I have written previously about luxury brands’ adoption of digital campaigns, for example designer Marc Jacobs’ MarcFam which encourages consumers to interact with the brand online via Twitter and Instagram.

I read with interest about the latest instalment of luxury jeweller Tiffany’s digital campaign “What Makes Love True,” which has adopted a similar approach in terms of digital user interaction. However this campaign, based on the concept of the art of love and romance, invites users into a world charged with emotion, presented in a highly immersive digital environment.

The first part of the campaign incorporates brand and user created content – videos of consumers narrating tales of “true love,” an interactive map where consumers share locations where they have experienced romance, and additional filmed content. For the second part of the campaign, launching next week, consumers will be able to upload their own tangible examples of “true love” through a user-curated gallery.

I have written in the past on the importance of brands connecting to consumers’ emotions, and this is a very successful association for a brand that wants to position itself as having a major significance at “life-stage” events such as engagements and weddings – with that significance now firmly embedded through its own virtual environment.

Chris Ramey, president of Affluent Insights, Miami commented: “Selling product benefits is, today, a failed strategy. Tapping into your prospect’s deep-seated values and emotions is key.

“Tiffany understands this marketing evolution as well as anyone,” he said. “Emotive selling connects neurologically to consumers who are disinclined to buy more stuff.

“This is the new reality for selling luxury.”

The What Makes Love True microsite can be found at

http://www.whatmakeslovetrue.com.

True Love in Pictures by Tiffany & Co

India is one of the four largest emerging economies (in addition to Brazil, China and Russia) and is expected to surpass China to be the world’s most populated country in the coming decade. With its count of High Net-Worth Individuals more than doubling in the past year (according to the World Wealth Report recently released by Capgemini and Merrill Lynch Wealth Management), there is certainly plenty of potential consumers for a variety of products and services.

Luxury brands are relatively well established in India; its first two luxury malls opened in 2008 – DLF Emporio in Delhi and UB City in Bangalore. Although welcomed by luxury retailers at the time, allowing them to expand out of the five-star hotels where they had traditionally confined themselves, in recent months the lack of appropriate retail space for luxury brands has become an issue. This is further compounded by soaring rental prices on what is available, meaning rents are far beyond what brands are willing to pay.

According to a report by international real estate consulting firm Cushman and Wakefield, rentals in the country’s high streets have gone up considerably – by as much as 15 per cent in some of the markets.

This appears to be driving a trend among luxury brands in India, with many switching to home delivery services for their high-end clients, in some cases even arranging personal fashion shows for their select few. Brands such as Gucci, Jean Paul Gaultier, Jimmy Choo are going out of their way to send a range of items for display at the client’s home.

Such a service may suit Lambda personality types who seek freedom in where and how they shop, but for Thetas who prefer context and consensus, the service may not be so appealing given it lacks engagement with like-minded shoppers and the all encompassing brand experience usually achieved through visiting a store.

The efforts of mid-range brands to reach consumers through social media channels are well documented. However, social media’s association with inclusivity means that ‘exclusive’ luxury brands have been slow to explore its uses, but this looks set to change.

2010 saw the luxury market experience a digital tipping point. Many brands launched e-commerce sites, some experimented with Facebook and Twitter personalities (e.g. Burberry, Gucci), while a few went even further; streaming live runway shows at New York Fashion Week and enabling consumers to interact in real time, is just one example.

The fashion industry in particularly has been quick to recognize the potential of such interaction, and has driven the emergence of ‘crowd sourcing’. This allows an engaged consumer base to determine which products should be manufactured – the ultimate empowerment of the consumer.

My prediction is that luxury brands will this year look at how to capitalize further on the instant consumer connection that social media can facilitate. However, a recent report from Gartner revealed that 70% percent of social media campaigns will actually fail in 2011, highlight

ing that brands must carefully consider their strategy before executing a campaign.