奢侈之舉 真誠回饋
對於奢侈品牌而言，利用其深遠的影響力幫助有需要的人群，品牌自身也從中獲益良多。而且對於品牌消費者來說，這樣的舉動已經不僅是意料之外的驚喜，更是一種理所當然的期待。
當今世界的消費格局和人道主義氣息變得越來越複雜，奢侈品牌深知他們既有權力、也有義務擔當推動社區慈善福利的角色。他們已經意識到，透過奢侈品傳遞回饋社會的善念，是品牌內涵裡極為重要的組成部分。
For luxury brands, using their considerable clout to help people benefits more than just the bottom line. And for consumers, it’s no longer a bonus— it’s the expectation.
當今世界的消費格局和人道主義氣息變得越來越複雜，奢侈品牌深知他們既有權力、也有義務擔當推動社區慈善福利的角色。他們已經意識到，透過奢侈品傳遞回饋社會的善念，是品牌內涵裡極為重要的組成部分。時尚界的領袖們也認識到回饋社會的重要性。美國時裝設計師協會將今年首個施華洛世奇積極變革獎頒給Kenneth Cole, 表彰他帶頭以設計作品支援美國愛滋病研究基金會的努力。諸如Lemlem, Urban Zen這類『道德品牌』的崛起，讓顧客清楚知道自己花的錢在慈善上的去向。從當前市場研究結果中能看出一個明顯趨勢：佔世界人口比例四分之一的千禧世代，每年消費總額超過一萬億美元，這種強大的消費力也在影響著奢侈品牌，最近針對千禧世代的市場營銷研究表明，如果購買一件奢侈品能支持某項慈善活動，近半數的人會更樂意考慮。顧客們清楚知道，他們買一個名牌手袋不僅是買下那些皮革和構成部件，更是買下了一個夢想。奢侈品牌要盡量將這個夢想的價值主張變得更加多元化，這一點至關重要。品牌想要建立自身識別度，投身慈善事業是必不可少的一步。善意已成為貨幣，慈善事業已成為品牌價值。但就此斷言奢侈品牌回饋社會的努力就是為了建立品牌識別度，未免過於偏激。那些長期堅持為慈善事業貢獻價值的公司，會將慈善的精神融入品牌DNA, 而且不計較回報。正如永利拉斯維加斯總裁Maurice Wooden所言，慈善事業往往從自家起步。自2014年起Wooden親力推動永利渡假村與拉斯維加斯Dean Petersen小學之間的合作。當時學校的運營狀況已經頗為艱難，『學校從政府處得到的支援有限，在我們的社區裡屬於極需幫助的機構，』他回憶說，『我們開始調用永利的倉庫物資和人力。例如派出影音工程部為學校修復對講機系統，還把倉庫裡的新地毯捐贈給學校。』隨著合作關係的發展，永利除了捐贈物資，開始為學校提供更多幫助。Wooden 介紹說：『永利拉斯維加斯上下各個部門紛紛加入與小朋友們互動的志願行動。宴會活動策劃團隊負責其中一班，俱樂部僱員團隊負責整個年級。』到目前為止，永利已經捐贈了數千件學校用品，為學校建築進行修繕改良工程，永利僱員們自願騰出了總共超過3000小時的私人時間照顧學校的小朋友。『這不是我們的公關花招，』Wooden說，『這是出自真心的行動。我們的員工喜歡並且享受參與慈善活動的過程，對我們來說已經是最好的回報。』最重要的是，永利僱員完全是出於自發參與活動。一個企業如何看待『奢侈』這個概念，往往會影響他們回饋社會的方式。服務的精神深深地根植於永利的品牌DNA,也無縫地融入酒店對外界社會的回饋服務。對於設計師Brunello Cucinelli來說，只有將僱員視作珍貴的藝術家一樣培養，才能成就一個真正的奢侈品牌。這就是他在意大利翁布裡亞的中世紀小鎮Solomeo為僱員打造烏托邦之城的原因。他限制工作時長，建立僱員專屬的劇院和禱告花園，並堅持90分鐘
In the world’s increasingly complicated political and humanitarian climate, luxury brands understand that they have the power—and responsibility—to be a force for good in their community. They realize the crucial nature of delivering a luxury product with a side of good karma. Important stakeholders in the fashion world recognize the importance of giving back, too. The Council of Fashion Designers of America gave its first Swarovski Award for Positive Change this year to Kenneth Cole, recognizing his leadership in the fight against HIV/AIDS through his work with AMFAR. The rise of “ethical brands” such as Lemlem and Urban Zen, has given shoppers a window into where their money is going and who it’s helping. It’s a trend that jibes with most current marketing studies, to be sure: Where the millennial generation comprises a quarter of the population, spends more than a trillion dollars annually, and influences luxury brands, a recent Millennial Marketing study shows that nearly half would be more willing to make a purchase if it supported a cause. Customers know that when you buy a luxury bag, you’re buying more than the leather and hardware holding it together. You’re buying a dream. But increasingly it has become crucial for luxury brands to diversify the value proposition of that dream. Philanthropy has become an indispensable way to build a brand’s identity. Goodwill has become currency, and philanthropy has become value. But building brand identity is a cynic’s way of looking at the power of luxury to give back. The companies whose charitable efforts have lasting value have philanthropy baked into their Dna—regardless of the cachet it affords them. As Maurice Wooden, President of Wynn Las Vegas, has come to know, that philanthropy often starts at home. Since 2014, Wooden has personally overseen a partnership between Wynn Resorts and Las Vegas’s Dean Petersen Elementary School, which had been struggling to serve its students. “This school was very challenged with respect to what they were receiving from the government and was in a very challenged part of our community,” says Wooden. “We started by taking advantage of resources available in our warehouse. We had our AV department come in and fix the school’s intercom systems that weren’t working. We brought in new carpet that we already had.” As the partnership grew, it became about much more than simply providing material goods. “Our special-events team adopted a class, our nightclub team adopted an entire grade, and all these different groups throughout Wynn Las Vegas started to come out and volunteer with the kids,” Wooden says. To date, Wynn has donated thousands of school supplies and provided improvements and repairs to the school building, while Wynn employees have volunteered over 3,000 hours of their time with the children. “This isn’t a PR stunt for us,” Wooden says. “This is real. We’ve benefited from giving back because our employees love it and are excited to be a part of it.” Importantly, Wynn employee involvement in the community is driven by the employees themselves.
的午餐休息時間，讓僱員可以與家人相聚，振奮精神；僱員的薪酬水準也比其它設計公司更高。他說：『我希望將尊嚴重新帶回這個行業，因為它對我們的經濟和傳統有重要的內在價值。我們在堅守一種傳統，這種傳統讓我們在業界居於獨特地位，我們僱員值得因此受到尊重。』時裝機構日漸發現，他們有獨特的潛力成為藝術界的重要推手。例如目前世界最大奢侈品牌家族Louis Vuitton Mo ët Hennessy集團, 2014年在巴黎建立的路易威登基金會，一躍成為歐洲當代文化的重要地標之一。由Frank Gehry設計的玻璃建築宏偉大氣，既是配套設施先進的公共空間，亦是當今巴黎最出色的博物館之一。LVMH旗下品牌在這裡舉行過各種時裝秀、Kanye West演唱會和鋼琴家Evgeny Kissin的音樂會等等， 1993年Prada文化藝術基金會（ Fondazione Prada）在米蘭成立，過去二十年間舉辦過無數場藝術展覽和演出， 2014年在Prada全球總部開設的永久藝術空間更被評為意大利最重要的現代藝術博物館之一。卡地亞基金會Cartier pour l’art Contemporain在1984年創立，多年來一直為當代藝術提供展覽和演出場地。支持創意新生力量，對奢侈品牌來說同樣重要。2013年LVMH集團設立了面向新興時裝設計師的LVMH獎，得獎者包括設計的希望之星Thomas Tait, Simon Porte Jacquemus, 以及Marques’almeida的聯合創始人Marta M arques和Paulo Almeida，每年的冠軍都能獲得30萬歐元獎金。據LVMH總監兼執行副總裁Delphine Arnault介紹：『LVMH年度時裝設計師獎的獲得者還能跟隨LVMH的專業人士進行為期一年的培訓。這將有助於他們將來發展自己的公司。』這些投入對品牌來說物有所值，並且非常重要。Arnault說：『我們決定設立這個獎項，是因為創造力一直是LVMH的核心。我們受熱情所驅使，更受責任感所驅使，去持續發掘年輕設計師人才，並幫助他們發展壯大。』奢侈品牌深知他們需要擔負的普世責任不僅限於時尚界，對全球貧困人口也同樣負有責任。高級定制鐘錶品牌IWC每年都會發行特別系列，銷售所得用於支持世界各地的兒童慈善機構。 而卡地亞則於2012年創建卡地亞慈善基金會，在基金會主席Pascale de la Frégonnière的推動下，致力於支持全球弱勢群體，尤其是婦女群體。Pascale de la Frégonnière曾經是聯合國兒童基金會法國委員會的籌款領袖，主持過的項目包括2015年尼泊爾地震緊急援助，向秘魯咖啡農民提供小額貸款支援，提升塞內加爾和世界其他貧困地區的醫療保健服務等。無論是為藝術界新星提供世界級的展覽空間，資助新生創意人才抑或只是簡單地幫助自家後院附近的學校，關鍵都是找到能引起各方認可和共鳴的項目，才是真正有價值的慈善之舉。奢華的酒店住宿，貴重的手袋，限量版的手錶，這些奢侈品背後都傾注了慈善的意義，正是這些獨特的意義，為奢侈品帶來了更高價值。 How companies view luxury often influences the way in which they give back. A culture of service is so embedded in Wynn’s DNA that it translates seamlessly into ways to serve outside the hotel. For designer Brunello Cucinelli, luxury would not be possible without nurturing his employees as valuable artisans, which is why he has created an entire utopian existence for them in the medieval town of Solomeo in Umbria. As well as capping his employees’ work hours, building them a theater and prayer garden, and insisting on a 90-minute lunch to rejuvenate and spend time with family, he pays them more than other design houses. “I wanted to bring dignity back to this trade because I recognize the intrinsic value that it holds for our economy and tradition,” he says. “They should feel valued for continuing a tradition that allows us to be special in our field.” Fashion houses are finding that they have a special power to be serious patrons of the arts. Consider Louis Vuitton Moët Hennessy, the world’s largest family of luxury brands. Since LVMH opened its Fondation Louis Vuitton in Paris in 2014, it has become an essential part of Europe’s contemporary cultural landscape. Its dramatic Frank Gehry-designed glass building is a state-of-the-art public space where LVMH brands have staged fashion shows, performances by the likes of Kanye West and pianist Evgeny Kissin, and now serves as one of Paris’s most exciting museum spaces. Established in Milan in 1993, Prada’s Fondazione Prada has organized countless art shows in and around that city over the last two decades, and the permanent space it opened in 2014 at Prada’s global headquarters is regarded as one of the most significant modern art museums in Italy. Cartier’s Fondation Cartier pour l’art Contemporain was created in 1984 to provide exhibition and performance venues for an array of contemporary arts. Supporting a new creative generation is also important to luxury brands. In 2013, LVMH instituted the LVMH Prize, a competition for emerging fashion designers. Winners have included promising design stars Thomas Tait, Simon Porte Jacquemus, and Marta Marques and Paulo Almeida of Marques’almeida; each year’s winner walks home with a 300,000 euro grant. According to Delphine Arnault, Director and Executive Vice President of LVMH, “The LVMH Fashion Designer of the Year will also have a year of coaching with LVMH professionals. It will help them grow their company” —a significant investment that is not only worthwhile but necessary. “We created this prize because creativity has always been at the center of everything that we do at LVMH,” she says. “It’s passion, of course, but it’s also a responsibility to discover the young designers of tomorrow and help them grow.” Luxury brands recognize their global responsibility not only to the fashion world, but also to populations in distress. Each year, the haute watch company IWC releases a special collection of timepieces whose sale supports children’s charities around the world. And Cartier created the Cartier Charitable Foundation in 2012 to focus on supporting vulnerable global populations, especially women, with president Pascale de la Frégonnière at the helm—she was previously a fundraising leader for Unicef France. Projects under her leadership have included earthquake emergency assistance in Nepal in 2015, microfinancing loans to Peruvian coffee farmers, and increasing access to healthcare in Senegal and other underserved parts of the world. Whether it’s providing world-class space for up-and-coming artists, funding new creative talent, or helping a school in your own backyard, the key is to find a project that creates synergy—because those are the ventures that add real value. The luxurious hotel stay, the status handbag, the exclusive watch—all are imbued with special meaning that makes them far more valuable.