Hi everyone. We are at the Landor Milan, the Italian branch of the Brand Consulting Firm that was established in 1941. And now is part of the WPP Group. Landor pioneered many methods that now are standard in the, the brand management practice. Landor has been working with many brands from fast moving consumer goods. From from food to fashion, but also banking and airlines. We are here with Antonio Marazza that is the General Manager of Landor Italy, the Italian office. So, thank you very much for this opportunity. We are going to talk about branding and in particular lifestyle brands. But let's start from my first question, Antonio. Is management of a fashion and a luxury goods, in a way, different from fast moving goods’, such as washing powder or other categories that actually are widely distributed and widely accessible? Well, of course it is. Fast moving consumer goods most of the time deliver a functional benefit while luxury and fashion brands deliver an emotional benefit. That means that the fashion and luxury brands are able to deliver an exclusive sense of meaning, affiliation, or aspiration the people are very happy to pay for. And for that reason, normally the margins in the luxury and fashion industry are much higher than in fast moving consumer goods. Yeah, that's very true. And we are all looking for margins Right?, and brands that are able to actually give us these margins. Then my second question is what is needed to become a lifestyle?, Because many brands in fashion and luxury actually do aspire or they call themselves lifestyles. But it’s not just about having a broad product scope. So in your experience, again what is needed in order to become lifestyle brand? Yes many companies claim themselves as being lifestyle brands but just because they are present in a multitude of industries like clothing, or accessories, or glasses, or shoes, and so on, is not enough. To be called a lifestyle brand a brand must be able to affect the attitude or the behavior and the interest and the opinions of a large group of people. And only very, very few brands are able to do so and only for a limited period of time. - Such as? - Well, for example, many of them, of course, not to mention Apple, but Diesel, or Camper, or Patagonia. If you think about these brands normally you think also about attitudes and behavior. Linked to the people who adopt these brands. And as a matter of fact, if you look at the claim or the tag line of these brands, most of the time they are imperatives or calls to action. Be Stupid, Just Do It, Think Different. Because these brands are able to affect and influence the behavior of large amount of people. So you're saying that actually is not the just an emotional benefit. It's not just about how you feel, but really something that, that goes higher and drives your behavior actually it’s like a sort of philosophy. Absolutely. A sense of belonging is a probably one of the most important benefits that people look for today. In the 80s and the 90s, people just wanted to show off and express who they are and their personality through the way they dress. And they way they were spending their leisure time and so on. But today, people want to feel part of a group. Want to be part of an idea, of a concept, of a philosophy and lifestyle brands are exceptionally good at doing so. Yeah, but of course this is the value and a benefit, But I see also a risk in this because of course attitudes, interests, and opinions change over time. They change across age groups. And cross geography. So what is the risk, actually in maintaining this lifestyle status? well the risk is the not to be a lifestyle brand anymore. It can be quite a threat and quite a problem, if you are not prepared to do so. But on the other hand, you can become another kind of brand if you are able to manage the transition. For example, you can become a cult for very few people. But maintaining your grip on the attitude and on the soul of the people. Or you can just become an icon. The people love you but just for what you represent. And if you are able to manage the transition, it's okay. The worst thing is if you still believe to be a lesser brand and able to influence the lives of a multitude of people and you actually don't, because you're not connected anymore to what's happening in the social body and in the world out there. Actually my last question is but then to become a, a lifestyle and also influence people, you need a visionary leader inside a company. Because it's not a actually this kind of philosophy is something that you can do best in the board meeting. Of course, in our study, we found a number of common characteristics of the lifestyle brands. One, of course is the visionary leader. Who normally has the intuition and start grouping around him or her a bunch of people that recognize themselves into this philosophy. But also, lifestyle brands are characterized by very strong values that we call the cradle. Stories that are able to reign forth the mythology around the brand. A manifesto that is the statement of what really the brand stands for. And of course, visual codes that make the brand easily recognizable across all the point of match. Okay. So we might say that usually fashion brands and luxury brands do, in fact, need creative people. So designers they are assessing, let's say, they stylistic identity and the stylistic vision of the brand. But to become a lifestyle means something more. It is not only about the style, but a few fashion brands are able to actually translate the style and stylistic vision into a philosophy. Right? This is the idea. Yes, And if you are able to do so, the demonstration is that you probably work successfully across a wide range of products or targets. Apple just the introduced the watch, if we can call it a watch. But that is another diversification compared to its traditional core business after entering into mobile phones and the music business. So if you are able to do so, the demonstration is that you can transmit your philosophy across a huge number of different segments and different businesses. Again with a great impact on the company and the brand performance. Thanks Antonio for this talk. Thank you. And thank you very much to you.
