Millennial Marketing

Emma Watson for Burberry

I admit it, Millennials had me fooled.

I used to think they were uninterested in luxury brands. They are famously savvy shoppers who know how to squeeze a nickel.  Their tolerance and eclecticism suggested overt status appeals would roll off their hoodie-clad backs.

Boy was I wrong.

Yesterday, my guest blogger, 21-year old Kristin Dzaidul, counted Coach among her top three favorite brands.  My fashion-impervious 16-year son knows that fashion conscious girls at his Chicago-area high school all sport Coach bags.  I should note that he never fails to notice the expensive luxury cars parked in the garage of our apartment building.  Even his fondness for all things Apple suggests a taste for premium quality.

My first hint that luxury might mean something to Millennials in the world of fashion was when Burberry selected Emma Watson, who plays Hermione in the Harry Potter movies, for their ads. This seemed an odd choice to me. My second clue was when I blogged about teen fashion bloggers. Web site hits for that day hit heights I have not seen since. Today’s Special Report in the New York Time’s Fashion & Style section, “Marketing to the Millennials”(March 2) clinched it.

“Finding a way to reach a generation that is eager to be entertained and informed, yet resistant to the familiar, in-your-face 20th-century approach, is the focus of every smart luxury and fashion brand. As the fourth and final round of the international collections opens in Paris on Wednesday, the buzz is more around live-streaming shows and 3-D technology than about seasonal trends.”

According to the article, I may not have had it completely wrong, however, as they are concerned about how to market ‘luxury‘ without relying on the appeal of ‘exclusivity‘.  the answer appears to social media and technology.  Making fashion more easily accessible makes it more relevant and appealing.

“These unique factors (about Millennials) make them very savvy consumers, who pay great attention to the value of what they buy and require a different way to interact with brands,” says Mr. Polet. “At Gucci Group, we recognize their transformative power in the way they engage with luxury brands. We are embracing different ways of creating dialogue through social media. Some of our brands have launched Facebook and Twitter pages and iPhone applications.”

Certainly communicating with Millennials in their own digital language is an important first start.  According to the NYT article, prestigious brands such as Armani, Gucci, LVMH and Burberry are now taking a fast trip up the digital learning curve.

Kudo’s to the fashion industry for leading the way. They appear to be among the first of the mainstream marketers to recognize the opportunity among Millennials.

Not only are they clued in, they appear to be actively addressing the opportunity. Here is Hannah Ahrendt of Burberry:

“Attracting the Millennial customer to luxury started two years ago — I said that we can either get crushed or ride the greatest wave of our life,” says Ms. Ahrendts. “We brought people on the team who were Millennials. I knew it was not my mother tongue — and I don’t have time to learn it.”