Marketing research

Emma RAYMOND
etu20181834
Introduction
The Metaverse has been created during Covid-19 and since then constitute a new digital
technology and a great opportunity for brands to create a bond with customers, especially Gen
Z. Luxury brands use Metaverse because it allows them to create interactions and experiences
thanks to VIP experiences, virtual showrooms and fashion shows…
The NFT (Non-Fungible Token) are also used by the luxury industry for storytelling; the
creation is enhanced, and brands can be more creative.

For example, Gucci participated in Christie's NFT auction, "Proof of Sovereignty. The event
was showcased like a dialogue between the 20th and 21st century digital art. Gucci is the first
luxury brand to have launched an NFT during the pandemic. This is this NFT that has been
sold during the auction, an artwork based on a digital animation from Gucci Aria, the latest
presentation from the House's collection.

According to Statista, NFT sales in the art segment amounted to 2.57 billion U.S. dollars in
2021. From a management point of view, it is interesting to evaluate the impact of NFT and
art in general on sales and brand image in the customer’s mind.
The management problem could be here to know should art be used in luxury brand
communication?

To answer to this management problem, a literature review demonstrating the positive and
negative impacts of using art in luxury brand communication will be done.

Theoretical foundation

1. How can art be used in luxury brand communication?

Luxury brand can infuse art into luxury thanks to four types of relationships.

The first relationship is sponsorship. Dior has done a sponsorship with the Musée des
Arts Décoratifs, where the brand has showcased its heritage collection “Christian Dior:
Couturier de Rêve”. By definition, sponsorship has a high degree of engagement but more
ephemeral.
Foundation is the second relationship; the purpose is to increase general interest with a
non-profit goal. In the luxury sector, Prada, Cartier, Van Cleef & Arples and Louis Vuitton
already developed foundations. In term of engagement, the foundation relationship conveys a
high intensity of engagement in the art sector and a timelessness perspective.
The third type of relationship is artistic collaborations, it is the mostly used
relationship in the luxury sector. It is mainly used to target Gen Z customers and rejuvenate
the brand image.
The last type of relationship is artistic mentoring. For luxury brands, it represents the
support for artistic creations by helping young artists to become more established. LVMH
prize is one of this type of relationship. It is an international contest that highlights creation.

These four relationships are examples of artification.

In their article, Marin, Barra and Moyana explain how artification strategies can improve
luxury perceptions from a customer point of view: adding an artistic name play a big role.
According to Jelinek, artification is “where art is integrated into every step of the value chain
and creative process” (2018). It is like a partnership between luxury brands and art. Also,
artification is being part of a “luxification” strategies. “Luxification” strategies are used to
gain market share and drive profitability. These strategies can create a connection between the
brand and the perception of prestige, sophistication and luxury. For Greenberg et Al, it
“creates an association connecting luxury with the brand in the customer’s mind”.

We can see here that luxury brands have several ways to use art in luxury brand
communication.
Hence the research question will be to know; will the use of art in luxury brand
communication improve the brand image?

2. Positive advantages of using art into luxury communication

Few theories will be discussed in this part.

The first one is that art strengthens customer engagement in the luxury sector. This
theory is depicted by Alessia Grassi in her essay.
Customer engagement plays an important role in luxury. Engagement can be of two types;
offline (with brand experiences) and online (with e-commerce, social media content…). If we
talk about engagement in art, the term customer engagement allows a shift from “one-way
reception of messages to an active two-way relationship or conversation that might involve a
person or a groupe of people, in reacting to, generating and sharing information” (Smith and
Gallicano, 2015). Hence, art is a way of engaging with customers by creating a dialogue with
them.
Since the Covid-19, customer’s desire to live sensorial and emotional experiences
have been reinforced, but some brands did not succeed to do it and have lost the engagement
with the customers. For Gilmore and Pine, “in their pursuit of meaning, consumers are
starting to question the authenticity and truthfulness of the many experiences offered by
brands” (2009). So, art would be a tool to emphasize the bond between a brand and a
consumer.
For Mermiri, “providing a cultural and meaningful experience outside the commercial
environment, the experience is perceived as more authentic” (2009). Brands have all interest
in investing in art to give to the customers an emotional experience. Experiences will be
benefic both for the customers and the brand because there will be a creation of “interactions,
feeling of enthusiasm and inclusivity and perceived authenticity of the experience, without the
risk of undermining the allure of exclusivity” (Gilmore and Pine, 2009).

H1: Using art in luxury communication has a positive impact on the customer
engagement.

Then, we will focus on the second theory provided by Claudie Chailan, she states that
art is a way to re incorporate luxury brands’ rarity and value. There is a paradox here because
luxury implies scarcity, but they must also generate sales.
Wetlaufer explains this paradox as “the one of massification and popularization vs. rarity
(2011). In luxury, scarcity is being defined by the artisanat, the craftmanship, high prices and
a selective distribution network. But other elements must be taken into account for luxury
brands to differentiate themselves from the other brands. Art offers a huge opportunity to
creativity and imagination, so it is a way of being different and touch customers in a different
way.
Hence, art can solve this paradox, “the aim is to re-introduce exclusivity, inspiring consumers
by using art as a distinguishing feature” (Braun and Wicklund, 1989). We can say that luxury
brands adopt art-based strategy.
Claudie Chailan concludes that “thanks to the alchemy between luxury and art, the brand
shifts from the world of ordinariness to that of extraordinariness”.

H2: Art-based initiatives can improve brand’s rarity and value

The third and final theory is claimed by Koronaki, Kyrousi and Panigyrakis. For them,
emotional value of art-based initiatives strengthens the luxury brand-consumer relationship.
As explained art-based initiatives convey value creation to the customers. An art-based
initiative is defined by “any organisational and management intervention using one or more
art forms to enable people to undergo an art experience within an organisational context, as
well as to embed the arts as a business asset” (Schiuma, 2009).
Emotion is a common feeling that luxury and art create. It results into the creation of a
hedonic value thanks to use of art into luxury.
Brand attachment and brand loyalty are direct consequences of art-based initiatives.
Brand attachment is defined as “the strength of the bond connecting the brand with the self”
(Keller, 2003). This is this brand attachment that will be the bond between the brand and the
consumer and that will create a brand loyalty.

H3: using art in luxury communication can increase the sales by a reinforcement of
brand loyalty and attachment.

To sum up the benefices of using arts into luxury brands communication have been
highlighted. The aim is to use art to gain a competitive advantage for luxury brands, it will
result to the creation of a unique identity for the brand.

Another research question could be asked; how the use of art in luxury brand
communication is perceived by the customers?

3. Negative effects of using art into luxury brand communication.

The first focus will be done on the paradox of the collaboration between luxury and street
artists. While luxury conveys values of elegance, quality and rigor, street art is perceived as
rebellious, ephemeral and accessible. This evaluation is detailed in the article by Baumgarth
and Bahati Wieker. To analyze this consumer evaluation, the art infusion effect was used.
Infusion is defined as “the influence of visual art on the perception and evaluation of
consumers products” (Hagtvedt and Patrick, 2008).

Two factors are important to take into account in the art infusion effect; the “lifestyle
perception” and the “fit construct”. Fit is very important because if consumers do not
understand the choice of a luxury brand to work with a particular artist, it will not have a good
impact on product reviews. A poor fit can also damage the brand's trust and reputation.
“Miscalculate the connection, or overshoot the expectations of the consumer, and a luxury
brand will cause considerable damage to their reputation” (Jelinek, 2018).

Not everyone has the same artistic taste. By engaging in artistic collaborations, such as street
art, luxury brands risk to choose the wrong association and "hurt" their luxury customers. Art
is subjective and personal, it is “not possible to create art branding that appeals to everyone”
(Jelinek, 2018).

Luxury brands must ensure that they use art as a strategic tool. Using art not “directly lead the
brand to have a competitive advantage” (Jelinek, 2018). For Jelinek, “consumers do not
respond to art by buying the associated products”. Instead, art creates a unique identity that
drives consumers towards luxury brands. Jelinek also states that consumers “buy because they
like something, not because of the artful branding”.

The meaning of the artist's name is also a challenge. An artistic collaboration is a success if
“people understand the design as a work of art” (Marin, Barra and Moyano). If the artist is
famous, the link between art and luxury is natural.

H1: A bad collaboration between a luxury brand and an artist can damage the brand
image.

In their article, Vukadin, Lemoine and Badot “explore the effect of incorporating artistics
elements into the shopping experience on store performance” (2016). Some brands like Louis
Vuitton or Dior have turned their flagship shops into museums. This was the case with the
recent opening of Dior's new flagship store at 30 rue Montaigne. Inside, there is an exhibition
of the brand's iconic products and a restaurant. To visit it, customers must make an
appointment online. Associate a flagship to a museum can be a risk for luxury brand;
“customers will view the store as a ‘museum’ and visit it without purchasing” (Vukadin,
Lemoine and Badot, 2016). They use the term "museumisation" of the shopping experience to
describe the risk. It can be a recertification in a non-commercial place.

H2: Using art into a luxury store can increase sales.

To sum up, luxury brands must be very careful regarding the choice of the artists they
collaborate with. It can lead to the opposite effect of what is expected. Moreover, using too
much art into luxury stores can change the nature of the place and not lead to an increase of
sales.

Analytical Model

Research question Variables Link with the articles in the

1 literature review
Hypothesis 1 Customer engagement Smith and Gallicano, 2015
Use of art-based initiatives Gilmore and Pine, 2009
Customer experience
Hypothesis 2 Scarcity Claudie Chailan, 2018
Use of art-based initiatives Braun and Wicklund, 1989

Hypothesis 3 Purchase intention Koronaki, Kyrousi and Panigyrakis,

Brand loyalty 2017
Brand attachment Schiuma, 2009
Keller, 2003
 Research question Variables Link with the articles in the
2 literature review
Hypothesis 1 Subjectivity of art Baumgarth and Bahati Wieker, 2020
Brand image Hagtvedt and Patrick, 2008
Jelinek, 2018

Hypothesis 2 Purchase intention Vukadin, Lemoine and Badot, 2016

Store experience using art

Research design

The research design chosen is the one of a conclusive research design. The research
questions and hypothesis are specific and do not need a research to better define the problem.
Make a conclusive research will allow to have a large and representative sample. It is the best
option, as art is subjective, to have the maximum opinions and views. Hence, the data analysis
will be quantitative; data collection will be structured and the analysis statistical.
The outcomes will be to recommend actions and to find inputs for decision making, to know
how management team could best apply art in luxury brand communication.

A causal research will be conducted. In fact, in this essay, we have two research
questions and few hypotheses with different variables for each of them. It is logical to use
causal research because it will allow the management team to understand which variables the
cause (independent variables) and which variables are the effect (dependent variables) of a
phenomenon. For example, for the research question 1 and the first hypothesis, the
independent variable will be the use of art-based initiatives and the dependent variables will
be the customer experience that will conduct to customer engagement. It will help the
management to know whether the use of art-based initiatives can have a positive impact on
customer engagement.
The causal research also determines the nature of the relationship between the casual
variables. It is useful here to understand the effect whether they are positive or negative
between art and luxury.

In order to test the hypothesis, an experiment could be done. For example, 10 Gucci
luxury stores could be picked to conduct this experiment; 5 would have incorporated art in
their stores and other 5 stores not incorporate art. This experiment could allow management
team to test few hypotheses; RQ1, H1/2 or RQ2, H2. But this type of experiment can be
expensive, and it will not collect enough data to careful analyze the effect of art in luxury
brand communication.
To touch a larger audience, a survey could be done. This method is based on questioning
respondents about behavior, opinion, attitude, awareness, motivation and lifestyle. It will be
collected thanks to an online survey.
As primary data have already been collected thanks to academic reviews, this analysis will
provide secondary data that could be used to better define the problem and interpret primary
data. The online survey will reveal demographic, psychographic data, that will establish a
profile of consumers.

You can find here, some questions that a consumer will find in the online survey:
About the demographic data:
 - What is your gender?
- What is your age?
- What is your educational level?

About psychographic data:

- Are you interested in art?
- Will the use of art-based initiatives such as artistic collaborations increase your desire
to buy a product? Yes/no
- Do you associate art with luxury? Yes/no
- Do you think art-based initiatives can improve the brand image? Yes/no
- What do you think when you see a luxury brand using art? No relevant at all/ more or
less relevant/ relevant.

The measurement of demographic data will be done through a nominal scale. For the gender,
male=1 and female =2 for example. Or for the psychographic data for the question “Do you
think art-based initiatives can improve the brand image?”, yes=1 and no=2. It will be easier to
test the hypothesis and the correlation between variables.

References

Baumgarth, C., Bahati Wieker, J. (2020), “From the classical art to the urban art infusion
effect: The effect of street art and graffiti on the consumer evaluation of products”. Creativity
and Innovation Management, pp. 116-127

Braun, O., Wicklund, R. (1989), “Psychological antecedents of conspicuous consumption”.

Journal of Economic Psychology, pp. 161-187

Chailan, C. (2018), “Art as a means to recreate luxury brands’ rarity and value”. Journal of
Business Research, Vol 85, pp. 414-423

Gilmore, J. and Pine, J. (2009), “Using art to render authenticity in business”, in Mermiri, T.
(Ed.), Beyond Experience: Culture, Consumer & Brand, Arts&Business, London.

Hagtvedt, H., & Patrick, V. M. (2008a). Art infusion: The influence of visual art on the
perception and evaluation of consumer products. Journal of Marketing Research, 45, 379–
389.

Jelinek, J.S. (2018), “Art as strategic branding tool for luxury fashion brands”, Journal of
Product & Brand Management, Vol. 27 No. 3, pp. 294-307, doi: 10.1108/JPBM-01-2017-
1408.

Koronaki, E., Kyrousi, A.G,. Panigyrakis, G.G (2017), “The emotional value of arts-based
initiatives: Strengthening the luxury brand-customer relationship” Journal of Business
Research.

Marin, V., Barra, C., Moyano, J. (2021), “Artification strategies to improve luxury
perceptions: the role of adding an artist name.” Journal of Product and Brand Management,
p469-505.
Smith, B.G. and Gallicano, T.D. (2015), “Terms of engagement: analyzing public engagement
with organizations through social media”, Computers in Human Behavior, Vol. 53, pp. 82-90.

Vukadin, A., Lemoine, J. F., & Badot, O. (2016). Opportunities and risks of combining
shopping experience and artistic elements in the same store: A contribution to the magical
functions of the point of sale. Journal of Marketing Management, 32(9-10), 944-964.