Luxury Unfiltered: Surface changes are not enough. Luxury must master the art of rebranding

November 6, 2024

Daniel Langer is the founder and CEO of consulting firm Équité

In today’s hyper-competitive luxury landscape, rebranding can seem like an enticing shortcut to reinvigorate a brand’s identity.

I am approached almost weekly by brands who ask about “modernization” or “premiumization,” in other words, they want to increase relevance and desirability. What happens far too often in reality is that many brands take shortcuts in the hope to achieve a quick fix: creative directors are switched out, logos are tweaked, and marketing aesthetics are refreshed.

This is then called a “rebrand” or, like in the case of Gucci, a “reset.”

The pitfall of surface rebranding: A quick fix or a costly mistake?
Most of these initiatives scratch the surface only and have little to no effect on sales. Even worse, when done without fully respecting the brand foundation, many rebranding exercises weaken the brand significantly.

For most brands, a rebrand is just a facelift - eye-catching and creating some limited PR at best but the effect is temporary and often doesn’t create any significant client-centric value. These surface-level changes are easy to implement, but they fail to address the deeper, more essential transformations that define lasting relevance and genuine luxury appeal.

The reason is clear: true luxury brands are built not just on aesthetics but on stories, values, and profound emotional connections.

When a luxury brand overlooks the need for a sharpening of the brand story in line with its value system in favor of a design refresh, it risks alienating its most loyal clientele, missing opportunities to resonate with emerging generations such as Gen Z and failing to ignite desirability.

Iconic brands that have successfully redefined themselves didn’t just change their look. Fundamentally they were able to dramatically increase their desirability through client-centric emotional brand storytelling while significantly amplifying the client experience through training.

The most successful rebranding projects are holistic and touch the heart of the company. They are crafting a brand experience that is deeply meaningful and emotionally captivating.

It’s all too common to see brands appoint a new creative director and expect them to transform the entire brand or to invest millions in renovating a hotel lobby, showrooms or other facilities.

This approach can yield short-term media buzz and a temporary sales bump, but it rarely builds lasting value. Why?

Because design is just the skin of the brand. The soul of a luxury brand is its story.

The story, when it's defined in a client-centric way, becomes a promise and an invitation. When done right, it ignites and inspires the distinct emotional journey it offers clients. When a brand chooses to focus exclusively on visual or tactical updates, it overlooks what consumers truly seek from luxury today: a unique and deeply inspiring wow experience.

That requires a human connection with a brand story at its core and staff who is trained profoundly to deliver the story at every touchpoint.

Why storytelling is the true foundation of a successful rebrand
Luxury is an emotion, not a transaction. It’s an experience that stays with the person, a beautiful memory that captivates, and a feeling that is craved again and again.

The art of luxury is creating desirability. Storytelling, therefore, is the ultimate vehicle for this connection.

A brand’s story is what we want people to remember about us, it gives a sense of identity that clients can relate to and take pride in. For UHNWIs and Gen Z alike, this emotional depth is non-negotiable.

Consider Louis Vuitton’s approach to brand evolution. The brand’s visual identity has subtly evolved over decades, yet its story has remained rooted in the emotional journeys of the art of travel that have always defined it.

Rather than relying on drastic aesthetic changes, Louis Vuitton reinforces its brand story across touchpoints, ensuring clients feel the weight of its history and the timeless appeal of its pieces with every interaction. This dedication to a brand story that is clear, compelling, and consistent creates an experience that transcends trends while giving its creative teams the freedom to experiment within the brand framework, making it both timeless and fresh.

What a real rebranding effort should look like
For luxury brands aiming to rebrand effectively, the journey begins by revisiting origins and values - exploring what emotional triggers made the brand iconic in the first place.

This involves breathing new life into foundational values, grounding the identity in purpose, and developing a brand story that speaks deeply to the target clientele. I still see too many brand stories that are about “us,” not about “them.”

When brand storytelling is inward-focused (“We offer the best quality…”), it misses a mark with clients. Brand stories have to inspire the clients and give them a sense of what they can expect from a brand emotionally.

It is about the role a brand has for the client. I estimate that more than 90 percent of today’s luxury brands are leaving significant potential on the table by not providing a compelling client-centric brand story.

The delivery of the story is equally important, which is why most of my rebranding projects include significant training aspects. Consistency across all touchpoints is crucial, from digital to in-store experiences, to reinforce the brand story and ensure its value resonates with each interaction.

Furthermore, brand ambassadors must be empowered with the story; they should embody and communicate it at every interaction, avoiding ordinary transactions and delivering extraordinary experiences.

Ultimately, successful rebranding for luxury brands is about moving from ordinary to extraordinary - not by appearing different on the surface but by resonating in ways that genuinely matter to clients. Luxury is about essence, emotion and relevance.

Moving from ordinary to extraordinary
As the luxury landscape becomes increasingly crowded and consumer expectations grow, brands that rely on aesthetics alone will struggle to remain relevant.

Successful rebranding is not about appearing different but about being different in ways that matter deeply to the client. This requires aligning the brand’s identity with a purpose that goes beyond products through unlocking emotions.

For luxury brands, the real competitive advantage lies in their ability to create meaning beyond the product. A brand’s story is the most powerful differentiator it possesses. When rebranding, remember that while logos and visuals may be the public face, it’s the brand story that creates lasting loyalty and desire. Mastering the art of rebranding means ensuring that brand story comes through clearly and powerfully in every interaction.

Luxury Unfiltered is a weekly column by Daniel Langer. He is the CEO of Équité, a global luxury strategy and brand activation firm. He is recognized as a global top-five luxury key opinion leader. He serves as an executive professor of luxury strategy and pricing at Pepperdine University in Malibu and as a professor of luxury at New York University, New York. Mr. Langer has authored best-selling books on luxury management in English and Chinese, and is a respected global keynote speaker.

Mr. Langer conducts masterclass management training on various luxury topics around the world. As a luxury expert featured on Bloomberg TV, Financial Times, The New York Times, Forbes, The Economist and others, Mr. Langer holds an MBA and a Ph.D. in luxury management, and has received education from Harvard Business School. Follow him on LinkedIn and Instagram.

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Luxury Unfiltered: Surface changes are not enough. Luxury must master the art of rebranding

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