August Berg: Promoting an accessible luxury watch via social media

• Main Authors: LUI, Patricia, BHATTACHARYA, Lipika
• Format: text
• Language: English
• Published: Institutional Knowledge at Singapore Management University 2021
• Subjects: Luxury Branding; Accessible Luxury Marketing; Social Media Marketing; Influencer Marketing; Brand Equity; Brand Positioning; Marketing; Social Media
• Online Access: https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/cases_coll_all/348; https://cmp.smu.edu.sg/case/4936
• Institution: Singapore Management University

Set in September 2020, the case talks about marketing an accessible (affordable) luxury watch brand, 'August Berg', by a luxury-product distribution company, Norbreeze, based in Singapore. The company's founder, Anders Peter Juel Sauerberg, was sceptical about the launch of a new collection of the watch brand, as it had seen limited sales in one year since its inception. Sauerberg had set up a kiosk store of the brand in an iconic luxury mall in the city and adopted social media platforms and influencer marketing to promote the brand with little success. The brand represented the ethos of Danish design - minimalism and high quality and targeted a niche category of millennials, i.e. young parents and professionals. The brand was also attached to a corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiative that supported the education of children from low-income families. While Norbreeze had seen success in the Singapore market with the distribution of other accessible luxury watches and jewellery from Danish brands like Skagen and Pandora, it had failed to see similar results for its own in-house brand, August Berg. The 'lipstick effect' of the market due to the Covid-19 pandemic and the lack of brand awareness for the new watch brand were identified as the key reasons for low sales. Given the financial constraints of operating as a start-up, how could Sauerberg enhance the brand awareness of August Berg? What digital and social media marketing strategies could he implement to promote his brand? The case helps students analyse (1) the accessible luxury market, (2) why large luxury brands are striving to enter this segment, (3) the social media strategies implemented by firms to promote accessible luxury products, (4) evolving consumer behaviour patterns in luxury. (5) CSR and its attractiveness for a luxury brand, and (6) growth strategies of a luxury product distribution company relative to market constraints.