Digital Storytelling For Luxury Brands: 5 Trends To Succeed Online
We all know the importance of storytelling. And this pays in retail even more. Consumers easily recall something that draw them in contrary to simple facts. But how you can use it in digital platform to grab their attention and to get a competitive advantage?
The Opportunity
• 80% of all luxury sales are influenced in some way by what consumers saw online.
• Affluent consumers are ready to spend more on luxury brands who tell a compelling story that customers can relate to.
• The consumer purchase journey has evolved from a linear funnel to a complex journey across online and offline touchpoints, giving brands multiple chances to connect with their customers.
• Mobile is now the first screen for consumers, affluent Millennials and Generation Z in particular, who have twice more brand interactions with brands on mobile than via any other channel.
The Problem
• Communicating compelling stories online has grown incredibly complex. Digital requires new storytelling formats and distribution channels.
• Crafting an engaging story that resonates with modern affluent consumers while remaining true to a luxury brand’s traditions is no easy task.
• Younger consumers scroll through their social media feeds more quickly when on mobile devices, making it difficult for luxury brands to capture and retain their attention.
• Affluent consumers have higher expectations for the experiences they have with luxury brands on their smartphones. Luxury brands often lack the technological savoir-faire to craft the right experience.
The Solution
• Luxury brands must craft a flawless content strategy to provide a seamless brand experience across all touchpoints. Luxury brands must tailor their content to their audience and adapt their narrative in order to provide a consistent brand experience.
• Luxury brands must shift from crafting messages to creating experiences that work across every device, particularly mobile.
Brand storytelling isn’t a new concept. We’ve told stories through the ages. And years after, we still remember how these stories made us feel — how they stirred our emotions, awakened our senses and captured our imagination.
As an old Indian proverb says, “Tell me a fact and I’ll learn. Tell me the truth and I’ll believe. But tell me a story and it will live in my heart forever.” Indeed, good stories draw people in.
Stories are narratives that connect, engage, move us…to laughter, to tears, and most importantly to action.
But while the fundamental values and principles of storytelling remain unchanged, how we tell stories is evolving. Digital is redefining what makes a story compelling. There are now more ways than ever before of delivering content.
In this report, we will explore how digital has transformed storytelling and why crafting engaging stories is an essential part of a luxury brand strategy. You’ll discover in this report the specific tactics that are now available for luxury brands to engage with their affluent consumers through storytelling online.
What is digital storytelling and why it matters
New technologies have created new opportunities to engage in meaningful conversations. Online storytelling involves creating and sharing stories using digital tools.
The art of storytelling is how luxury brands have remained relevant and have created the special position that they hold on our culture. The huge changes that technology has brought about in recent years have affected not only the way these brands communicate with consumers but also the way consumers are getting involved in the stories of the brands they love.
New channels, same love affair
Storytelling is paramount to luxury brands for which purchase behaviours are often driven by emotional triggers. Luxury is all about selling a desired dream, a special feeling, a unique experience.
Tiffany & Co., for example, is all about celebrating expressions of romance and the world’s greatest love stories.
Luxury brands often have the richest stories to tell but they must do it in a contemporary way if they want to appeal to the new affluent consumers. “Luxury consumers embrace brands that tell them truthful and meaningful stories—stories of heritage and tradition, stories of desire, stories of craftsmanship and beauty, stories about sustainability and other behind-the-scenes details. And digital has the potential to provide these stories and more, through immersing the luxury consumers in very innovative ways.[1]“
Digital natives are the new affluent consumers
Today’s consumers expect real-time and on-demand content that’s relevant and relatable.
The linear customer journey has given place to a more fragmented and highly personalised journey. “Today the average luxury shopper engages with brands via multiple touch points – up to 15 in the case of Chinese luxury consumers. Half or more of these touch points are digital” reports McKinsey.[2]
Source: Luxe.digital
Author: Florine Eppe Beauloye
Photo: Henceforth.; Euromonitor,Forrester, companies Annual Reports MCKinsey