, to quote a common sentiment. It has been revered a long time. And a source of inspiration too.
• Colour of luxury, here is one from me. The Indian luxury brand can be rooted in colour – literally and metaphorically. Literally - India is all about colour. As some one said ‘Pink is India’s navy blue’ and you see that in palaces, jewellery, rich textiles. Metaphorically “colour” ie. colour in quotes is the spirit , energy, fusion of India. And at both levels colour is a draw and a discriminator for India vis a vis the world. For instance, Hermes sent a team of global designers to visit India. Their brief ‘get the smell and colours of India and be inspired’. They visited the calico museum in Ahmedabad, tourist sites, Benares and went back marvelously inspired with indigo and fuschia on their mind.
And there could be more. At this point, what matters is not which is the final cut of the brand. What matters is that the “great Indian brand of luxury” is being sought. The royal tradition of Indian luxury; or the beautiful hand of India, or simply Made in India or colour of luxury… Marketers, designers, bureaucrats and ministers are you thinking big enough to make the “great Indian brand of luxury” come into its own? Again or anew? Anything less is a superfluity.

This post first appeared as an article in Admap

Luxury marketing in India: ‘because I’m worth it’. Shaziya Khan, JWT Planning, Mumbai

Glyn Atwal, ESC Rennes School of Business, and Shaziya Khan, JWT Mumbai, examine how luxury brands can best maximise the Indian luxury rupee.
PARADISE FOR ANYBODY wanting to stay en vogue is the shopping arcade at the Taj Mahal Palace and Towers Hotel in Mumbai. Being at the cutting edge of fashion comes at a price – whether in London, Paris or Mumbai.
According to Ledbury Research, the global luxury goods market in 2006 was worth £75 billion, with annual sales growth in double figures. India has been identified as an important source of this growth and is likely to growth at an annual rate of 28% in the next three years.
Market luxurification
The accelerating pace of economic and social change is transforming the Indian luxury landscape. The so-called luxurification of society is a phenomenon that can be attributed to the following dynamics.
New affluence: The booming economy
According to the McKinsey Global Institute, consumers earning more than 1,000,000 rupees a year will total 24 million by 2025 – larger than China’s comparable segment. It is however the emergence of ‘mass affluence’ combined with aspirational mindsets and lifestyles that are helping to stimulate consumer demand. The rapid growth of the Indian middle class means that a larger number of consumers are able to afford luxury goods than ever before.
Media exposure: Luxury is now mainstream
The media-cultural phenomenon is however, not restricted to the pages of glossy magazines. Mainstream media are taking a greater interest in luxury brands, fashion trends and consumer lifestyles. Weekend supplements in national newspapers devote pages to fashion features and product reviews. Increased product knowledge and brand awareness are translating into greater consumer confidence – an important catalyst for luxury consumption in a fast-emerging market.
Luxury accessibility: The world at your doorstep
Luxury brands are now following the Indian consumer, expanding their sales operations not only in Delhi and Mumbai, but to smaller cities or metrocities such as Pune and Hyderabad. Luxury boutiques which were traditionally confined to the secure but often inaccessible surroundings of exclusive hotels have been thrown open to the masses thanks to the shopping mall boom.
Market regulation
Although high import duties on luxury goods continue to prevail, India’s policy of liberalisation and deregulation has improved its image as an attractive destination for foreign investment.
The changing face of the Indian luxury consumer
The luxury market has traditionally been segmented according to two very separate and distinct customer groups – namely the ‘affluents’ and the ‘non-affluents’. The transition towards a consumer society has changed the profile of the luxury consumer. Luxury is no longer reserved for the English-speaking elite. Priyanka,a BPO employee, loves shopping, worships brands and is typical of a new generation of luxury consumers – the ‘because I’m worth it’ generation.
Today’s luxury shopper could be a broker, an entrepreneur, an IT specialist or a student.
Maximising the Indian luxury rupee
Beyond exclusivity
Beyond status
Beyond westernisation
Burberry meets Bollywood

The following seven guidelines set out to guide high-end brands to capture India’s growing fascination with luxury consumption.
1. Respect. Connect with luxury consumers as a selective target. Luxury brands need to respect this point of difference in all interactions between the brand and the consumer.
2. Segment. Acknowledge luxury consumer subsets. Luxury brands need to identify, differentiate and prioritise the most profitable subsets for targeted strategies.
3. Insight. Identify what is important to the defined target. Motivations could be based on personal and non-personal factors.
4. Connect. Assess which brand interactions really matter. For example, respondents cited that friends and family are an important influence on luxury consumption.
5. Experience. Establish emotional connectivity. Deep and meaningful relationships need to be developed in order to win the ‘soul’ of the luxury consumer.
6. Indianness. Embrace and celebrate the ‘Indianness’ brand. India has a very powerful and unique identity, and this needs to be leveraged within a luxury brand context.
7. Consistency. Adopt a truly holistic approach, to ensure that all brand interactions, whether advertising or customer service, are consistent with the brand positioning. Jitnee Lambi Chadar ho Utna hee pair failana Chahiye is an Indian proverb that means ‘limit your spending to your earnings’.
Contemporary Indian society is challenging traditional consumption patterns. The Indian consumer is ready to embrace luxury consumption. Is the international luxury industry ready to unlock the market potential? ■
NB: The authors would like to stress that the term ‘affluent masses’ should be interpreted broadly within the context of the emerging

middle classes. This paper was also presented jointly by the authors at the Asia Brand Congress held in September 2007 in Mumbai,India.
1. M Silverstein and N Fiske: Trading Up: The New American Luxury. Penguin Group: New York, 2003. 2. S J Vickers and F Renand: The Marketing of Luxury Goods: An Exploratory Study – Three Conceptual Dimensions. The Marketing Review, 3 (4), 2003.

The 8 P’s of Luxury Branding: Rohit Arora, JWT Planning, Mumbai

In the luxury conference held few months ago, our Commerce and Industry Minister Kamal Nath pointed out that luxury brands need to adopt an India-specific policy. So while the international luxury brands are building their momentum of their presence in the country, the challenge lies with Indian luxury brands – how do they adapt effectively, swiftly and more importantly meaningfully.
We have the zooming capital market, booming business sectors, stronger GDP growth, the rising affluence and consumer optimism, a more hedonistic consumer society with the spending mindset further fueled by emerging retail landscape. So, there’s money to spend, willingness with optimism, space that’s evolving a benchmark of premiumness & luxury. The challenge is to be relevant, today and tomorrow.
This article focuses on the 8 P’s that are employed in the luxury branding mix. The degree of significance of these factors may vary, but more often that not, it is the interplay amid these 8 P’s that makes a luxury brand.
THE 8 P’S OF LUXURY BRANDING – PILLARS OF A LUXURY BRAND
Performance: Refers to the delivery of superior experience of a luxury brand at two levels – product level & experiential level. At a product level, it must satisfy the functional and utilitarian characteristic as well as deliver on its practical physical attributes – a recipe of quality or design excellence ingredients like creativity, exclusivity, craftsmanship, precision, materials, high quality & innovation. The luxury brand must perform at the experiential level as well; that is the emotional value of the luxury brand the consumers buy . Luxury isn’t just about the ‘thing’ anymore; it is about the special experience people feel in buying and using or enjoying that ‘thing’.
Paucity: Over revelation and distribution of luxury brand causes dilution of luxury character, hence many brands try to maintain the perception that the goods are scarce.
(Burberry diluted its brand image in the UK in the early 2000 by over-licensing its brand, thus reducing its image from a brand whose products were consumed only by the elite. Gucci, now largely sold in directly-owned stores, following a nearly crippling attempt to widely license their brand in the 1970s and 1980s).Broadly, there’s natural paucity (actual scarcity) & technology-driven paucity. Natural paucity is generally as a consequence of scarce ingredients (platinum, diamonds, etc.) and/or those goods that require exceptional human expertise (e.g. handcrafted quality) that constraint mass production. Technology-driven paucity is as a corollary of conception-time involved in continuous innovation and research-&-development process.
Beyond these brands employ promotional strategies like limited editions, special series, etc. Another deviation to this strategy is customization &/or individual craftsmanship of luxury good.
Persona: The persona of a luxury brand is largely a consequence of distinctive projection and coherence of the application.The visual brand identity captures the brand’s personality, mystique & emotional values in a nutshell. The distinct and consistent expression of the identity (by way of its logo, the color(s) association, the other design elements like icons, the uniquely identifiable ergonomics or branded environment, etc.) is central to establishing the visibility, familiarity & common identifiable brand imagery (E.g. the Louis Vuitton monogram & graphic symbols). While the brands visual identity is a fairly stable factor, advertising is the most dynamic marketing vehicle and hence is critical in developing aspirational context. At an overall level, luxury advertising messages can be observed:
§ As more emotional and sensual to distance it from mass-premium brands
§ Create a world and an aura that is truly exceptional to their brand signature
§ Generate major differentiation in its production and execution
§ Extremely selective and niche media
Public Relations (PR): PR in luxury branding plays an enormous role in image proliferation of the brand, thereby subtly influencing public opinion. It is also employed to convey other supporting messages and attributes of the brand which cannot be explicitly captured in advertising, but by no means are less important to create brand’s personality, mystique and emotional values. (e.g. Chanel organized a brand familarization trip to journalists with peek at the fashion house's main salon in Paris salon, inc. tour of Coco Chanel's private apartment)
It is also a sophisticated branding machine for maintaining ongoing relevance with the luxury consumer, especially so in fashion and seasonal trends driven categories. Generation of brand news, story angles, speaking points of inspirers (like what celeb’s speak or wear) and of influencers (like the designer speak) blended with innovative event concepts (like the fashion weeks, polo matches, themed previews) are utilized for tactical brand exposure made relevant to industry trends & culture.
Placement: The branded environment in luxury branding is all about heightening the customer’s experience and amplifying the aura of brand’s essence. Hence, the branded environment, the moment of truth, is where it must live the brand by staging immaculate detailing that engages all senses of the discerning luxury consumer. In India, for example most of the luxury brands have boutiques in 5-star hotels (Gucci’s boutiques are in Oberoi-Hilton, Mumbai & Imperial, Delhi. Likewise Louis Vuitton’s in Taj Mahal, Mumbai & Oberoi, Delhi)
The chain of touch-points consumer interacts & the impact of each touch-point is critical for creating an unique indulging experience.
Personal Touch: Luxury branding is largely about establishing and enhancing the ‘emotional connections’ with discerning luxury consumers. Beyond the typical sophisticated, over-the-top concierge services, exclusive invites, previews, the new age luxury consumers is seeking higher level of personalized, knowledgeable & professional assistance – trusted & reliable help for managing their lifestyles.Also, the escalating democratization of luxury & the constantly changing retail environment has made luxury consumers increasingly discriminating & demanding.
Pedigree: Many luxury brands have a rich pedigree and extraordinary history that become an inseparable part of the brand story. The mystique and the legend is generally built around the exceptional emotive founder character of past.So, when consumers buy Cartier or Dunhill, it is not merely because of the product performance or quality. They are buying a lineage of the legendary people and the evolution history behind these brands.
Public Figure: The role of public-figure or celebrities endorsement can be observed to be more skewed towards the aspiring & accessible luxury brands. That said, it would be improper to conclude that high-end luxury brands don’t bring into play the public figure factor; they are relatively less explicit & are largely PR-led (like accessorization, product placements with celebs/movies). Compared to other endorser types, public-figures achieve a relatively higher degree of attention and recall (e.g. Nicole Kidman for Chanel No. 5; Pierce Brosnan for Omega & SRK for Tag Heuer), thereby positively affecting consumer’s attitudes, brand value & purchase intention.
ACTION POINTS
The 8 P’s provide a solid framework for luxury branding at a macro level.
§ Identify how well your brand performs within each of the 8 Ps
§ Analyze your competitors in relation to the 8 Ps as well
§ Hypothesize; validate the variations & degree of significance of 8 Ps to address the identified problems or opportunities.

This post first appeared as an article in The Hindustan Times
REFERENCES
Nikola King & Paul McGowan: The DNA of Luxury article & compressed document
Giacalone, Joseph A: Market for luxury goods: the case of the comité colbert1

Communicating luxury to the affluent masses: Coffee and Donuts/Sep 06/Shaziya Khan, JWT Planning, Mumbai

Communicating Luxury to the Affluent Masses

We all know luxury markets are taking off. In mass and developing markets like India, luxury brands are growing volumes and there is promise of more. As a result, in marketing and advertising meetings, there is an emerging debate. How to communicate luxury brand messages to the mass consumer? The question is a puzzling one.

Opposing schools of thought.
Do we ‘downgrade’ communication to address the mass consumer but risk losing some of the mystique and aura of luxury? OR do we retain the mystique of luxury communication but risk not having a true connect with its new and potential consumers? Luxury volumes have been spurred by a significant growth in the rich in recent years.

WHO ARE THE NEW RICH?
They come in varied shapes, sizes and style quotients. Garment exporters, multi national bankers, college kids earning plum salaries at call centres or BPOs, well heeled corporate wives, and successful entrepreneurs. What they have in common is that they have made it big. They want the world to know just how soon and how far they’ve climbed the social mobility ladder.

THE DISAPPEARANCE OF FINANCIAL DISTANCE

What is the definition of luxury? At heart, luxury is about exclusivity. It is also defined as lavishness, magnificence, comfort, sumptuousness, opulence, extravagance. Bear in mind the affluent masses. In the past, prestige came from real financial distance. Luxury was the preserve of the aristocratic elite, who were very small in number. The masses simply could not afford luxury. They were too financially distant from the paintings, jewellery, clothes, homes etc. that the aristocratic elite could afford. Today, given the rise in purchasing power, luxury consumption is no longer reserved for the few. This is a time in history when the affluent masses are no longer at a financial distance from luxury.

THE KEY TO THE PARADOX OF COMMUNICATING
LUXURY TO THE MASSES

Prestige and exclusivity has to be driven by distance. Only, this distance is no longer financial but intellectual and cultural. And communication is a powerful tool for creating this distance. So, luxury brand messages much connote a sense of intellectual and cultural distance. Intellectual and cultural distance is vital for creating prestige or exclusivity. Legend has it that when George Bernard Shaw won the Nobel Prize, he was invited to become a member of the ‘Club of 100’. This was a prestigious club of 100 people, all leaders in their fields, and only when one died could a new member join. Yet, Shaw refused to join this club. When asked why, he replied: “I don’t want to become a member of a club that wants me, I want to become a member of a club that doesn‘t want me”. An Urdu couplet makes the same point philosophically: “What we call the world is a magical toy; if you have it, it is like mud; if you lose it, it becomes like gold.” (Duniya jise kehte hain, jadu ka khilona hai; mil jaye to mitti hai, kho jaye to sona hai).

THREE WAYS HOW COMMUNICATION CAN CONNOTE DISTANCE

It has been said that luxury consumption is associated with a certain ‘ceremonial tension’ which guarantees that you are indeed dealing with luxury. If you think about it, it’s true. When you go to buy jewellery in a shop – if you are buying small items you get them on the ground floor, but if you are buying some large pieces, they take you discreetly upstairs to the third floor! In reality, so many aspects of luxury consumption are kept deliberately ‘hard to get’. This ‘distance’ must extend to its communication as well.

Foreign names
Indian buyers often mispronounce the names of foreign brands. A person who can afford to buy a Mont Blanc may ask for it as ‘Mount Blank’. Chanel perfume may be called ‘Channel’ (as in the English Channel) by its wearer. Yet, this unfamiliarity with Swiss, French, German, American or Japanese brand names underscore the cultural distance.

Sign-off lines that you have to ‘get’
Not everyone knows what an advertisement is referring to in its ‘when you know’ sign off line. It is at an intellectual distance from us when we don’t understand it or struggle to do so. This ‘ceremonial tension‘ assures you that you are indeed dealing with luxury, and makes the brand seem luxurious and desirable.

Artistic and graphic visualization
Fashion labels, whose communication alludes to ‘geisha designs’ (targeted at Indian women who probably don’t even know what the word means) or those that show abstract visualizations of a petal and a line that reads ‘the universe in a flower’, are among the most famous, well respected and best selling luxury brands in this market. The imagery of these brands is at a great cultural and intellectual distance from their target audience. And this has created an immense aura of prestige around them.

THE HIGH VIEW

“IF YOU CAN TALK WITH CROWDS
AND KEEP YOUR VIRTUE OR WALK
WITH KINGS NOR LOSE THE COMMON TOUCH”
RUDYARD KIPLING

As the Indian luxury market grows in volume, luxury brands will ‘talk with crowds’. As the financial distance disappears it will become imperative for luxury brands to ‘keep their virtue’ - that is, maintain a cultural and intellectual distance from their target consumers. Initially, luxury brands get consumed by the elite few, or ‘the nerd’. As volumes grow over time, luxury brands are consumed by the affluent masses of ‘the herd’.‘The nerd’ comprises the elite who really understand luxury when they buy it. But ‘the herd‘ buys luxury because ‘the nerd‘ is buying it. Thus, to sell to ‘the herd’ we must talk to ‘the nerd’. The intellectual and cultural elite will be the only one understanding luxury messaging. For the affluent masses, luxury messaging must remain at a cultural and intellectual distance. It must remain beyond their reach.