Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
ought to consider five key qualities to ensure the elevation of the status of the
website: authentic, compelling, relevant, extensive and format.
A luxury website that desires to convince the public that it truly repre-
sents what it promises, must be authentic. The brand must present itself in its
true and pure form and must demonstrate that its originality is derived from
its unique heritage, story or whatever gives the brand its source of promise.
This authenticity has to be communicated in a clear and transparent manner,
which means no ambiguous expressions and no contextual statements. For
example, if a brand is presenting the chronology of its history, there should
be no gaps between the dates. If the brand passed through a period of inac-
tivity, this should be presented in a way that demonstrates that despite this
challenging period, the brand emerged stronger. The authenticity of a luxury
website's content also derives from the local or standard nature of the infor-
mation and general content provided on the website. For example, if the con-
tent is presented in a local language with information that is attuned to that
market, it is often judged to be more authentic. In the case of standardized
information and content, the brand has to present this in such a way that it
has to feel right for each person in every market. The authenticity of a luxury
website's content may also originate from the way the brand communicates
on its initiatives towards sustainable corporate practices and social responsi-
bility but again, these have to be genuine and not used as PR-stunts.
In addition, the message of the content on a luxury brand's website ought
to be compelling. This comes from the clarity, conciseness and consistency of
the language in its choice of words, style, tone, manner of expression. A luxury
brand should speak the language of refinement, express knowledge through a
unique culture and voice its beliefs through a compelling imagination. Whether
it is in providing information on products, services, events, history or revealing
the world of the brand, the message ought to evoke a dream and arouse a desire.
The content of a luxury website must be relevant. This means that it should
be not only up-to-date, but also be in line with current expectations. For exam-
ple, if I asked you if a luxury brand should have a video of Santa Claus on their
website in July, your answer would probably be “Are you joking?” But several
websites (not only luxury brands) have fallen into the habit of retaining con-
tent such as videos, interviews and text linked to events that have long passed.
I won't mention names but I've visited a luxury website in May that still had
a video that was created for a Valentine's Day collection. I've also seen winter
menus of Michelin starred restaurants on their websites during the summer of
the following year. Relevance also has to do with expert information, mean-
ing that if you're a jewelry brand whose core material is diamonds, then you
should have some information on your website about diamonds in general and
how they are mined, cleaned, cut and turned into the beautiful pieces that end
up in the stores. It also means that if you're a high gastronomic restaurant, you
should provide information not only about your menu but also about the inspi-
ration behind the menu, how you source your ingredients and your approach to
