Switch to Digital Luxury

Future of shopping and consumption is very much digital. This affects all the products and services from everyday commodities to luxury statement pieces.

How will the digital future of sales and marketing affect luxury brands?

Background

The face of the consumption is changing. Consumers have been using digital channels for a long time, but in the time of the pandemic, also B2B sales has accelerated its transformation towards digital tools, channels, and strategies.

How companies should act on social media and other digital platforms?

Consumption of luxury products is very different from consumption of commodity goods. For a consumer, buying luxury is often a holistic experience including careful planning before purchase decision, memorable customer service and getting a product that is of the highest quality. What about B2B sales?

What does it mean for a company, for example a hotel, to make a purchasing decision on luxury goods?

Before, options were offered for companies during Trade Fairs, conferences, and one-on-one meetings, and those events included all kinds of entertainment for the potential buyer.

Now, as face-to-face meetings are out of the question, what can companies offer for their potential customers in the virtual world?

Challenge

Luxury has a strong connection to tourism and hospitality business. As both of those businesses are now in a difficult situation, it also affects companies manufacturing luxury products.

When face-to-face meetings are very limited, how can companies transform their sales and marketing strategies to match the possibilities of online markets?

And many other related questions are now on the spot:

What are the medium and long term implications of Covid-19?

Which markets are going to come back first?

What operational changes will be permanent?

How are brands going to evolve coming out of the crisis?

What is the digital future of luxury brands like FEDE, the SWITCH & LIGHT tailor?

We have been selected to participate in DEMOLA project to solve this challenge.

"DEMOLA project is an international innovation challenge platform that connects talented students and leading brands. The goal of the project is to create a better future and it is organized in batches, where university students apply to solve a challenge proposed by global or local organizations.

Challenges are designed to solve real problems and create new service concepts and MVPs (minimum viable products). DEMOLA assembles an interdisciplinary team of students and company experts to work together in an innovation challenge set by the company. The teams are guided by a facilitator in an eight-week program that applies the main steps of Design Thinking." As very well described by Lize de Paula in her post about DEMOLA.

DEMOLA Catalonia programme has been presented on December 17th to promote a culture of open innovation between universities and companies in our region. The aim is to incorporate open innovation tools systematically to promote a mindset change and to enhance connection between academia and the productive and economic sectors, as well as to create employment and foster innovative activities to SMEs.

This initiative is developed through a pilot taking place during this 2020-2021 academic year at the Pompeu Fabra University (UPF)-Tecnocampus, with the purpose of scaling it up to all of Catalonia in future editions. The pilot should test this methodology of co-creation, identify good practices and lay the foundations for further, sustainable development of the program throughout the Catalan university system.

The Programme focuses on Generation Z, as future leaders, consumers, experts, and change-makers who could be a source of innovation, creativity and modernization for Catalonian companies, like FEDE, the SWITCH & LIGHT tailor.

The students team will discuss and develop solutions to our challenge raised with UPF-Tecnocampus companies and close organisations. The challenge corresponds to the European strategies on energy, digital transition, sustainability and artificial intelligence.

At FEDE, we are very excited to share with you our challenge and welcome to contribute with your view.