Are Media’s Nicky Briger has said that despite the cost of living pressures that many Australians are facing, the luxury market not only remains important but is “growing” and “buoyant,” representing an enticing opportunity for marketers of all stripes.
“In this cost of living moment that we’re in right now, luxury is still so important and growing and buoyant, in very different ways,” she told B&T.
“It is shifting more towards a relationship-driven model where cultural relevance and trust matters more than just reach,” said Briger, who heads up Are Media’s luxury titles Elle, Marie Claire and Gourmet Traveller.
That shift is manifesting itself in different ways. For instance, Briger said that while luxury consumers still have an appetite for quality but their definition of the term has changed, as have their expectations in return for their attention and money.
Lexus has used Are Media to host VIP customer events through Gourmet Traveller and bring its most loyal drivers closer to the title’s editorial talent and exclusive restaurant experiences. The partnership trades on the trust Gourmet Traveller has spent decades building with its audience. It is less advertising, more access, according to the brand.
The Lexus and Gourmet Traveller partnership illustrated how the model is shifting. Rather than placing advertising around editorial, Lexus used Gourmet Traveller’s established relationships and authority in the dining space to create VIP experiences for its customers. The value being sold to Lexus was not reach, but credibility, and the decades it took to build it.
The L’Oréal and Elle partnership operates on a similar principle. The campaign ran across events and digital content, but its centrepiece was a cover placement featuring L’Oréal ambassador Simone Ashley as Elle’s June cover star.
A magazine cover is one of the most significant pieces of real estate in publishing. It is not bought like a media placement, it is earned through editorial relevance. By anchoring the campaign there, L’Oréal was borrowing the authority that comes with it.
According to a study conducted by Are Media and WPP, more than 44 per cent of women still validate purchases through publishing or editorial sources before buying online, suggesting that in an era of saturated digital advertising, trusted editorial remains a meaningful part of the consideration process.
For media brands operating in this space, this shift presents an opportunity.
Briger said: “That change or transition from expensive to worth it, where luxury is no longer defined as price alone,”
“They’re looking more rigorously at the craftsmanship, the heritage, the longevity.”.
What matters is the ability to build cultural relevance around a product, to place it inside a world an audience trusts and wants to be part of.
Today, the most effective luxury media partnerships are not about advertising but authorship.
“Luxury brands are behaving more like taste makers, rather than just advertisers,
“They’re supporting creators and presenting their product design. And by doing so, they’re sort of creating culture in a way and newness which taps into the zeitgeist and a new customer base.” Briger continued.
The standard required to operate in luxury is unambiguous. These are global brands and everything produced in their name is visible everywhere, which means the bar for quality is not set locally, it is set internationally.
Briger said: “When it comes to luxury, you’re dealing with these incredible, global, mega brands. You have to bring the highest quality to everything that you do.”
That standard is being met across more platforms than ever, and the results are following. For Are Media, print continues to hold commercial power in the luxury space, with audiences seeking out curated and considered editorial that a well-positioned title can offer.
“Print is so buoyant in luxury, our circulation growth has been about 43 per cent year on year.”
The same audience that reads is also watching, listening and scrolling. The media brands that are winning in luxury are the ones building quality experiences consistently across all platforms.
“If I had to look at our fastest growing platform, I would still say that Instagram and TikTok are our fastest growing from an audience growth perspective without a doubt.” Briger said.
The common denominator across all of it is trust. Trust cannot be manufactured and is increasingly the most valuable thing a media brand can bring to a luxury partnership. In a market where consumers are more discerning than ever, brands that have spent decades earning that authority are finding themselves exactly where they need to be.
