Dr. Christian Kurtzke

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I am surprised that many approaches to portfolio management miss what I personally consider to be one of the most important factors: the talent. While I certainly agree that it is important to properly curate the portfolio of brands, consciously managing the brands’ positioning, their relevance for various target audiences and to provide for sufficient differentiation across the portfolio - we should not forget that attracting, developing and retaining top talent is one of the most critical success factors in the creative and cultural (luxury) industries. So we should properly consider that as part of our portfolio strategy, which also leads us to the important question of what role we attribute to a group brand.

What an interesting question! Why don’t we statt differently, asking ourselves whether we need to influence the brands and their decision makers to promote sustainability in the beauty industry or whether we need influencers to promote the concept amongst the audience as we might question a fertile ground in conscious consumers demanding sustainable products in beauty?

I would start with a fundamental question: what do we mean by innovation? Many C-suites don’t think they have a real problem with innovation. And yet even some of the biggest companies need to spend hundreds of millions or even more to acquire innovative ventures, brands or IP. Interestingly, many executives define innovation as product development or R&D. And yes, many corporations have these processes literally under control. With clear innovation objectives, milestones, resources, decisions etc. Very much like what is described here in this article. But what about the other type of creativity and innovation that can only emerge and be far less controlled? That truly challenges our current sustems, structures and business models?

The solution to a problem often lies in the way of (re-)framing, asking the right question. As such, focusing on creating “urgency” through branding might have been an appropriate strategy in times where it was all about product “pushes” into markets. I think these days are over, and I would suggest to replace urgency by “relevance”, asking ourselves, how we can create higher relevance through branding. This question will guide us to entirely different approaches to brand design, starting from a deeper understanding of audiences, of a brand’s heritage or DNA and shape the brand and its identity in ways that truly resonate in meaningful and certainly more sustainable ways with their audiences.

I don’t agree at all. Luxury (brand) marketing is not at all about the fear of missing out on the latest innovations. It is about understanding the fundamental, seismic shifts that impact consumer preferences and behaviours. Getting these right, and making sure to address the fundamental human needs in the right, meaningful way - so to say interpreted from a contemporary perspective - is what ensures that luxury brands remain eternal and timeless trusted pillars in a world of uncertainty and change. Want to learn more about what shifts I am referring to and that I see as relevant in luxury? Then see here. https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7084442194090020864?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_ios