Author: Marie-Claude Sicard
Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan
Reviewer: Oliver Monty, stakeholder relations executive
Luxury Lies and Marketing by Marie-Claude Sicard, looks behind the velvet curtain of luxury to reveal the tactics behind some of the most world’s esteemed brands.
While colossal shifts have occurred on a social, economic and international level over the years one of the constants has always been humanity’s appetite for high quality goods. From ancient Sumerian treasure to modern day Rolex designer watches, I found that Sicard examined this universal cultural phenomenon and its symbolic value with impressive detail.
Sicard charts how contemporary luxury brands have succeeded through the fabrication of fictions, the goal of luxury PR being to convince the customer that through their purchase they are transcending the norm and buying into a desirable ‘lifestyle’.
While the book divulges the not so guarded secret that luxury brands can actually be a little bit rubbish, cynical readers may enjoy its brutal deconstruction of the mythology behind purveyors of premium perfection. For example, it was intriguing to find out how Gucci overcooked its own hollow origin story in order to compete with the heritages of its rivals.
The book explores the disparity between the mentality of high-end brands and mass-market brands, particularly the former industry’s self-denial and disdain for the latter. Sicard argues that it is this arrogance that often blinds luxury marketing strategists to the fact that the mechanics behind their projects are, in essence, the same as for any conventional brand.
The advertising of luxury goods needs to reflect its clientele in an age of globalised consumerism free from the shackles of exclusivity (a residue of the privileged aristocracy of the past). The necessity for fluidity in business is a message relevant to any B2B marketing professional although ultimately, I would say that this book would be better suited to a B2C audience.
Star Rating: 3/5
