From a global pandemic to Black Lives Matter, 2020 has dramatically altered customers’ needs and expectations of brands and businesses. Day 1 of the Walpole Festival of Luxury Marketing examines how the mindset and priorities of the luxury consumer has changed, what they now want – and expect – from luxury brands, and how brands can reach these ever discerning, and demanding, customers both now and in the future.

Session 1: How to Build a Brand with Heart by Farrah Storr, Editor-in-Chief of ELLE UK and Walpole CEO Helen Brocklebank

The Festival opened with a rallying cry from Farrah Storr, award-winning Editor-in-Chief of ELLE UK, social mobility commissioner and author of The Discomfort Zone. Farrah, in conversation with Walpole’s CEO Helen Brocklebank, discussed how to build a luxury brand with heart – an ambition she has poured into her first year at the helm of ELLE UK, the world’s leading authority on fashion and style.

Session 2: Customer Deep Dive with Bain & Company and The Future Laboratory

In this session we heard the latest insights from The Future Laboratory and Bain & Company. The Bain  team opened the session with an overview on how COVID-19 has impacted consumer trends in the fashion-luxury industry, discussing what’s new vs. what is an acceleration of an already ongoing shift of paradigm, what is “here for now” and what “here to stay”. Chris Sanderson, Founder of The Future Laboratory was up next, and examined the luxury consumers of the future with a presentation of their new Tribes Report. The report spotlights 12 affluent consumers who are pioneering an innovative approach to luxury. Challenging what it means to be wealthy, this mindful group of luxury consumers have chosen a lifestyle that prioritises freedom and self-fulfilment over a settled existence.

Download Bain & Company’s Report here: Read the Bain Report

Session 3: How to sell Brand Britain to the World? by Kevin Chesters, Co-Founder of Harbour and Dan Ramsay, Director of the GREAT Capaign.

Kevin Chesters has 25 years’ of experience marketing great British brands globally in his role as Strategic Head of some of the most famous advertising agencies in the world. His talk helped us separate the “baggage” from the “assets” and give a point of view of how best to leverage the modern version of the “Best of Britain” to sell our brands more effectively. This is a new updated version of his talk to take into account data and learnings from lockdown and the impact of COVID-19. Following Kevin’s talk there was a Q&A with Dan Ramsay, Director of the UK’s GREAT Campaign.

Download the Britishness & Brand Identity Report here.

To watch any of these sessions again, please click here.

Please note, there is a small fee for non-attendees.

Watch Highlights of Day 1 here: