Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
proving to lead the next wave of revolution in digital media. As if this is not
enough, the advancement made in mobile technology and the advent of such
applications as mobile recognition, location-based services, mobile ticketing,
m-coupons and m-commerce is creating unprecedented expectations among
mobile user-residents. And in case you're wondering, a large chunk of these
users fall within the luxury consumer bracket even if we would like to think
that they are a bunch of geeks who look like the types that wallow down long
office corridors in over-sized black rimmed glasses.
With the rapid advancement of everything digital and mobile coupled with
the challenging social order acting as catalysts, there is a current drastic trans-
formation of the mind-set of consumers worldwide whether they are luxury
clients or not. This movement which began several years ago will lead to the
emergence of a new world, to quote Peter Drucker. Luxury clients will demand
more meaning from luxury brands that transcend products, services and brand
names. The way luxury presents itself will be challenged and its perceptions
will be altered. Ideas, concepts, attitudes, behaviors, expectations and interpre-
tations will evolve. All of these will be accelerated by the Internet and digital
media. This era will be eventually marked by a
before
and
after
for both the
Internet and the economic recession. The good news however is that in the cur-
rent scenario of evolution, the Internet has become an indispensable medium for
growth prospects through its multiple possibilities that enable understanding cli-
ent psychology; reaching a wider international clientele in a cost-effective man-
ner; and projecting a luxury brand's core essence and universe to a wider public.
A look at the other side of the coin and we may find it surprising that
the immense opportunity of the Internet as both a business and creative tool
has not been fully exploited by luxury brands. The luxury industry has been
(rightly) decried for several years for being late in adopting the Internet
and its accompanying interactive and digital technologies in marketing and
overall business strategies. Main players in sectors like telecommunica-
tions and automobiles have even as much as sneered at the luxury sector's
apparent lack of commitment to integrating advanced Internet practices in
daily business functions. The consumer society has also been dismayed at
first and later exasperated at how far behind the luxury industry seems to
be in Internet offerings when compared with other industries. A quick tour
of the luxury cyber-land where you may come across the hyperactivity of
the Dior website or the ineffectual tools that Hermès has used to interpret
online interactivity or the mass auto-style layout of the Mauboussin website
and you won't blame these parties.
As an industry that is known for avant-gardism, innovation and creativity,
it may not be immediately apparent why luxury brands and digital technol-
ogy have been locked in a love-hate relationship since it became evident that
the Internet is here to stay. But as with every case of reverse human behavior,
this can be explained (although not necessarily excused), when we examine
the meaning and core of luxury.
