Embracing the Role of Romance in Luxury Marketing
Photo Credit: A marketing expert says luxury hotels need to capture more moments like this from the Hyatt Hong Kong in their marketing. Hyatt
Skift Take
Romantic love and a night at the opera might seem the stuff of chick flicks and cheap paperbacks sporting Fabio’s bare chest. But one expert says luxury marketers should pay heed to both subjects if they want to build deep and lasting relationships with their clients.
A luxury hotel’s relationship with a guest is a fragile and many splendored thing.
“Luxury is like love,” suggested luxury branding expert Dr. Daniel André Langer. “When we go for a luxury brand, it’s like falling in love. We are not deciding on rational points like functional value, but on a strong emotional connection.” Because of that, the founder of Équité, a luxury, lifestyle and consumer brand consultancy, said high-end brands have to understand the emotional nature of their appeal, first by defining it, and then by swooping in to woo the consumer.
Any relationship at the luxury level has to start with developing a distinct brand journey. In the hospitality world, said Langer, “most hotels provide us with a category journey, but nothing is brand-distinctive. All are giving me the same journey and brand names are interchangeable. When that happens, then customers have no reason to pay a premium.” In essence, the brand's rooms become just another commodity.
