Johns Hopkins University Carey Business School
Branding and Marketing Communications
BU.430.710.51

Luxury Brand Voice Report
Yu Huang

Brand Personality/Visual Style
As a family-owned company based in France, Longchamp stands out as a luxury brand for its timeless and classic design, excellent quality, French prestige and affordable prices. Its brand personality can be seen in the following aspects: (1) logo, (2) two product lines—luxruy and “Le Pliage”, (3) endorsers, (4) store design. While its unique logo and “Le Pliage” consistently delivers its timeless and classic image, its endorsers and store design integrate a more modern, fashion, prestigious, French sense into its brand image, in order to get rid of “being old-fashioned” and “being a mass brand”.

Logo: Embedding an equestrian in its logo reminds people of high quality leather goods used in equestrianism in old days, which reveals a classic feeling with prestige. Also, the company incorporates “PARIS” in its logo to maintain a sense of French heritage. The equestrian sign alone is imprinted in every one of its product, meaning that Longchamp believes this sign is most classic, recognizable, and valuable in its brand visual design.

Product: ”Le Pliage” vs. luxury : as the most affordable product line, “Le Pliage” has become Longchamp’s trademark bag to the mass market. Light weight, simplicity, affordable by middle-class women—all give it an image of both “kindly indulgence” and “hard-working”. It conveys a sense of classic as its simple design lasts for several decades; also, the story that every French girl gets it as a gift for being a grown-up even adds a sense of French tradition into it. However, even though luxury product line incorporates fashion elements, the simple, affordable “Le Pliage” may dilutes its brand image towards the luxury segment (the second picture) as it attracts a lower-income segment; even worse, since “Le Pliage” gains the most worldwide reputation, chances are that some customers may misperceive Longchamp as a mass brand.

Brand endorsers: to overcome the downsides of “being old-fashioned” and “too affordable” brought by “Le Pliage”, Longchamp invites several international endorsers to convey its prestigious and modern feeling. Kate Moss, who earns endorsements for top fashion brands such as Dior, Chanel, Calvin Klein, has long been Longchamp’s official endorser mainly because of her credibility in the luxury industry, aiming to reveal its prestigious positioning just like Dior and Chanel. Also, through endorsement, Longchamp delivers a modern, delightful image by inviting French model Audrey Marnay to produce posters as the second picture shows.

Store design: another brand element as “being modern”, Longchamp’s store design maintains a contemporary, artistic, and delightful atmosphere. Stores use bright colors and simple display to deliver a sense of elegance and dedication.

In conclusion, even though Longchamp has divergence among its product image, in terms of brand awareness and sales results, it successfully brands itself as a classic French fashion brand to two segments: working-class women and upper-class ladies.
Marketing Communication Sampling—web series: “the HEELS”

In addition to regular fashion shows, Longchamp creates a seven-episode web-series broadcast in 2011. The story is about Alice Valois, a young fashion editor who competes with her colleague for job promotion. The show includes most of Longchamp’s new collections of handbags and shoes. It has proven to be a success in supporting its brand voice—fashion, French style, indulgence but hardworking. Even though it uses the most mass and one-way communication vehicle—broadcast, it introduces Longchamp’s new collections in an emotional, dramatical way, which can be seen from its frames and music; however, the plot remains debatable since it promotes wrong values at work, thereby adversely impacting