Marketing
Good service is warm without being overbearing, knowledgeable without being condescending and helpful without hovering. That experience should feel consistent whether someone finds you on Instagram, visits your website, opens the package or walks into the shop.
Marketing
Vera Phobe
How Should Marketers Market Mid-Luxury?
Since last year, I have developed a bit of a thirst for curation. I find myself looking at Instagram shops, packaging, photography, product descriptions and the little decisions sellers make that determine how a product feels. What makes one ordinary object feel considered while another, sometimes almost identical, feels ordinary?
I have started thinking about this space as“ mid-luxury”. It is not a formal industry category, but it is a useful way of thinking about the space between mass-market products and traditional luxury.
In Kenya, we often call anything that looks expensive, feels elevated or costs more than the usual alternative“ luxury”. But there is a difference between premium, prestige and luxury. Premium is often about better quality or performance, while prestige is about what ownership communicates about the person buying it. Luxury goes further, relying on desirability, exclusivity, heritage, craftsmanship and emotional value.
“ Mid-luxury” sits somewhere interesting in between. It is about taking an ordinary product or service and deliberately elevating the experience around it. You do not necessarily need the finest materials or a luxury-sized budget. You need to be inten- tional about what you have and how you present it.
Start with the product, but look beyond it
Take jewellery. Two Instagram shops can sell almost identical earrings from the same supplier. One uses the factory photograph, puts a logo sticker on a generic box and writes“ gold-plated earrings” in the caption. The other considers the finish, chooses better packaging, photographs the earrings on a person, develops a recognizable visual identity and explains why the collection exists.
The product may have started from a similar place, but the proposition is no longer the same. This is where marketers have influence. We may not control manufacturing, but we have enormous influence over the world surrounding the product.
Make the everyday feel considered
Think about transport in Kenya. A matatu, an Uber and owning your own car are three very different experiences. Uber is not luxury in the traditional sense, but it is an unmistakable elevation from taking a matatu. You pay more for privacy, convenience, a door-to-door journey and the ability to travel without navigating a stage or squeezing into a crowded vehicle.
For a relatively short period, you have purchased something that feels like private transport without owning a car or employ-
Good service is warm without being overbearing, knowledgeable without being condescending and helpful without hovering. That experience should feel consistent whether someone finds you on Instagram, visits your website, opens the package or walks into the shop.
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