April 23, 2015
Tiffany holiday campaign
FLORENCE, Italy - Public transparency is critical for brands looking to inspire customers, said the CEO of Tiffany & Co. at the Condé Nast International Luxury Conference April 22.
The executive explored the three core dimensions of a luxury brand during his talk: authenticity, integrity and inspiration. Without harmony between the three sides, consumers will have a hard time imbuing a brand's products with the meaning needed to justify a luxury good.
"Status no longer comes from brand name or the price of an object," said Frédéric Cumenal, CEO of Tiffany & Co., New York. "But from its association with values such as history, creativity and generosity.
"In an age of liberalism and self-expression, your products must reflect not just your customers' taste, but their passions and stories," he said.
"I think heritage is the essence of who you are. It is the trademark of your style, it isn’t synonymous with being old, it is a spirit that transcends time."
Imbuing meaning
Mr. Cumenal said that Tiffany & Co. is less an American brand and more a New York brand. The cosmopolitan, colorful, ambitious essence of the city has influenced the company since its founding 187 years ago.
Charles Lewis Tiffany began looking abroad for inspiration and materials soon after he founded the company and that ethos has stayed with the company since.
Tiffany holiday campaign
Mr. Cumenal emphasized that authenticity means sustaining the direction and philosophy of a brand, a "formation of core values," rather than slavishly attending to artifacts.
"Tiffany found a way to be exceptional without being exclusionary," Mr. Cumenal said. "Tiffany found a way to impart class and taste without wantonness. Tiffany offered a window onto the world of dazzling world for anyone. And that founding spirit, that authentic dna, still animates the way we see the world."
However, authenticity cannot be achieved without integrity.
"What do you care about today?" Mr. Cumenal said. "What do you stand for? We believe strongly that you can't possibly share meaning or make it possible for someone to imbue your products with meaning unless you conduct yourself with absolute integrity and we must do this not as a marketing ploy but simply because it is the right thing to do."
Tiffany ad
This means standing up for the environment, defending fragile ecosystems from capitalist plundering and sourcing everything in an ethical manner.
Mr. Cumenal pointed to the brand's support of coral reefs and its decision to put people and the planet before mining operations that harm ecosystems.
"Responsible sourcing of materials is non-negotiable for a brand, " he said. "When a customer is wearing one of our engagement rings, which is a symbol of so much trust, we need that customer to have absolute confidence in how it came to be."
Finally, inspiration is the element that fuels a brand. A luxury brand has to be able to inspire consumers to dream and craft enduring narratives around products.
Tiffany has a built-in advantage in this department. How many items are more meaningful than an engagement ring?
Jewelry, in general, is rife with stories, according to Mr. Cumenal. A jewelry box can reveal a person's relationships, travels and more.
In practice
The brand's latest collection draws on the guiding principles that Mr. Cumenal described.
U.S. jeweler Tiffany & Co. has captured “a New York minute” in its latest timepiece collection that heralds its heritage in the watchmaking space.
Tiffany’s CT60 collection drew inspiration from a piece found within the jeweler’s archive and the legacy of the brand’s founder Charles Lewis Tiffany, but were given modern updates to create a timepiece “for this moment in time.” Honoring codes of a brand, often recognizable by enthusiasts, in a new collection is a way to pay tribute to the past while progressing into the present (see story).
"The objects we create, invite and inspire our customers to add meaning of their own," Mr. Cumenal said.
Final Take
Joe McCarthy, staff writer on Luxury Daily, New York
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