Brand Authenticity impact on Brand Equity - Prospect customers

Heritage

When asked about the importance of heritage within the luxury brands industry, the prospect customers seem to agree on the crucially of this dimension:

Interviewee 2: "Heritage is one of the value that I consider important because it makes me believe of the brand and what it stands for."

Interviewee 1: "Always have your history and heritage in mind [...] because your heritage influences your products, your brand on a major level. And that is also something that distinguishes brands."

Interviewee 5: “I consider heritage very important! It kind of shows you the continuity of the brand… Like that they used to have some values in the past but that these values are still present now and probably will be there also in the future.”

FG Participant F: “I think that in the context of luxury brands heritage is really important [...] I also think that heritage makes them different and they should stress on it.”

After presenting the importance of heritage and how it is perceived by prospect customers, in the following the link between this dimension and Brand Equity is displayed. Specifically, brand heritage can be directly linked with the Brand Imagery block by the Keller (2001)’s Brand Equity Pyramid, since heritage is one of its attributes (see intra 3.0 Research Gap; 11.1 Interview Guide, Appendix). Moreover, heritage, as all the other Brand Authenticity dimensions that will be presented later, has been also analysed in connection with the Consumer Brand Resonance block by Keller (2001), as this block represents the top of the Brand Equity Pyramid.

Brand Imagery. Interviewees have agreed on the fact that heritage influences the way they think about luxury brands abstractly, in the sense that this dimension gives them trust, an idea of timelessness, consistency and continuity, which are elements that they defined as important.

Interviewee 1: “Heritage is of course influencing the image of the brand, because heritage is what makes me trust the brand. Because of heritage, I know what the brand was in the past, which is influencing the brand now. Heritage represents consistency

and timelessness, and this is how I think about the brand in that sense, so it gives me a positive image of the brand.”

Interviewee 2: "Heritage is giving your brand [...] credibility”.

Interviewee 5: "Heritage can shows the customer that they have been here forever and that you can trust them".

Engagement. Engagement represents the willingness to invest time, energy, money and other resources into the brand in addition to the purchase and consumption moments. During the interviews, these elements have been interpreted by the interviewees as a feeling to be more curious about the brand, more interested in searching information about it on the internet and in following it on Social Media.

The results on this attribute have been positive: the prospect customers of both the semi-structured interviews and the focus group have proven to be informed about some luxury brands’ history, values, past designs and collaborations and about how these elements are transmitted to the present. Specifically, most of them uses Instagram to follow luxury brands on Social Media and as a source of information for the latest news (e.g. new creative directors, collaborations, Fashion Weeks, …).

Interviewee 1: “For example, I know that Louis Vuitton started as trunk-maker and now they continued that tradition and skills in the suitcases”.

FG Participant F: “I like to search online for previous collections, in order to see how their designs were and how they changed from the past to the present [...] However, it’s also important to listen what consumers want to try to find a balance between their willingness and the brand’s origins. For LV I’ve also seen that they are trying to be more streetwear also because of their new creative director, but I hope that they don’t forget where they came from”.

Interviewee 2: “I would describe Louis Vuitton as… timelessness, inspiring for travels and prestigious”.

FG Participant K: “For example, when they did the collaboration with Supreme a couple of years ago I was a bit disappointed because they tried to act in a different way and being modern but they forgot about their heritage and their classic values. I didn’t like

the combination of this campaign because it was combining two opposite styles, the classic LV and the street fashion of Supreme.”

Attachment. It represents the consumer’s attitude towards the brand that goes beyond the simple

“yes, I like it”, but it’s something more. Heritage has been appointed as an attribute that could influence brand attachment by some interviewees. Especially, in the second focus group, FG Participant J, stressed on the fact that heritage is a pivotal dimension in order to understand the values of a brand, and, thanks to it, customers can grow a sentimental bond with the brand.

Interviewee 3: "I believe that heritage could be a reason to be more attached."

FG Participant J: “I would say that I have a very strong and positive attitude towards Louis Vuitton just because I know their heritage, their values, where the brand came from and the person who have lead the brand for many many years, which is Marc Jacobs. I would say that the positive attitude that I have today towards the brand comes from their heritage.”

Quality

The interviewees agreed on the fact that quality is a crucial attribute in defining luxury brands:

Interviewee 2: “I think it’s an important factor, also related to the price of the product, if I spend a lot of money I want to have a good quality.

Interviewee 3: "I think that quality is fundamental".

Interviewee 5: “Quality is the most important thing".

Interviewee 7: “It (quality, ed.) is very crucial. I mean, the fact that you are selling something at a very high price must mean quality, otherwise it doesn’t make sense”

However, interviewee 1 raised the point that quality is not the most important element when talking about luxury brands. Particularly, quality is something that people expect from luxury brands, so it is not the main reason why a person should choose to purchase one brand over another.

Interviewee 1: “People don't buy luxury for their extraordinary quality. [...] Quality is not the major point here, it’s not the quality that makes me buy Louis Vuitton. It’s

something else… The heritage yes, but I would not buy more Louis Vuitton products because of its amazing quality".

Brand Imagery. According to Keller (2001) brand quality refers to how customers perceive the quality of a brand after having experienced a product (see intra 2.3 Brand Equity) and it is one of the attributes of Consumer Judgments. However, the current analysis is made based on prospect customers, individuals who could not have experienced the products yet. That is why the researchers are making a direct link between quality and Brand Imagery. Following Keller (2001)’s reasoning, Consumer Judgments are what comes after Brand Imagery: people have an idea of the brand, have experienced it and can judge it. Here, the prospect customers have based their responses about quality only on the expectations they have toward luxury brands products.

Overall, luxury brands have proved to be able to transmit to prospect customers an idea of high quality.

Interviewee 2: "I think that they have a high standard quality".

Interviewee 3: "I think that it (Louis Vuitton, ed.) has a good quality".

Interviewee 5: "My expectations of course are like that it should be a forever-lasting bag, that I would be able to wear for 30 years still looking good".

FG Participant K: “I just know from my mum and my sisters that they have wallets and bags and I think they are super good. Like my mum had it for 8 years and she uses it every day and she is not taking care of it, I mean she is not paying too much attention on where she leaves it, but it still looks perfect”.

Engagement. This attribute has been interpreted by interviewees as above. Generally, quality has not been appointed as one of the main attributes that make people inform themselves about luxury brands. Nevertheless, during the second focus group, FG Participant G mentioned a personal experience, which made the participant changing his mind about the purchase of an item based on the attribute of quality. This experience stimulated in him the willingness to be better informed about the brand and its quality, finding better solutions for him.

FG Participant G: “Actually, some time ago I wanted to have a Louis Vuitton belt with their typical brown pattern but I was told that for that typology of products Louis Vuitton does not use real leather. This was a bit disappointed for me! So, I decided to do some researchers about the material that they use for their products. Luckily, I discovered

that they make other real-leather products, because I was surprised that out of all the designed brands LV is the only that do not use real leather considering that the price is the same of all the other brands that use real leather. So, I was a bit disappointed at first but then I discovered it’s only for the patterned ones”.

Sincerity

The concept of “being sincere” is one of the personality’s attributes that a brand could have according to Keller (2001). In his authenticity analysis, Napoli et al. (2016) describes sincerity as the fact that a company acts for the love of its products instead for a merely economic purpose. This definition has been interpreted and discussed by the interviewees with several meanings: CSR, ethicality (workers’ treatment, …), sustainability (recycling, raw materials, …), supply chain. In general, it has proven to be a very sensible and hot topic, in line with the most recent “sustainability trends” and the new CSR approaches.

FG Participant F: “For me sincerity is very sensible topics attached to a brand and I think nowadays it’s something socially and culturally required, therefore a brand that does not touch upon these topics just fail”.

Interviewee 5: “You need to show that you care, that you provide your customers something that is not impacting the environment in a bad way or neither the people involved in the production".

Interviewee 7: “I would focus on the fact of the sustainability, because it’s becoming very important now, especially in the fashion [...] industry. [...] I would also try to show to the customers the supply chain process behind the products”.

Brand Imagery. As specified above, a way to describe a brand’s personality is using the attribute of sincerity. Overall, prospect customers affirmed that they are not well informed about the policies of the companies regarding this topic, therefore most of them does not feel comfortable in using this adjective in the context of luxury brands.

Interviewee 7: “Mmh not that much (use the word sincere for describing Louis Vuitton, ed). I do not have many arguments to justify my answer [...] I’ve never dig up into their CSR reports or stuff like that.”

FG Participant K: “I’m not really informed about their supply chain situation or their production process behind”.

Interviewee 1 has raised the interesting point that the attribute of sincerity should be differently addressed between haute couture runway collection and more “premium” products. He said that a luxury brand’s love for its products can be easily spot in the runway collection presented twice a year, where you can see the effort of the Maison. On the other hand, the products that could be considered as entry level, sold in shops all over the world, are the main part of luxury brands’

revenues and are only sold for economic purposes.

Interviewee 1: “Mmh… Not really use the word sincere for describing Louis Vuitton, ed). I mean, if you talk about the runway collection maybe, but all the stuff that stays more or less the same year over year like the small stuff like belts or wallets or whatever... They make a lot of money with that, because people like us can afford it and buy it so they make money with that, but they are not made of exceptional quality, but that is with every fashion house, also with Gucci or Prada. That’s how they make money, not the ten thousand euros sweater you see on the runway, because there’s a quite small target that can buy it.”

Regarding this argument, the focus groups helped the researchers to deeper dig into a topic emerged during the second interview. This topic refers to brand ambassadors and their own personality that could be reflected on the brand that they promote. Specifically, the fact that a brand ambassador is perceived as sincere by his or her audience could influence the idea that this audience has on the brand.

Interviewees agreed on the fact that brand ambassadors’ personalities have a major impact on Brand Imagery and that they are key to communicate brand sincerity and to represent the brand values, as it will be explained later in this section.

FG Participant K: “I actually think that it is important to have brand ambassadors because it gives a face to a brand and it is nice to have a person you can refer to”.

FG Participant G: “I think that it is important also because it gives more information about the brand. For example, usually brands choose a specific brand ambassador because they believe that the values of that person is aligned with the values that the brand has. Therefore, if you know and like the value of that person you are more inclined to like the brand”.

FG Participant J: “I didn’t know that Angelina Jolie and Emma Stone were ambassadors of Louis Vuitton and now that I know this, it gives me a more positive impression of the brand”.

Engagement. As explained above, sincerity is not a topic that generates engagement among prospect customers. The researchers have already demonstrated it with some testimonies, but an additional quote from the focus group will be provided. The topic will be further analysed in the Communication part at the end of the section.

FG Participant J: “I wouldn’t go on Louis Vuitton websites and search on the corporate part of their website and see how they produce their stuff or their collaborations in the website”.

Craftsmanship

Craftsmanship has been appointed to be a very crucial element for luxury brands. Most of the interviewees have seen in craftsmanship the point of differentiation between luxury brands and non-luxury brands.

Interviewee 1: “The first (characteristic about luxury, ed.) is craftsmanship".

Interviewee 2: “I definitely think that craftsmanship is an important attribute because it stands for the quality and then it also shows that they are making passion in something.

For me, this aspect will also enhance the sincerity”.

FG Participant G: “I think that if you buy a luxury brand you expect that because it is one of the thing that differentiate them from cheap brands. For example, even cheap brands can have a good design, but the quality of the fabric is different and it also indicate how much work is put behind, and the price justify this”.

Moreover, the presence of craftsmanship in luxury brands products has been included in the reason that could lead prospect customers to purchase a product.

Interviewee 2: "I would definitely take it as a reason to purchase one of their products".

Interviewee 3: "It would be a positive motivator to buy it".

Brand Performance. The researchers have tested the relation between craftsmanship and Brand Performance, specifically regarding reliability and durability, to analyse whether handmade

products are seen as more reliable and long lasting, adding value on the eyes on the consumer.

In the interviews, a link has emerged: prospect customers see handmade products as more reliable and durable.

Interviewee 2: "when someone is putting its love and passion in creating the product then for me it stands for reliable and long-lasting products".

Interviewee 7: "I have this idea that when there is something made by hand it lasts longer".

Also, the dilemma between machine production and craftsman has arouse, going in the direction of sincerity. During the focus group, however, craftsmanship has not been linked with Brand Performance, but more with the psychological elements behind it, that is way a link with Brand Imagery has been further discussed.

Brand Imagery. The attribute of craftsmanship has been described as something that add psychological value to the product, so it can be linked with the intangible elements that the consumers perceive about a brand. Regarding craftsmanship, there is the idea of someone that has taken his or her time to create something specifically for you as a customer; craftsmanship is seen as an art, something done with passion and that makes the products unique.

FG Participant F: “I think that it’s also like an art the way in which they produce bags, every single detail is like an art and it adds value in the price that you pay”.

FG Participant I: “I also feel good when I wear something that has been realised by a real person that he was sitting there and investing time in doing it instead of a person that push the bottom of a machine”.

Interviewee 2: "When someone is putting its love and passion in creating the product then for me it stands for reliable and long-lasting products".

Engagement. Craftsmanship is not one of the main attributes that influence brand engagement according to the semi-structured interviews. Nevertheless, it has been proven to be a great brand content topic which can also interest prospect customers. Two interviewees of the focus group mentioned that luxury brands could use and sometimes have already used this topic to create brand content and therefore engage customers.

FG Participant F: “I remember that one year ago I watched a documentary about Louis Vuitton craftsmanship where they were showing all these people making the bags by hand and putting very much effort in every single detail and where they basically show the whole production process, where of course some machines are present but everything is guided by the people”.

Attachment. As mentioned above, craftsmanship bears the idea of someone making something specifically for you. This means that the customers would need to wait a longer time before having the products in their hands and this is something that could create a deeper attachment with the product and, more abstractly, with the brand itself. Moreover, there is also the idea that when something is made by hand it last longer, creating a deeper sentimental bond.

Interviewee 1: “Craftsmanship is also a way to get a relationship with the brand and the product because it makes you appreciate it even more, because it’s not something factory made but something you’ve waited for”.

Interviewee 7: “I have this idea that when there is something made by hand it lasts longer and having a product for a longer time would of course make me fonder of the product itself".

Communication

In addition to the four dimensions of authenticity, the researchers have decided to separately analyse a topic that has been very much discussed during both the semi-structured interviews and the focus groups, which is the theme of communication.

Generally, for each dimension analysed above, the topic about communication has been raised:

in fact, the interviewees feel like that all the above-mentioned dimensions are important topics that could lead to create a deeper relationship with luxury brands (e.g. engagement and attachment), but what is missing is the proper communication of those dimensions through brand content.

More specifically, for heritage, most of the interviewees were well informed about history and values, as cited above. Nevertheless, communication could be improved, and information should be pushed in order for consumer to create an even better perceived image about luxury brands:

Interviewee 3: "If you know the story [...] than you want to be part as well, so maybe that is the influence that it can have on the image".

Sincerity has been the more discussed topic regarding communication. For what concerns engagement, as mentioned above, brand ambassadors are fundamental: interviewees feel that sustainability, ethicality and CSR topics should be pushed by the company itself towards customers, since, as already mentioned, these are topics that customers do not search by themselves. In this sense, brand ambassadors are the mean through which luxury brands can easily speak with their target customer: people tend to trust influencers that they follow, and they reflect the personality of these people on the brand itself. Having a brand ambassador that matches a luxury brand’s values is therefore pivotal.

FG Participant J: “I wouldn’t go on LV websites and search on the corporate part of their website and see how they produce their stuff or their collaborations in the website, I think it needs to be just pushed to me what they do, and nowadays it’s done via bloggers and influencers. Therefore, if they start doing it through this method (brand ambassadors, ed.) I can become aware otherwise if it is just on their corporate website I won’t never be aware. So, I feel more attached to a brand when I know this type of information”.

Interviewee 2: "I can’t say that Louis Vuitton is sincere because they are not really communicating that they are".

In the same way, brand attachment could grow deeper thanks to brand ambassadors. Thanks to them, the relationship that consumers can create with luxury brands could be enhanced, because they can reflect their own personality on the specific luxury brand’s personality through the brand ambassadors they affiliate themselves with.

Also, craftsmanship should be use as topic to create brand content, as documentaries on this topic have been proven to raise interest on interviewees. The knowledge about a luxury brand craftsmanship could add value to the Brand Imagery and could be also a topic to enhance Consumer Brand Resonance.

Interviewee 1:"Craftsmanship is something they should emphasize".

In document Authenticity and Equity in Luxury (Sider 82-93)