Are you building anticipation around your luxury brand?

Unlike a mass brand which aims to provide instant gratification, a luxury brand aims to build anticipation in an attempt to create moments of heightened suspense. Building anticipation bodes well with the personality of a luxury brand which benefits from being exclusive and even, elusive.

Anticipation can be built at every consumer touchpoint, right from branding to packaging, all the way to advertising and retail.

Building anticipation before the launch

Perhaps no other brand builds anticipation quite like Apple, which fuels speculation and hype by maintaining high levels of secrecy prior to its launch. As we approach the date of Apple's keynote address, the internet buzzes with speculation as to what could be unveiled by Apple next.

Videos of prototypes are posted overnight, claiming to be leaked from Apple's facilities. Bloggers speculate if the next product will be iPhone 14s, iPhone 14e or iPhone 15. Will the phone be equipped with a dual camera? Will the phone feature a projector? Will the headphone jack be back? What will be the estimated cost? In which country will the phone be the most expensive?

If we take out a leaf from Apple's success story, we take away an important insight; The best way to promote your product is to get others to do it for you. Apple has leveraged this insight by forging relationships with influencers, bloggers and the media, which promote its brand, virtually free of cost.

Building anticipation during the launch

A tactic often employed by luxury brand marketers is to create a sense of faux scarcity. OnePlus often introduces its phones with a pre-order, creating an illusion of scarcity.

Several whisky brands offer limited edition variants, such as The Glenlivet Master Distiller's Reserve Whisky. Launched in honour of Alan Winchester who has been Master Distiller at the distillery since 2009, the whisky was launched exclusively at airports as a travel edition.

When Apple launches, in just one hour, the website reports a delay in deliveries owing to unprecedented demand, setting a new record for first-day sales.

Yet another approach for luxury brands entails setting up hurdles between the consumer and the retail outlet. To this end, brands advertise a launch with the a condition which states By Invitation Only or By Appointment Only, so as to weave in a sense of exclusivity.