At the age of 52, a French stylist decided to follow his dream to create a fashion house where he could show his innovative ideas. The name of that stylist: Christian Dior. As you’ve probably already figured out by now, this man was the creator of the brand known today as Dior, a multi-million dollar company that was created in 1947 and is now one of the most renowned fashion brands in the industry. Dior uses its unique style to sell products and maintain its position as a prestigious and exclusive brand of luxury goods. It uses power and influence to stay in the market until today with all its legacy to support it. The luxury design house with a lot of fashion, fragrances and beauty, in charge of revolutionizing womens industry and making their prettiness bloom like a flower. The brand got famous after reviving Paris as the world fashion capital, after it fell from its predominating position after World War II.The New Look, with its full skirt silhouette, brought a new face to men’s war uniforms and influenced stylists from Miuccia Prada to Alexander McQueen and Vivienne Westwood. To maintain his position as a producer of haute couture and products to satisfy the needs of the high-class segment, the fashion house uses a lot of specific marketing strategies focused on a specific audience: the high class, always highlighting their exclusivity.
Not only is Dior an internationally known company, but it also sponsors with people all around the world, paying millions for celebrities to star in their campaigns. The sponsorships go from Charlize Theron branding perfumes, to Cara Delevigne for Dior’s skincare and makeup collection. Dior always chooses the rich and powerful to represent the company, such as its latest global brand fashion and beauty ambassador: Yara Shahidi, an actress, producer and change-maker. Shahidi was chosen because she represents the fashion house essence as it continues to develop into the new generation. But, what is this essence that Dior wants to represent so much? According to its owner LVMH, a French holding multinational corporation and conglomerate specializing in luxury goods led by Bernard Arnault, Dior wants to “Continually reinvents the unique heritage and savoir-faire created by Monsieur Dior. We are avid to share this dream with our customers around the world, the embodiment of Parisian haute couture, infused with the values of excellence, innovation and audacity”. Dior’s message wants to show the consumers that while they want to bring back “the unique heritage and savoir-faire” (the ability to act or speak appropriately in social situations) created by its original fashion designer, Christian Dior, they also want to reinvent it to adapt the traditional style to the present days, combining both. They also say that they want to share Parisian sophisticated culture with the world, showing them the “values of excellence, innovation and audacity” that are present in that culture. That mission statement not only emphasizes their unique style, but also shows the consumers that even with time, Dior will maintain its place as a prestigious and exclusive brand, since it continues to evolve and innovate.
Another topic that Dior is also innovative at is packaging. Consumers first see a product through its packaging, leading Dior to choose classic designs but also change them for special collections, without taking away their visual identity, emphasizing the exclusivity in not only buying a Dior bag, but a special edition. Everyone that has ever bought a Dior product such as a purse or seen an unboxing online knows that while the packaging may be characterized as simple it is also sophisticated. A white box with the brand’s name and with a matching ribbon around it is the image that comes to mind when talking about Dior packaging, especially about purses and shoes. Attractive packaging triggers impulse buying and it influences their purchase decision. Not only that but beautiful and unique packaging opens the gate to free marketing, such as unboxing and posting pictures of your products on social media. The website Debutify did a research which showed that over 54% of online buyers watch unboxing videos and 61% of online customers think a brand looks more premium if it uses branded packaging because it reinforces that the product brought is worth the price. The brand invests so much on their packaging because it creates a brand awareness like no other channel and it shares positive reviews on possible future consumers. Packaging is one of the ways that Dior shows its unique style. For Dior to keep selling products at a higher price and maintain its position as a prestigious brand, they need to be seen as an exclusive brand and packaging is one way to remind their consumers of their exclusivity.
Through innumerable advertisements, Dior tries to handle both younger and older consumers. They do that by dealing with online content on social media for the new generation and printed ads for the baby boomers, that is the generation born around the end of WWII that are economically influential. By dealing with both, Dior generates a profit of thousands of dollars. At the same time the luxury brand wants to continue offering exclusivity, they want to have a greater reach. To reach their target audience, Dior doesn’t market through television or newspaper, instead they publish their ads through specific fashion magazines such as Vogue, which attends to their target audience, that usually are not very price conscious and normally are willing to pay for the high status even if it’s a trendy or temporary product. Christian Dior takes relationship management with the customer very seriously, they strengthen ties by rewarding them and sending the newest and more exclusive products of the moment, leading the consumers to be loyal to the brand, leading the consumers to be loyal to the brand. The fashion house keeps attracting their specific audience through sophisticated channels, that way people with money, the elite or someone who wants to display their luxury goods are attracted to keep buying from Dior.
It is clear that Dior takes advantage of its unique style to sell products and maintain its status as a cliquish and prestigious brand. It’s also noticeable how the company uses power and influence to stay in the fashion industry and marketing until today with all its legacy supporting it. Dior uses legacy, sponsorships, packaging experience and advertisements to take place in the society as an elite brand that only the upper class can access. To make the fashion house a classy and honorable business, its owners invested a lot in looks, since it is known that the way people see a brand it’s one of the most important things for a brand to succeed. Dior is a great example of that, since in 10 years the brand was already reappraising women’s style after years of war and restraint.
Works cited
Weaver, Katie. “The History of an Iconic Brand: The House of Dior.” KRNL L&F, 4 Feb. 2021, www.krnlmagazine.com/post/the-history-of-an-iconic-brand-the-house-of-dior.
Tovar, Daniela. “What Is Dior’s Marketing Strategy? | BluCactus UK.” BluCactus United Kingdom, 30 Aug. 2022, www.blucactus.uk/what-is-diors-marketing-strategy.
MBA Skool Team. “Christian Dior Marketing Strategy and Marketing Mix (4Ps).” MBA Skool, 5 Oct. 2017, www.mbaskool.com/marketing-mix/products/17343-christian-dior.html.
“How Top Brands Create a Memorable Unboxing Experience.” Debutify, 14 Sept. 2021, debutify.com/blog/want-a-memorable-unboxing-experience-here-s-what-top-brands-do-to-delight-their-customers.
Padia, Vrushali. “These Are Dior’s Most Expensive Brand Endorsements to Date.” TheRichest, 23 May 2022, www.therichest.com/rich-powerful/these-are-diors-most-expensive-brand-endorsements-to-date.
