Publicis Worldwide announced yesterday that they will be partnering with Google and magazine publisher Conde Nast to launch a new end-to-end premium marketing service called 'La Maison' (“The house” in English). The service is aimed at affluent consumers, and will provide consumer insights, content and technology to boutique agencies such as AR New York, Publicis 133 and Publicis EtNous for luxury brands such as Cartier, Yves Saint Laurent and Jimmy Choo. The collaboration was formed in order to tackle new challenges facing premium brands due to changing consumer habits and global competition, by utilising Google's data on consumer trends and Conde Nast's affluent readership.
The service is aimed at affluent consumers, and will provide consumer insights, content and technology to boutique agencies for luxury brands
Charles Georges-Picot, CEO of Publicis 133 will head the new unit. He says that “Conde Nast knows how to produce content and Google has a much deeper reach on data” than they currently do. He says that by combining their unique resources and skill sets, Google and Conde Nast will be able to offer “Fresh insights” to the agencies clients, “Whether it’s understanding the behaviours of Brazilian luxury buyers and spotting the next big social channel in China, or providing unique fashion films and exclusive editorial content.” Lou Cona, chief revenue officer of Condé Nast and president of the Condé Nast Media Group, says their content is “Widely recognised as best-in-class,” and they look forward to bringing their expertise to even more luxury brands.
The 'La Maison' team; Carlo D’Asaro Biondo (Google), Lou Cona (Conde Nast), Arthur Sadoun (Publicis Worldwide) and Charles Georges-Picot (Publicis 133)
As part of the partnership, La Maison and Google will offer Publicis data and insights of affluent customers, broken down by desktop, mobile and tablet activity, and gathered through online shopping trends, YouTube video consumption and search engine activity. This data will help luxury brands develop campaigns to better target this unique target audience. Conde Nast, which owns lifestyle brands such as Vogue, Vanity Fair and GQ, magazines aimed at fashion wealthy and fashion conscious readers, will also be producing original, localised content, which could range from film and premium programming to photography and bespoke news articles.
La Maison marries Publicis Worldwide's “Expertise and heritage in luxury marketing services,” with their “Unique technology and content partnerships.”
Research undertaken by the consulting firm Bain & CO, has shown that the luxury sector will grow by an estimated 6% this year, so it's the perfect time for all three companies to pool their resources and make the most of an expanding market. Arthur Sadoun, CEO of Publicis Worldwide, believes that La Maison marries the agencies “Expertise and heritage in luxury marketing services,” with their “Unique technology and content partnerships to provide clients with a platform to (help them) understand and reach globally the most prized consumers.” He says Publicis are “Committed to ensuring (their) clients are at the forefront of their sector,” and feels La Maison “Will help redefine marketing for luxury brands.”
Raul Martinez (CEO at AR New York and design director at Vogue), who will be leading La Maison with Charles Georges-Picot
La Maison is setting out of the gates with a small team of around 15 people across the three partners for an initial period of 12 months. Augustine Fou, senior digital strategy advisor for Publicis, says the partnership makes sense in part because Google has good firsthand data about affluent customers, which it does not typically share via public tools such as Google Trends. She also makes the point that whilst affluent customers never used to shop for luxury items online, the rise of smartphones and tablets mean that affluent consumers are spending more time with screen-based media. This is especially true in China and India, where Fou says that the "Mounting evidence that (affluent consumers) spend time and money online, is even more pronounced."
Benjamin Hiorns is a freelance writer and musician from the UK. His idea of 'luxury goods' is a visit to Primark, but that does not mean he doesn't enjoy the finer things in life.
