LUXED MARKETING STRATEGY

LUXED MAY 2024

MARKETING STRATEGY

1

2

Executive Summary.........................5

CONTENTS

Concept Overview...........................6 Aims + Objectives............................7 Market Landscape...........................8 - Macro Environment (PESTEL(E)) - Micro Environment Competitors Analysis.....................12 - Our Competitor - SWOT Consumer Segmentation.............16 - Demographic - Psychographic - Consumer Profile Market Position...............................20 - 4 Ps Communications............................22 - Social Media - Website + App - Magazine Reference List..................................38

3

LUXED LUXED LUXED LUXED 4

EXECUTIVE

SUMMARY Gen Z has entered the luxury market and shows a keen interest, but this generation’s demands are beyond the traditional paradigms of luxury, they are searching for much more and pushing for a new set of values. Many luxury brands are misjudging this urgency for a need for change as they do not see Gen Z as their consumers yet and believe the notion that this audience will just come at some point. This naivety from luxury brands could cost them much more than they realise, as they are running the risk of becoming irrelevant to Gen Z as their spending power continues to grow year after year.

However, Gen Z’s interest in the luxury industry combined with their need for more, brings along with it, a gap in the market for a platform whose sole purpose is for them, catering to their luxury consumer needs and values and providing them with their own luxury community. This brand idea and concept will allow Gen Z to feel included and not an imposter when trying to indulge in an industry that sparks their interests. It will feed their sole with innovation and creativity, expanding their knowledge on all things surrounding the luxury industries.

5

CONCEPT

OVERVIEW LUXED, the luxury bi-annual magazine company, that is going to fill that gap in the market for our Gen Z luxury consumers and provide them with the luxury community they deserve.

The new set of values Gen Z is pushing for from the luxury industry include inclusivity, sustainability, transparency, and technology, and our brand plans to implement this change in values by creating a magazine company that shares information regarding the luxury industry all tailored to these specified values. Our magazine will be informative and be made up of visuals, interviews, and articles to provide our readers with a substantial amount of content to help broaden their knowledge of the luxury world.

We will also have a website and app alongside our magazine to provide our community with a continuous reem of information to allow them to be able to indulge in luxury whenever they want.

Within this marketing strategy, there will be a clear outline of how we will communicate with our audience, set ourselves apart from competitors, and how the wider environment can affect the company. You will also see how we are considering the 4 values within different areas of the strategy, to help make sure our company is successful in targeting our Gen Z luxury audience.

Overall, this marketing strategy will be the holy grail document for the company and will ensure moving forward we are constantly adhering to what we have set out to do and aligning ourselves within the correct market.

6

Our mission is to provide a community for like-minded Gen Zers who are into all things luxury, whether that be fashion, lifestyle, or even experiences. This will be through a strong online platform where Gen Z consumers can go and have access to a reem of informative and exciting information regarding the luxury industry, all hand-picked and tailored to their generational needs. With a constant stream of news being distributed, from new up-and-coming designers entering the fashion space to the latest brand collaborations, Gen Z can constantly feel in the loop and up to date.

Our brand values are to be inclusive and representative of Gen Z within the luxury community to allow them to feel their values and consumer needs are being catered to, something that is currently lacking within the luxury industry. Through the use of collaborations with luxury brands that will be tailor-made for Gen Z and the constant sharing of current luxury exhibitions, events, and experiences they can attend, Gen Z will have all they need to immerse themselves in the luxury industry and feel heard by luxury brands.

Our vision is to be an industry-leading platform that caters to Gen Z’s luxury needs. We aim to become a role model for luxury brands who struggle to inspire the next generation of clients and run the risk of not surviving the transition to a Gen Z-dominated world, and we will make it our purpose to help create a luxury industry that moves forward not backward, aligning its values to those of the Gen Z cohort.

AIMS +

OBJECTIVES 7

MARKET

LANDSCAPE 8

THE MACRO ENVIRONMENT POLITICAL. ECONOMIC. SOCIAL. TECHNOLOGICAL. ENVIRONMENTAL. LEGAL. (ETHICAL).

P

Brexit has made it undoubtedly harder for UK small businesses to trade with the EU, as the new trading relationship has found many firms reporting increased costs, rules, paperwork, delays, and disruption when trading goods, forcing some businesses to stop trading there altogether (fsb, 2023).

E

The current cost-of-living crisis has quickly shifted what goes into Gen Z’s shopping baskets, with energy and food prices skyrocketing, forcing fashion to take a back seat on their priority list. This has resulted in many of the generation searching for lower-priced alternatives, and turning to luxury resale markets (Drapers Online, 2023).

S

This is something we as a company need to be aware of, as we want to trade within as many countries worldwide as possible, not just the UK, meaning our magazine will be shipped to the EU also. We do not want to end up seizing our trade within the EU, due to being unprepared, as we want to provide a Gen Z luxury community for as many as possible. By continuously being up-to-date and having strategies planned out for our trading with the EU, we will ensure our EU luxury consumers will still be able to purchase from us and stay a part of our community.

This is something key to consider when creating content for LUXED, as sharing information that does not align with Gen Z’s economic situation could result in a loss of engagement from the generation. To combat this happening the company will share and promote luxury resale and rental companies that Gen Z can shop from, as well as luxury brands that have their own resale services, such as Gucci, Alexandre McQueen, and Balenciaga (Linkedin, 2023).

At the top of Gen Z’s ‘in’ list this year is all things wellness. They are now buying more wellness products and services than older generations and are the most interested in wellness spending that focuses on appearance and overall health, as well as mindfulness-related wellness products such as meditation classes and therapy sessions (Mckinsey, 2024).

This is a positive thing for LUXED as the brand is aiming to share information regarding different activities that Gen Z could take part in, including spa days and wellness retreats, all with an element of luxury added of course. These would be available within the lifestyle section on our website and app.

9

T

The advancements in technology over the years have permitted luxury counterfeit markets to grow and popularise, as they have become more accessible than ever before, due to the use of social media channels and websites (BOF, 2022; Smart Protection, 2023). With Gen Z being true digital natives, with 95% of them having smartphones (Jeason Dosey, n.d.), this has allowed them easy access to the online world, making them more susceptible to being exposed to high amounts of luxury counterfeit content. This has resulted in Gen Z being the key consumer group interacting with the counterfeit market, with 79% of Gen Zers having already purchased from the market (Smart Protection, 2023).

This could harm LUXED massively due to being a luxury magazine company, as we could experience a loss in customers if the counterfeit market captures the interest of our target consumer. However, to ensure we keep our Gen Z luxury customers we will provide them with the knowledge to understand how harmful the counterfeit industry is to them, the workforce, the environment, and also luxury brands.

E

L

(E)

The increased importance of sustainability amongst the fashion industry and Gen Z means LUXED as a company needs to ensure it is something that is considered in all aspects of the business, especially in regard to our magazines. To make sure we are as environmentally friendly as possible our magazines will be available to be purchased in a digital format to reduce our carbon footprint. This should not pose issues with Gen Z, as they are digital natives. However, for the consumers who want a physical copy, these will be available to purchase, and we will invest in printing them sustainably and ethically, such as using eco-friendly paper made from agricultural waste (Paper Waste, n.d.).

Having a magazine comes with advertisements, which feature amongst the content. These advertisements are usually paid and are what provide a lot of the funds for the company to continue creating. However, advertisements have standards that need to be followed to ensure no content is misleading, harmful, or offending. This affects our company because if we do not follow the standards that are set by the Advertisement Standards Authority (ASA) we could face being sanctioned, having negative impacts on the company, such as being referred to Trading Standards (ASA, n.d.).

As a company that aims to create a Gen Z luxury community, we want to extend that further than just its consumers. We feel having a strong Gen Z presence amongst its employees and collaborators from makeup artists to interviewees is key to attracting our Gen Z consumers.

This workforce behind the brand must be as inclusive and diverse as possible, to enable us to secure the creatives we need, as 56% of Gen Z-ers say they would not accept a job without diverse leadership (World Economic Forum, n.d.). If this is not the case, we may struggle to hire employees to allow this brand to reach its vision of being an industry-leading company.

It could also have detrimental effects on our consumer engagement as without an inclusive and diverse workforce we will not be able to create enriching content comprising a wide range of viewpoints for our magazine and social media channels, making it less interesting and informative for Gen Z. 10

THE MICRO ENVIRONMENT Micro-environmental factors impacting this brand include both our customers and competitors, which will all be further discussed throughout this document. A key factor that LUXED will consider is that the customer is our top stakeholder and creating content with them in mind will be at the forefront of everything we do. However, there are other stakeholders we do need to consider regarding attracting them. These include other creatives such as photographers and stylists, as well as luxury brands and influencers to collaborate with the company and advertise within our magazine.

11

COMPETITORS

ANALYSIS Our three main competitors are Vogue, Elle, and Dazed.

Both Vogue and Elle secure a place within our competitor pool due to being two of the most highly influential publications that comprise luxury and fashion information. They also share news regarding art & lifestyle, and beauty too, just like we are planning to do. However, LUXED sets itself apart from both these magazines by having a specific target audience of Gen Z, and its sole purpose being, to create a luxury community for them.

Dazed becomes part of the competitor mix due to its target audience, as its magazine is specifically created for the youth culture of today, that being currently Gen Z. They also have a handful of luxury advertisements amongst the pages of their magazine allowing them to catch the eye of Gen Z consumers into luxury. To set ourselves apart from Dazed, we will provide our audience with a ream of information that is all tied to the luxury industry, not just the advertisements.

12

LUXED

Target Audience

Magazine Genre 13

S

W

With LUXED launching at a period when members of the Gen Z cohort are starting to become increasingly more interested in the luxury market and want to see more than what the luxury industry is already providing them with, they are more likely to purchase our magazine compared to those of the competitors as we are catering to their specific luxury consumer needs and values and providing them with what they want.

As LUXED will be a small company, to begin with, we will struggle to secure luxury advertisements, such as Vogue, Elle, and Dazed do, as we will not have built up a strong enough reputation yet for luxury brands to want to pay to advertise within our magazine. These advertisements ultimately help towards the creation of the magazine and its contents, and without them, we run the risk of not being able to afford to create a sufficient amount of work to fill the magazine.

Not only this but with us being the only magazine currently of its kind, launching in 2024 will provide us the opportunity to target our consumers and gain their trust/loyalty, making it harder for future competitors to steal our audience.

However, being a part of a creative industry comes with it people who are just starting out in their careers and are happy to do work for a lower price or even free in exchange for experience and exposure. Working with these types of creatives on things such as photoshoots and journal articles could allow us to create a greater amount of content for a smaller amount of money.

14

O

T

With Gen Z already turning to lower-priced luxury resale markets to provide themselves with their luxury fashion fix during the cost-of-living crisis, this offers LUXED the opportunity to collaborate with brands from within that specified market knowing it will successfully pique Gen Z’s interest and lead to further coverage for the company.

Not only will these types of collaborations fit with Gen Z’s current income situation, but they will also align with the value of sustainability, which they are pushing to see more of from the luxury industry.

As a company, we have recognised that the printing of the magazines will need to be done through a sustainable method. This poses a threat to the company as sustainable printing materials come at a higher cost than regular materials and with us only being a small company we will need to make sure we have enough money in the budget to get this done in a way that does not harm the company financially.

We have also recognised that Dazed and Vogue state that they to use sustainable printing methods and if we as a company are unable to do this, we risk our competitors showing higher sustainability credentials than us, this could then possibly lead to a loss in consumer engagement.

We have recognised that Vogue Italia has previously done a similar initiative with Versitre Collective, a resale luxury brand. With this in mind we will ensure to stay clear of collaborating with this brand and provide our collaborations with a real Gen Z focus to allow them to stand apart from our competitor’s collaboration.

A possible way to ensure we can print the magazines and not let down customers who would rather have a physical copy compared to a digital one, is by the magazines coming at a slightly higher price than digital, allowing the company to take the profit from these sales and put it straight back into the pot for printing fees.

15

CONSUMER

SEGMENTATION

DEMOGRAPHIC - Gen Z (Interested in Luxury) - Female, Male, & LGBTQ+ - Age 16-27 16

PHYCHOGRAPHIC INTERESTS + HOBBIES Our Gen Z luxury consumers are interested in Experiences over materialism, wanting to interact with unique and memorable activities & events, such as curated travel experiences or wellness retreats. (Linkedin, 2023). As a company, holding exclusive one-of-a-kind events just for our Gen Z luxury community is key, as this will allow us to tap into their desire to experience something beyond the physical product and allow them to immerse themselves into a luxury world never seen before.

Our target consumers are also highly interested in getting involved in hobbies that are centered around creative outlets, such as arts & crafts and music interaction, both listening and playing (yPulse, 2023). This makes it essential to share information regarding these creative elements in our lifestyle sections across all our communications outlets, as well as integrating them into the events and activities we conduct as a company.

BUYING HABITS When it comes to buying behaviors our target generation is constantly looking for authenticity in brands and this need influences their buying decisions significantly. They want to feel a genuine human connection when engaging with content and be able to relate to what they are interacting with (Medium, 2024). Therefore, it will be crucial for us to always make sure LUXED content is constantly tailored to their consumer needs and values to guarantee they can relate, ensuring they continue to engage with us. This will allow us as a brand to form a loyal customer base, which will then aid us in creating an authentic luxury community for our target audience.

Our Gen Z community is the first generation that grew up entirely in the digital age, making them highly techsavvy and expecting seamless experiences as they transition between different brand channels (Euromonitor International, 2023). If this is not the case it can negatively impact Gen Z’s choice to interact with our brand, making it imperative that our digital communication channels are all to a high standard, easy to access and navigate, allowing them to have a faultless journey when interacting with our brand.

17

FAVOURED BRANDS We have surveyed our target consumers to understand their favorite luxury brands. This uncovered that our community currently prefers Gucci, YSL, Balenciaga, and Louis Vuitton.

This information is imperative to the company, as we now know, information regarding these brands should feature more heavily within our magazine and online channels. It has also provided us with brands that can be considered for collaborations.

ETHICAL VIEWS Our Gen Z luxury consumers are changing the industry as we currently know it and are forcing luxury brands to change for the better. Their view is that not only should sustainability be a new value for companies working within this specified market but also transparency too (Fortune, 2023).

Knowing transparency is something our consumers want; we need to ensure it is a key element in every-thing we do. We are never misleading or hiding information from our consumer and are being as transparent as possible to ensure we meet our customers’ needs and values.

18

Meet Elijah, as 24 year old personal shopper from Manchester. Working in Louise Vuitton, Selfidges, he not only loves helping his customers secure their dream products but he is also a knee customer himself, due to LV being one of is all time favoured luxury brands. Even more-so now Pherrell Williams is the menswear creative director, as he feels that Pherrell is really considering and catering to the younger generation.

When it comes to what he looks for in a brand, he wants to shop from somewhere that is both diverse and inclusive, as he never wants to feel unrepresented and unseen. Not only this but he is passionate about ethical practices within fashion and wants brands to be as transparent and sustainable as possible. His biggest red flag for a brand is if their website is hard to navigate and he doesn’t get a seamless experience when trying to purchase a item. If this is the case he would even go as far as cancelling the brand and stopping all interaction with them.

In Elijahs spare time he loves to attend immersive experiences that surround all things luxury fashion and art. But when the time to chill comes, he enjoys getting stuck into some arts and crafts at home, such as abstract painting and free-hand drawing, as both these activities providing him with a sense of freedom.

CONSUMER PROFILE 19

MARKET

POSITION THE 4 Ps

PRODUCT

PLACE

The physical product we will be selling is our magazine, which will be released bi-annually, due to only being a small company, making it difficult to produce one every month like our competitors. However, we will also have our digital products, including our website and app, which will be updated regularly with current news regarding the luxury fashion industry, so our consumers can always access a ream of information. Our consumer needs these products as they will allow them to interact with the luxury industry in a way that satisfies their consumer needs, as all content shared will match the values they want to see from the luxury industry. This will be done by carefully selecting and tailoring all information to ensure it aligns perfectly and cohesively with what they currently want to see.

Our magazine will be sold only online, to begin with, through both our website and app, as being a new business, we need to keep as much profit as possible to continue to grow. Upon growing we will invest some of our profit into stocking magazines in stores, as our Gen Z target audience still likes to shop in physical stores just as much as they do online, due to wanting to be able to touch and feel what they are purchasing (Business Insider, 2023).

When it comes to the stores we will approach to stock our magazines, we want to differ from our competitors and not just stock in bookstores such as WHS. Approaching luxury department stores, such as Flannels, Selfridges, and Heavy Nicholes, could be what sets us apart from our competitors.

Not only will doing this allow us to possibly sell our magazines in a domain that matches ours, with them both having luxury ties, but it will also aid us in capturing our consumer's attention to purchase the magazine, as they have already got luxury shopping on their mind by being in that physical store.

All products will be under one name, this being LUXED. This will keep everything connected and easy to recognise, allowing the consumer to easily distinguish our brand products.

Finally, our product differs from those of our competitors as we are creating a product with its sole purpose being to interact with Gen Z and create a luxury community specifically for them.

20

PRICE

PROMOTION

From analysing our competitors, their magazines usually range from the price of £4.99-£7.99, however, their magazines are realised monthly, whereas ours will be twice a year with it being bi-annually.

With this in mind, we have decided to price our magazines at £12 each, meaning both issues will be £24 altogether for the year.

When considering Elle’s yearly figure, if you purchased all 12 copies at £4.99, this would work out to be around £60 altogether. As a start-up magazine, this will help attract our consumers as it is affordable and lower than our competitors, which is something our consumers will appreciate especially during the current economic crisis, as we are considering their financial situation.

As we already know, our Gen Z audience are digital natives, the first ever generation to grow up with the internet as a part of their daily lives. 90% of them use social media and just over half spend 4 hours or more engaged in it (Civic Science, 2023; Oberlo, n.d.). This is why we will predominantly promote our brand and products through our social media channels, including Instagram and TikTok, the two most popular channels amongst Gen Z (eMarketer, 2023). We will discuss our plans for these entities more within our communications section, however, to provide an overview, we will mainly use our Instagram account to promote our products and direct traffic to our website/app to ultimately drive sales and increase engagement. Whereas our TikTok account will be focusing on sharing creative humor-based and entertainmentfirst content to help build our brand community.

Our digital products will be free to access, to begin with, to allow our consumers to gain interest in our products and understand why they need us. Once we have secured our consumers and our brand following starts to grow, which will all be tracked through our social media following, how many people download our app, and the total number of people who create an account on our website/ app, we will start charging for the consumer to continue to have full access.

This would incur a charge of £2.99 for the month, totalling up to around £36 for the year.

However, we will offer deals for the consumers who want a subscription to the website/app and the magazines. For example, instead of paying around £60 a year for everything, we would drop this to £45 in exchange they pay outright for the whole year.

Introducing a charge for full access to our website and app will allow us to make a profit and continue to grow and expand as a company, ensuring we stay in business.

21

22

C O M M U N I C AT I O N S

MAGAZINE,SOCIAL MEDIA, WEBSITE, APP, MAGAZINE, SOCIAL MEDIA, WEBSITE, APP, MAGAZINE,SOCIAL MEDIA, WEBSITE, APP, MAGAZINE, SOCIAL MEDIA, WEBSITE, APP, MAGAZINE,SOCIAL MEDIA, WEBSITE, APP, MAGAZINE, SOCIAL MEDIA, WEBSITE, APP, MAGAZINE,SOCIAL MEDIA, WEBSITE, APP, MAGAZINE, SOCIAL MEDIA, WEBSITE, APP, MAGAZINE,SOCIAL MEDIA, WEBSITE, APP, MAGAZINE, SOCIAL MEDIA, WEBSITE, APP, MAGAZINE,SOCIAL MEDIA, WEBSITE, APP, MAGAZINE, SOCIAL MEDIA, WEBSITE, APP, MAGAZINE,SOCIAL MEDIA, WEBSITE, APP, MAGAZINE, SOCIAL MEDIA, WEBSITE, APP, MAGAZINE,SOCIAL MEDIA, WEBSITE, APP, MAGAZINE, SOCIAL MEDIA, WEBSITE, APP, MAGAZINE,SOCIAL MEDIA, WEBSITE, APP, MAGAZINE, SOCIAL MEDIA, WEBSITE, APP, MAGAZINE,SOCIAL MEDIA, WEBSITE, APP, MAGAZINE, SOCIAL MEDIA, WEBSITE, APP, MAGAZINE,SOCIAL MEDIA, WEBSITE, APP, MAGAZINE, SOCIAL MEDIA, WEBSITE, APP 23

HOW ARE WE GOING TO COMMUNICATE WITH OUR AUDIENCE ?

MAGAZINE,SOCIAL MEDIA, WEBSITE, APP, MAGAZINE, SOCIAL MEDIA, WEBSITE, APP, MAGAZINE,SOCIAL MEDIA, WEBSITE, APP, MAGAZINE, SOCIAL MEDIA, WEBSITE, APP, MAGAZINE,SOCIAL MEDIA, WEBSITE, APP, MAGAZINE, SOCIAL MEDIA, WEBSITE, APP, MAGAZINE,SOCIAL MEDIA, WEBSITE, APP, MAGAZINE, SOCIAL MEDIA, WEBSITE, APP, MAGAZINE,SOCIAL MEDIA, WEBSITE, APP, MAGAZINE, SOCIAL MEDIA, WEBSITE, APP, MAGAZINE,SOCIAL MEDIA, WEBSITE, APP, MAGAZINE, SOCIAL MEDIA, WEBSITE, APP, MAGAZINE,SOCIAL MEDIA, WEBSITE, APP, MAGAZINE, SOCIAL MEDIA, WEBSITE, APP, MAGAZINE,SOCIAL MEDIA, WEBSITE, APP, MAGAZINE, SOCIAL MEDIA, WEBSITE, APP, MAGAZINE,SOCIAL MEDIA, WEBSITE, APP, MAGAZINE, SOCIAL MEDIA, WEBSITE, APP, MAGAZINE,SOCIAL MEDIA, WEBSITE, APP, MAGAZINE, SOCIAL MEDIA, WEBSITE, APP, MAGAZINE,SOCIAL MEDIA, WEBSITE, APP, MAGAZINE, SOCIAL MEDIA, WEBSITE, APP 24

TONE OF VOICE Across all our communication outlets our brand will have a relatable and friendly persona, with a tone of voice that is passionate, authentic, and real, as this will help us form a strong connection with our Gen Z audience (Forbes, 2022). The language we use will be engaging, and straight to the point to allow us to keep a hold of our consumer's attention and not bore them while they are interacting with the brand. Our purpose is to educate and inform our readers and by using the tone of voice and language we have chosen we should be able to do this in a way that makes Gen Z feel comfortable and confident in that all content has been made with them in mind.

Persona: Friendly and Relatable Tone: Passionate, Authentic, and Real Language: Engaging and Straight to The Point Purpose: Educate and Inform

KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS LUXED’s main KPI is to build a strong Gen Z luxury community through our social media and website/app, with the hopes of providing Gen Z-ers with a space to indulge in all thing’s luxury.

We also wish to promote our magazine and drive sales of it once it has launched, as well as drive subscription sign-ups for our website.

Sale based objectives : •To drive magazine sales.

•To drive subscription sign-ups for our website Brand based objectives: • Brand awareness.

• Brand perception.

• Marketing

CALL TO ACTION A call to action is vital for any company with a product to promote, as it helps encourage sales by indicating the next step a marketer wants its audience or reader to take, for example, it can instruct the reader to click the buy button to complete a sale (Optimizely, n.d.). The main purpose of LUXED is to create a luxury community for like-minded Gen Z-ers, not just to sell magazines. Our main call to action will be through the promotion of our magazine and website/app. This will be done by providing direct links from our social media to the website, where people can then sign up to be a member and/or purchase our magazine. We will also share appealing pictures of our magazine and talk positively about our app on our social media pages, with accompanying captions such as ‘click here to buy’, ‘Tap to download’, and ‘sign up now’.

25

SOCIAL MEDIA

As we have already mentioned our Instagram will be mainly used to promote our products and direct traffic to our website/ app to ultimately drive sales and increase engagement.

WHY? We have chosen this platform to do this due to its high volume of users, that being 2 billion monthly, with 33.3 million of them being Gen Z-ers (Go Knit, n.d.).

It also allows us to promote and sell our products to our audience easily, as we can use their ‘Shop tab’ on their home page, which helps our consumers discover and purchase from us directly through our profile, posts, or stories. As well as this we can use their shoppable post feature too, which lets us add tags to products in our photos, with links that include our product description, price, and the ability to “shop now,” taking our consumers to our online website or app (Business, 2024).

INSTAGRAM 26

Our posts on Instagram will be, informative yet simple and straight to the point, as we do not want to risk losing our target audience's attention. This could become the case if we overcomplicate our posts, as our Gen Z audience is known for having a notoriously short attention span (Mckinsey & Company, n.d.). As well as this we will also post a handful of content that isn’t centered around product promotion, such as BTS footage, to break the feed. Doing this will also allow us to be more relatable to our views as they will be able to meet creators within the company, making us not come across as a faceless corporation.

27

SOCIAL MEDIA The main purpose of our TikTok will be to share humorbased and entertainmentfirst content with our target audience to help build our brand community.

WHY? We have chosen this platform to do this as TikTok is known for being a creative playground where influencers and brands can have fun with their viewers and not take themselves too seriously (no good, 2023).

Doing this provides us with the great opportunity to build a strong and authentic community surrounding the brand, something LUXED is keen to do with it being our key KPI. One of the platform's most community-focused features is the video reply feature which will allow us to post videos in response to comments, for example, if one of our audience members had a question regarding our brand, the luxury industry, or just anything regarding our life at LUXED, we can then create a video answering that question. As a company, we would like this feature to be used frequently, as we feel this will allow our consumers to see that we truly want to create a community that is driven by them, and it is not something we are saying to gain their interest and money.

TIKTOK 28

Other content we can post on our TikTok, to further build a strong community and create further brand awareness, would be TikTok lives. These are another unique chance to connect with our audience and build a thriving community, as they provide our audience with an easy opportunity to ask questions and receive immediate responses (Medium, 2023). With our target audience being Gen Z we feel using TikTok Lives to our advantage is key, as secondary research has found that 47% of the generation watch live streams on TikTok now (The Wrap, 2024). As well as this we would do videos such as the ‘Day in the Life’ Video to push the entertainment factor to allow Gen Z to view real authentic company creatives.

29

WEBSITE + APP Along with our social media pages, we will have both a website and an app. These two entities' main purpose is to share a continuous reem of information and current news regarding the luxury industry with our Gen Z audience.

On these platforms, our audience can access articles, interviews, and imagery/videography regarding fashion, lifestyle, health & beauty, and home-related content, to allow them to satisfy every luxury need they could possibly think of.

Through the Website and App, our consumers can also create an account with us, sign up for our newsletter, sign up + pay to be a full access member, and also purchase our magazine.

We feel that having an app alongside our website is necessary when having a Gen Z audience, as it allows them to personalize their experience when interacting with it, which is something Gen Z is increasingly looking for when interacting with a brand or product (Idomoo, n.d: Linkedin, 2023). Our users will be able to do this by setting their personal preferences when they first create an account with us and by doing this, they will receive notifications when a new article is released with the aligning genre highlighted in their preferences, which is something they will not receive if only using the website.

However, the website will still have an element of personalisation, as whenever they access their account, on either the app or the website their home screen will feature a ‘For You’ section which will list all the most recent articles, that they have not yet read, which align with their highlighted genre preferences.

They will then be able to go straight to articles and read them, leaving them with a seamless experience every single time.

30

31

MAGAZINES Our magazine will be a bi-annual publication, where each issue will focus on a current topic within the luxury industry and provide the reader with the scope to understand the topic/issue by sharing a wide range of information with them. This information will be shared with them through different formats, some of these formats include written interviews and articles.

The magazine will include 70% primary imagery and 30% advertisement imagery as we as a brand want to create as much of our content, allowing the magazine to feel as cohesive and authentic as possible. However, wherever possible we want to collaborate with younger creatives, such as makeup artists, models, and aspiring journalists, to help them gain experience and exposure. Each issue we will aim to have 4 Gen Z collaborators within our creative pool.

As we have previously recognised within the document, we will struggle to secure luxury advertisements, to begin with, however, as the company grows, the luxury brands we would prioritise contacting would be, Gucci, YSL, Balenciaga, and Louis Vuitton, as these are the 4 luxury brands which Gen Z favour. However, to ensure the luxury brands continuously match Gen Z’s preferences, we will do a survey twice a year, enabling us to stay on top of trends and make sure all content within the magazine, including the advertisements, is to Gen Z’s interest.

32

LUXED 1

MAY 2024

ISSUE 001

C O U N T E R F E I T 33

U N C O V E R E D

LUXED MAY 2024

C O U N T E R F E I T

ISSUE 001

U N C O V E R E D 1

Our first-ever issue of LUXED, will be released on May 30th, 2024, and is focusing on the luxury counterfeit fashion market and its detrimental effects on the luxury fashion industry. This topic has been chosen because we are currently seeing a high amount of Gen Z consumers using this market to satisfy their need for luxury fashion during the economic crisis. Through this issue, we have collaborated with two student makeup artists, Alish Watkinson and Rebecca Clow, and aspiring model, Holly Bennett, to help all three in their careers within the creative idustry.

34

ALISHA WATKINSON

HOLLY BENNETT

REBECCA CLOW

OUR 2024 GEN Z COLLABORATORS 35

LUXED LUXED LUXED LUXED 36

LUXED LUXED LUXED LUXED 37

REFERENCE

LIST ASA. (n.d.). Sanctions. Retrieved 29th April 2024. https://www.asa.org.uk/codes-and-rulings/sanctions.html Business. (April 19, 2024). 12 Reasons to Use Instagram for Your Business. https://www.business.com/articles/10-reasons-to-use-instagram-for-business/ Business Insider. (June 9, 2023). Gen Z likes shopping in stores just as much as they do online, survey finds. https:// www.businessinsider.com/gen-z-loves-shopping-in-store-as-much-online-survey-2023-6#:~:text=Gen%20 Z%20are%20a%20tech,decisions%2C%20especially%20TikTok%20and%20Instagram BOF. (October 18, 2022). Why Luxury’s Counterfeit Problem Is Getting Worse. https://www.businessoffashion. com/articles/luxury/fashion-counterfeit-problem-authentication-technology/ Civic Science. (June 14, 2023). 3 Key Social Media Trends Among Gen Z and Millennials. https://civicscience. com/3-key-social-media-trends-among-gen-z-and-millennials/#:~:text=CivicScience%20data%20show%20 that%2090,and%2020%25%20of%20Millennials Drapers. (January 3, 2023). How are Gen Z weathering the cost of living crisis?. https://www.drapersonline.com/ insight/analysis/how-are-gen-z-weathering-the-cost-of-living-crisis EMarketer. (August 14, 2023). Gen Z, millennials grow their social media presence through 2027. https://www. emarketer.com/content/gen-z-millennials-grow-their-social-media-presence-through-2027 Euromonitor International. (October31, 2023). Five Ways Gen Z is Transforming Luxury and Fashion. https://www. euromonitor.com/article/five-ways-gen-z-is-transforming-luxury-and-fashion Forbes. (September 29, 2022). Three Ways To Form An Authentic Brand Voice With Gen Z. https://www.forbes. com/sites/forbesbusinesscouncil/2022/09/29/three-ways-to-form-an-authentic-brand-voice-with-genz/?sh=756ce89f3629 Fortune. (May 12, 2023). Gen Zers are redefining the values of the luxury market. Status and prestige are out–sustainability and inclusivity are in. https://fortune.com/europe/2023/05/12/gen-zers-are-redefining-the-values-ofthe-luxury-market-status-and-prestige-are-out-sustainability-and-inclusivity-are-in/ fsb. (January 23, 2023). International trade: How small firms are responding to Brexit challenges. https://www.fsb. org.uk/resources-page/international-trade-how-small-firms-are-responding-to-brexit-challenges.html#:~:text=Brexit%20has%20undoubtedly%20made%20it,%2C%20paperwork%2C%20delays%20and%20disruption Go Knit. (n.d.). Gen Z vs. Millennials: On the ‘Gram. https://goknit.com/gen-z-vs-millennials-instagram-use-and-trends/#:~:text=Though%20Gen%20Z%20has%20overwhelmingly,users%20on%20Instagram%20are%20Zoomers idomoo. (n.d.). How To Create Personalised Experiences for Gen Z Consumers. Retrieved 3rd May, 2024. https://www.idomoo.com/en-gb/blog/how-to-create-personalized-experiences-for-gen-z-consumers/#:~:text=62%25%20are%20willing%20to%20pay,what%20they%20like%20or%20need Linkedin. (May 8, 2023). Inside the Second-Hand Revolution: How Luxury Fashion Brands are Embracing Resale for Gen Z. https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/inside-second-hand-revolution-how-luxury-fashion-brands-samuel-wood/ 38

Linkedin. (August 16, 20230. 6 Benefits of Having a Mobile App for Your Business. https://www.linkedin.com/ pulse/6-benefits-having-mobile-app-your-business-jklucent/ Linkedin. (October 12, 2023). Consumers: Why Luxury Brands Struggle to Predict Gen Z and Gen Alpha's Buying Behavior. https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/inside-minds-young-consumers-why-luxury-brands-struggle-abdul-m-/ Mckinsey. (n.d.). Mind the Gap: Gen G-ers are obsessed with wellness. Retrieved 29th April, 2024. https://www. mckinsey.com/~/media/mckinsey/email/genz/2024/01/2024-01-23d.html Medium. (February 22, 2024). Cracking the Gen Z Code: how Authenticity, Digital Native Wisdom, and Social Justice are Shaping Tomorrow’s Brands for the first Digital Native generation. https://filibertoamati.medium. com/cracking-the-gen-z-code-how-authenticity-digital-native-wisdom-and-social-justice-are-shaping-a54dfb8d45a6#:~:text=This%20demand%20for%20authenticity%20influences,in%20a%20human%2C%20relatable%20way Medium. (September 29, 2023). TikTok Live: How to Use Live to Create a Community. https://medium.com/@ tiktokliveone/tiktok-live-how-to-use-live-to-create-a-community-da3668feda16#:~:text=TikTok%20Live%20 offers%20a%20unique,and%20build%20a%20thriving%20community nogood. (February 22, 2023). TikTok for Brands: A Guide to Launching and Sustaining Your Brand on TikTok. https://nogood.io/2023/02/22/tiktok-for-brands/#:~:text=Your%20TikTok%20page%20is%20a,even%20starting%20your%20own%20trends Oberlo. (n.d.). How Much Time Does Gen Z Spend On Social Media?. Retrieved 2nd May, 2024. https://www. oberlo.com/statistics/how-much-time-does-gen-z-spend-on-social-media#:~:text=In%20comparison%2C%20 just%2019%25%20of,a%20day%20on%20social%20media Optimizely. (n.d.). What is a call to action?. Retrieved 3rd May, 2023. https://www.optimizely.com/optimization-glossary/call-to-action/#:~:text=The%20call%20to%20action%20is,site%20without%20accomplishing%20their%20task Paper Wise. (n.d.). Recycled Paper Magazine Printing? Discover The Most Eco Friendly Alternative. Retrieved 29th April, 2024. https://paperwise.eu/en/recycled-paper-magazine-printing/ Smart Protection. (June 14, 2023). Fakes: What are they and why does Gen Z support them? https://www.smartprotection.com/articles/fakes-what-are-they-and-why-does-gen-z-support-them#:~:text=Either%20on%20 purpose%20or%20by,products%20in%20the%20past%20year The Wrap. (March 21, 2024). Gen Z Is Ditching TV Shows, Movies on Streaming Services in Favor of Social Video, Live Streams. https://www.thewrap.com/gen-z-viewing-habits-streaming-social-media/ Worl Economic Forum. (n.d.). Gen Z Demands Diversity and Inclusion in the Workplace. Retrieved 29th April 2024. https://www.weforum.org/videos/1-in-2-gen-z-ers-won-t-work-in-a-place-without-diverse-leadership/#:~:text=Gen%20Z%20is%20the%20most,and%20inclusion%20in%20the%20workplace Ypulse. (May 1, 2023). What Are Gen Z’s Biggest Hobbies?. https://www.ypulse.com/article/2023/05/01/what-aregen-zs-biggest-hobbies/ 39

40