PSFK at Luxury Briefing 2007

Yesterday I spoke on a panel at the 2007 Luxury Briefing Conference about why web 2.0 is critical for brands, and briefly offered some ideas on the ways in which the luxury arena could embrace digital for the future. For such an influential market sector it is incredible that so many major players are still so averse to understanding the potential for their brands, and much of the day seemed to be spent on explaining what luxury on the web is now, rather than ways in which it could – and should – be leading online.

Whilst the conference offered some interesting insights and re-ignited a conversation topic that these brands seem to have been trying to get to grips with for years, there was a lot left unsaid and so many questions still to be answered. Attention was focused on sales and networks, and speakers only briefly brushed the surface of the key points of focus for luxury brands, namely the importance of using connectivity to enhance the experience (rather than just the sales), and the personalized relationship than can be fostered with a new global customer base of varying ages. A couple of these were broached during my panel discussion, however there’s still so much I never got to delve into and I would love to continue the discussion with anyone who is interested. For example, there was not one mention of the rapidly growing market in luxury rentals online and the impact of this for the brands, nor of the changing forms of ‘luxury’ and how the web offers a chance for integration.

If anyone wants to have a chat about this, or any other topic, drop me a line and we’ll go for a coffee: amanda@psfk.com