The Culture of Luxury (Brand Packaging)

The Culture of Luxury Packaging that Sells 2011

ChicagoOctober 7th 2011

scenarioDNA

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@timstock

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I run an insight company.Some context...

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we study culture people language perception behavior

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beliefs influencekinship trendsand how that works in networks

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{ luxury }(thanks Moneyball)

"It's unbelievable how much you don't know about the game you've been playing all your life." - Mickey Mantle

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"Luxury is the opposite of vulgarity."Coco Chanel

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We don’t need it

But it is interwoven into our own sense of self expression.

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Luxury reflects us

Are we living up to the ways that aspirations have evolved? Can we look ourselves in the mirror and feel comfortable with what luxury means today?

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luxury485,000,000 results

{ signals } { noise }The have become

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Recession reveals fallacies

The recession has left us acutely aware of the fallacies of finance and the need for sustainability.

BORROWED MONEY

VALUE BUBBLES

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Technology challenges control

A catalyst for stories and participation... and what people expect to happen.

TRANSPARENCY INVOLVEMENT

IMAGE: Frog Design

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Globalization has broadened the narrative

More than half of the growth in global demand for imports is now originating in developing countries.

RECASTING ASSUMPTIONS

SPOTLIGHTING IRONIES

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The perspective we need to get past the noise won’t come from more marketing...{ Reboot }

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Cinema is a matter of what’s in the frame and what’s out.” - Martin Scorsese

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MOTIVE STORY TREND

The choices we make determine how authentic and sustainable the narrative is.

What works for Holly?

IMAGE: Breakfast at Tiffany’s (1961)

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According to Forrester studies...brands that distinguish themselves on emotional attributes can capture 60 percent greater loyalty.

Authentic brands deliver on poetry

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guilt

rank

perfection

Luxury’s four codes of meaning

These four codes reflect a human centered way meaning operates in the culture as a whole.

freedom4

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The last bastion of conspicuous consumption.

Rank

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Wall Street (1987)

“...greed--for lack of a better word--is good. Greed is right. Greed works. Greed clarifies, cuts through, and captures the essence of the evolutionary spirit.

1980s Greed economics

Wall Street (1987)

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Glengary Glen Ross (1992)

1990s Keeping up

“you drove a Hyundai to get here tonight, I drove an eighty thousand dollar BMW.”

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Counterfeits & McMansions ...signal a bubble of value.

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Today rank must set authentic standards

“Today’s superrich no longer imitate a pseudo-aristocratic lifestyle with horse prints on the wall. Now, you better have a Koons and a Hirst or you’re going to look provincial.” -Tobias Meyer, Sotheby’s principal auctioneer

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Rank relies on how informed you are

Maestro Dobel tequila’s small batch production is noted by handwritten date and bottle numbers, as well as distiller name.

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Connoisseurship gets technical

Bombay Sapphire's 250th anniversary bottle features a bespoke sealing ring to accommodate the bottle’s handblown neck.

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Choice is yours, for good or bad

Kate Moss smoking at Louis Vuitton sparks controversy. Next, RJ Reynolds redesigns its YSL cigs for Russia and Asia.

2011

1985

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We are now forced to reflect on our consumption in ways we have never done before.Guilt

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We now seek power that enables change.

"Power is the ability to produce intended effects." --Bertrand Russell, 1938

Rethinking power

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With power comes responsibility

Prince Charles’ vintage Aston Martin was converted to run on surplus British wine by having it distilled into ethanol.

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Restraint trumps decadence

Gucci’s initiative toward FSC paper and cutting down on excess packaging is only one angle of a larger sustainability campaign.

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Rethink the mundane

PUMA’s replacement for the shoebox; a cardboard sheet that folds into a box structure, and fits seamlessly into a cloth bag.

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Build a reconnection to the source

Think Global Taste Local is a food hunting company presenting the best gastronomic products from small regional companies.

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Ethical mainstreaming

Green & Black's Maya Gold range is Fairtrade certified. Consumers move past organic in search of the next layer of ethical authenticity.

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A relentless pursuit of perfecting the process by which an object is crafted.

Perfection34connecting brands to culture|scenarioDNA

Pursuit of excellence (arete) was paramount. such aspiration required effort, discipline and intelligence.

Greek ideals have new relevance

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Control of process is critical

Chanel buys seven of the most specialized ateliers in Paris, ensuring continuation of the house's own couture techniques.

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Dishes created for “I Am Love” by chef Carol Cracco fueled the scenes. Perfection applies to all senses, as well as to what you don’t perceive.

Every detail is subject to scrutiny

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Perfection is vision

Apple’s iPad was cryptic on release in what design problem it solved. If you perfect the execution the product will activate behavior.

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Seek to refine the ordinary

The Evian Palace Bottle for hospitality establishments comes with a built-in pourer. The slender PVC bottle is recyclable. An accent of permanence in a throw away world.

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Every detail gets scrutinized

Royal Seal of England sanctions each detail of Croftgate's upmarket auto line from trigger mechanism to eco-conscience.

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The pursuit of personal acquisitions and creative accomplishments. Freedom

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The power of one

Freedom is about creative beginnings...(like Coco Chanel).

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We need freedom to conspire

Quest Wines collaborated with Tokyo-based comic writer and illustrator Skye Ogden for labels on their new wine.

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We need to indulge in playful stories

Poking fun at himself, The Bitter Chocolatier tells his tales of misfortune throughout his life through different flavors.

“If we did it in New York or Los Angeles I don't think we'd be able to work in secret." --Madonna talks about her Hard Candy gym in Mexico City.

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“If we did it in New York or Los Angeles I don't think we'd be able to work in secret." --Madonna talks about her Hard Candy gym in Mexico City.

Transcend the expected

Bright and positive graphic packaging highlights the range of Russia’s DYMOV sausages available in a store.

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We need confidence to mix high and low

A well-positioned Missoni collaboration for Target, replete with Margherita Missoni, was so coveted it crashed Target’s website.

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The standards we set...

are meaningless unless they are believable to the people who engage them.

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We must engage knowledge involvement authenticity sustainability

...it engages the human and activates behavior.

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photo: ubierna.andres

The more we know, the more we share... with collective knowledge, luxury becomes about choice and our power to choose.

The rise of collective intelligence

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luxurywhat if we were to ban the word? (china has)

{what if...}

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{ CULTURE } is the { PRODUCT }

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Innovation is a mating game

Understanding the signals embedded into the rituals we want to engage.

SIGNALS

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We are exhausting the language

The words we use are out of sync with the real cultures that bring them meaning and power.

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We need to build cultural taxonomies

...language from the culture to the brand...not packing the latest buzzwords and hoping for the best.

IMAGE: Visual Thesaurus

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Are we truly engaging the language?

beyond the logo, the licensing and hubris ask yourself if you still have anything there.

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“Happiness isn't something you experience; it's something you remember.” - Oscar Levant

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thank you.

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timstock@scenariodna.com

twitter: @timstock

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