MA Luxury Brand Management

The scholarly investigation of the diverse forms of luxury brand management has not been the sole preserve of management studies, but has taken on a distinctly multi-disciplinary character with contributions from sociologists, historians, economists, anthropologists and designers.

This module provides a thorough understanding of the unique practices associated with successful luxury brand management. The module probes the essence of luxury brand management, and explores the diversity of meanings associated with luxury across different markets, as well as the impact of social networks and digital developments.

In the contemporary luxury market, companies have to be connected with customers in increasingly creative ways. This is a field of great flux as managers of mainstream brands are increasingly looking at entry into the premium level, and managers of existing luxury brands try to tackle sections of the mass market. Thus, luxury has to distinguish itself through distinctive approaches to retail, information technology and marketing. Luxury provides the opportunity to stay close to one’s customers and to provide the things that they want. Luxury has traditionally been seen in a tangible way, especially with regard to fashion goods, but an emerging field on inquiry is the growth of experiential luxury and the expansion of luxury management skills into new areas such as tourism and hospitality, museums and art galleries, and theatres. The distinctive features of luxury brand management arose from a combination of theory and practice, and consideration is given to emerging future trends. It explores geographical and regional perspectives within their historical contexts with regard to the luxury sector or knowledge domain with reference to the development of luxury brands in Europe, and to the use of luxury items in Asian and African court-based societies. It examines in particular the rapid emergence of Japan as a major consumer and developer of luxury brands and how its own distinctive practices in retail, notably the close relationship between customer and retailer, became influential.

Luxury was once the preserve of skilled artisans, often grouped in guilds, making goods to order for wealthy and aristocratic customers and patrons. Access to luxury has become more widespread with even governments (e.g. China) introducing policies extolling the importance of access to luxuries and estimating the salary levels at which people can enjoy becoming luxury consumers. Few people in the 21st century have access to one-off goods and experiences, but many luxury brand managers have explored ways of customizing goods and experiences to provide a sense of uniqueness for their customers, often using digital-aided design that enables the customer to take part in the design process. Customization reinforces the notion that a tangible or intangible experience with a luxury brand creates a feeling of specialness. The module examines the techniques and strategies used by luxury brand managers and developers to engage closely with their customers and to expand their customer base. The strategies involve not only the design of material goods and intangible products, but the creative use of digital media, retail and marketing to connect closely with customers. These management approaches will be illustrated with case studies from the established brands of the West, but also from emerging brands in Asia, Africa and Latin America.

The module probes the essence of luxury brand management and explores the differences between mass, premium and luxury brand management strategies. The issues covered by the module provide a strategic perspective on the dynamic characteristics and opportunities associated with luxury brand management in a global context and examine the main forms of management in relation to the luxury goods and services industry. It introduces industry perspectives on luxury in relation to new venture creation and product development. There is a focus on the practicalities of management and an examination of the human resource management issues relevant to this sector. The module also discusses corporate social responsibility and environmental issues relating to luxury brand management. It covers the different approaches required in the management of branded luxury goods and the provision of luxury experiences and their underlying rationales.

It shows how, as small firms grew, the need for specialist managers became imperative and a sub-field of management known as luxury brand management came into being. It describes how theory and practice drawn from different sectors became synthesized in the context of luxury brand management. It examines and rationalises the success of those business models that have achieved sustainability and profitability, and highlights the management models that have been used to transform small family businesses into major brands. It examines the role of the intrapreneur as a form of corporate management style that integrates risk-taking and innovation, as well as associated rewarding and motivational approaches. It provides an understanding of the theoretical and practice-based approaches to management in relation to market entry strategies, market re-positioning and brand refreshment, as well as services and management approaches using critical thinking.

The module provides an understanding of the role of the luxury brand manager in relation to IP legislation and the contexts in which legal advice should be sought. It will introduce students to contemporary theory and practice in policy-making and industry by bringing in occasional speakers from ICCE’s networks in the industry. The term intellectual property (IP) refers to intangible assets created by the mind. IP is often afforded time-limited, legal monopoly protection. Intellectual property rights (IPRs) refer to the legal rights, including trade-marks, copyright, (industrial) design rights, and patents and, in some cases, trade secrets, that grant the right to control the use of intellectual efforts. Intellectual property laws have been around for many centuries but, in response to economic and industrial changes, it was not until the 1996 World Trade Organization (WTO) Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) agreement that IP took centre stage, though luxury and fashion patents had long received a great deal of attention in terms of world policy. While the importance of IP legislation is recognised by the vast majority of countries, the level of enforcement of IP laws varies. Reference is made to the British legal context, but the emphasis is on international legislation as the student body is likely to be diverse in terms of nationality. There are many historical and contemporary examples of IP infringement, including both commercial and artistic, and sometimes IP infringement is encouraged by brands and artists.

IP has been a cornerstone of the world of luxury as brand managers have a key duty to see that the IP rights of their employers are enforced and respected, and increasingly brand infringement is used as a marketing device. Conversely, there are cases in which brands appear to use independent designers’ work without attribution. Luxury refers to a very broad area of trade which includes intangible products such as fashion goods and experiential luxuries such as gastronomy, tourism and the performing arts. Chefs, designers and craftsmen alike have an interest in protecting their IP, and luxury brand managers need to be aware of the very different ways that IP applies across different fields. The module also considers the role of the luxury brand manager in the ethical exploitation of IP and draws attention to the way IP legislation reflects values and value.

An increasingly important debate concerns the relationship between IP and high-quality products whose rights are held collectively within a given culture, which is a pressing concern in the emerging economies. Towards the end of the 20th century an increasingly common concern began to be expressed by the leaders and policy-makers of emerging economies, notably in Asia and Africa, that Western fashion and luxury designers were exploiting the rich artistic registers of traditional cultures without any form of acknowledgement either in terms of attribution or payment. By the second decade of the 21st century the focus of this debate began to change as companies, particularly from the increasingly powerful economies of Asia began to appropriate traditional African designs to produce copies of traditional African goods. This caused further ire as the industrially produced copies often undercut traditional producers inhibiting their attempts to develop traditional crafts into luxuries as had happened in diverse locations in the West. Issues relating to cultural appropriation, joint authorship, gender and ethnicity will be actively explored in the module.

The World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) was created in 1967 “to encourage creative activity, to promote the protection of intellectual property throughout the world”, but by the 21st Century it was not seen as having the necessary skills and powers to combat IP abuses in emerging counties. However, specialists from a variety of disciplines are increasingly addressing these concerns through policy advice on IP legislation. Recent policy concerns Traditional Knowledge (TK), know-how associated with cultural identities, and Geographical Indications (GI), production methods specific to geographical locations. WIPO prioritises their development, as GI and TK are becoming increasingly important in global trade and policy. WIPO draws on the earlier Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works, which was adopted in 1886. A formative part of the module will include making presentations to the class with an appropriate range of technology under the guidance of the tutor.

The Dissertation is an extended piece of written work of 12,000 words, more or less 10%, on a research topic of your choice (but subject to approval). It is undertaken during the Spring and Summer terms with preparation and consultation in the Spring Term and research and writing up in the Summer Term. The dissertation comprises a critical review of the literature and/or original analysis of documentary and/or other evidence on a chosen topic within the fields of your programme.

The dissertation is intended to assess the full range of students’ abilities and to apply a range of learning outcomes, which the programme enables students to develop. In particular it enables assessment of the ability to design, develop and write an advanced research project using primary and/or secondary materials appropriate to the topic and according to the necessary conventions of scholarly work. It requires independent motivation and self-directed learning, under supervision, and enables students to demonstrate competence for critical analysis and sustained persuasive argument.

One of the main purposes of the dissertation is to enable the student to deepen his/her knowledge and understanding of the content and capabilities of the overall programme. The dissertation is written at the end of the programme and provides an opportunity to delve more deeply into a specific topic area and to synthesize knowledge acquired in previous studies. It provides the capability to use a holistic view critically, independently and creatively to investigate complex issues relating to luxury brand management. The dissertation provides the capability to critically and systematically integrate knowledge and to develop a knowledge of the research methods appropriate to his/her dissertation. The dissertation involved planning and use of adequate methods to conduct qualified tasks in given frameworks and to evaluate this work. The dissertation needs to present and discuss the conclusions as well as the knowledge and arguments that form the basis for these findings in written English. The citations and list of reference should conform to a consistent house-style (e.g. Harvard). The student must demonstrate am awareness of the ethical considerations related to research.

This lecture course will introduce you to the fundamentals of consumer psychology and behavioural economics.

It will give you an understanding of the fundamental decision making processes and the factors that influence these processes. It covers topics such as prospect theory and classical economics, brain structures and information processing, heuristics and rules of thumb, and framing and influencing techniques.

It also discloses the various strategies used by marketers to differentiate their products, leverage brands, set strategic prices, reduce the effectiveness of consumer search, and it compares the effectiveness of each.

The course covers topics such as the types and effectiveness of pricing strategies, individual differences in uptake of pricing strategies, value perceptions and subconscious influences (priming), and ethical and legal issues around influencing consumer choice.

The lectures in this course will be supplemented by several assignments designed to develop and enhance practical skills, and further develop familiarity with consumer psychological methods and theories.

This module will introduce students to the science of marketing and advertising. It will compare and contrast the old and the new in terms of theory and research, and examine the scientific literature on buyer behaviour and psychology in order to provide the state-of-the-art in the field. It also considers research on the most effective ways of communicating information to consumers – knowledge very much rooted in cognitive psychology and information processing models. It will examine different types of media, present research on the relative effectiveness of each, and identify best practices within each media strategy. The module will cover topics such as: advertising effectiveness, different types of media: online, TV, radio, print, communication strategies and cognitive psychology: Attention and Memory, and the six general principles of influencing. This information will help students understand the complexities and best marketing and advertising practices in creating and growing products, brands, and organisations.

The lectures in this module will be supplemented by several assignments designed to develop and enhance practical skills, and further develop familiarity with consumer psychological methods and theories.

How do managers discover attractive market opportunities? How can they tackle these market opportunities by creating impactful marketing strategies, based on a powerful market positioning?

How is marketing strategising different in established versus new market arenas? This module introduces students to the state-of-the art in marketing strategy formulation.

Students will work with an entrepreneurial, London-based company to develop and implement a real-world marketing plan.

• Find out about project management and its application to a range of project environments
• Critically evaluate project management theories as they relate to practical application
• Understand and act upon the role of the project manager in relation to project stakeholders
• Develop an understanding of appropriate project management methods, tools, and techniques, and their application for problem-solving and decision-making in project environments

Recent research in Asia has questioned the widely held assumption that tourism arose in the UK during the mid-19th century as a result of Thomas Cook’s introduction of the ‘package’, a combination of the cost of travel and another service.

It has been shown that travel and leisure existed in early Han Dynasty China as scholars and priests explored mountainous areas giving rise to one of the civilizations most enduring art forms, the landscape painting. Travel and leisure also seem to have gone hand in hand with that other widespread phenomenon, the pilgrimage, with the attendant development of hostelries, storytelling and souvenir production.

Industrial forms of tourism were introduced to Asia by European colonial powers in the late 19th and early 20th century with the development of hilltop stations to provide relief for officials and merchants working in tropical areas. Grand hotels were introduced with the Sarkies brothers opening up famous establishments in Myanmar (Burma), Singapore and Indonesia (Dutch East Indies). The inter war cruise ship industry made Asia accessible to wealthy Europeans and Americans with perceptible impacts on Asian hospitality traditions and visual and performing arts.

Western artists used the opportunities provided by tourism to open studios in Asia, notably Bali, often working alongside indigenous artists to create hybrid and highly creative art forms. The post-war era opened up parts of Asia to Western mass tourism, notably the so-called ‘rest and recreation’ of the US military in Thailand.

Tourism was also used as a nation building strategy by Asian leaders such as Suharto in Indonesia to encourage his countrymen to travel and to get to know their country and to project a tourist friendly external image of stability.

As the Asian economies developed, countries like Japan became major sources of outbound tourism with accompanying impacts on Western retail practices, especially with regard to fashion and luxury. By 2014 China had become the largest outbound and inbound tourism market with the introduction of China-friendly hotel ranking systems in Europe, such as the 5-dragons scheme, began to be experimented with in Europe.

Indian outbound tourism also became significant with some novel characteristics, such as an interest in the hybrid Indian-British culinary tradition of the ‘curry house’. Tourism is also one of the drives that has spread Asian culinary traditions around the world.

This module critically analyses the growth and character of cultural tourism and the growing relationship between the creative industries and cultural tourism.  It critically interrogates notions of the creative class, the creative city and the experience economy which have been used to underpin strategies in cultural tourism development. Ideas about the growing sophistication of cultural tourists and their changing tastes suggest that travellers wish to move beyond consumption to ‘prosumption’. With increasing competition between tourism destinations, the development of timely, attractive and innovative tourism products has never been more necessary – whether using the historic environment in creative ways or exploiting contemporary cultural forms. 

This module looks at the governance of cultural tourism at different spatial levels (from UNESCO to local government and local partnerships), best practice in destination management and the development of new tourism products. The geographic spread of cultural tourism and the greater diversity of products, necessitates the examination of issues related to contested meanings, authenticity, ethics, and sustainability. 

This module comprises weekly lectures delivered by the module tutor and guest speakers followed by seminar sessions to develop, explore and apply the ideas developed in the lectures. Group and individual tasks will give student the opportunity to work with the key concepts developed in the module. The seminars will also be used to support students in the development of their own research. Fieldwork in week 5 will introduce the students to key cultural and creative tourism ideas in central London.

This module explores the relationship between culture, tourism and regeneration. Tourism has long played a role in the economic social and physical transformation of towns and cities in cities famed for their proximity to coast or spectacular scenery – from the centres of the grand tour, to spas, coastal resorts and cultural centres.  However in recent decades the nature of city tourism has changed.  This module explores the growth and increasing diversity of cultural tourism, the role it plays in urban centres and their regions and the ways in which cities have reinvented and rebranded themselves as centres of leisure and recreation consumption using major cultural infrastructure investment, heritage commodification, events and festivals.

Underlying this transformation are the planning strategies that use culture as a means of transforming urban economies in the face of industrial change.  With decline, reorganisation and new technologies transforming traditional manufacturing industries and services, cities have been searching for new strategies that promise to deliver investment, jobs and prosperity.  The need to tackle not just employment but housing, social, physical, and environmental problems has necessitated an approach to tackle multiple problems in a single strategy – regeneration.

Culture-led urban regeneration strategies can employ any of the following - major cultural infrastructure (museums, opera houses, theatres); cultural events; mega-events; cultural industries; or provide attractive and ‘creative’ environments that will appeal to key personnel and business investment.  All these approaches are designed to generate streams of cultural tourists to the new infrastructure and revitalised cities – as outcomes or ‘legacy’ of the investment incurred. 

This ‘instrumental’ use of culture is examined in the module and the theories of urban decline and regeneration philosophies critiqued and the political structures through which regeneration is achieved analysed by means of case studies in the UK and further afield. London provides accessible examples of culture-led regeneration (for example Bankside and South Bank, Greenwich or Kings Cross) and event-led regeneration (2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games).  However cities throughout Europe, the Americas and increasingly in Asia and the Gulf States are pursuing culture in similar ways to position themselves on the international tourist map.

Museums and Galleries of art make an important contribution to income generation in the UK. To achieve this successful outcome it is necessary for them to understand the role that culture plays in our society. The manner in which they display works of art, provide information and education, are committed to making their collections more accessible and generally strive to be welcoming, entertaining, friendly and rich in diverse opportunities shows how well they have understood the part they play in establishing culture at the heart of all that we do. This ten week course will focus on the growing importance of cultural organisations, how taste is shaped not only by museums and galleries but also by designers of fashion and lifestyle products and how commercial organisations are keen to engage in large-scale cultural projects as a way of attracting a new, younger audience and establishing themselves as key players in a modern society.

Individual sessions will focus on the many definitions of culture from Raymond Williams to Brian Eno; the connections between culture and class using the work of Bourdieu and Tony Bennett, the issue of taste as Greenberg saw it and more recently as the type of lifestyle choices we make. The course will also use case studies of large scale public cultural projects like the Unilever series in Tate Modern’s turbine Hall and the Fourth Plinth project in Trafalgar Square.

It is not uncommon for the modern art museum to use words like interpretation, education and communication as a way of differentiating between the remit of individual departments and the type of responsibility each member of staff might have. But there are important fundamental differences inherent within each term that are rarely examined or explained.

This course will focus on the way in which art museums define their relationship to content, meaning and context, how they communicate their ‘message’, the methods they use to address the diversity of their visiting publics and the kind of institutional struggles that sometimes take place.

The course will look at the relationship between museums, government and their agencies and other cultural organisations. There will be an emphasis on examining education and learning, the importance of access, diversity and the role of marketing and income generation. It will introduce theories, which relate to the writing of interpretative text, and consider how the experience of looking at art might be different if text were not available. There will also be a discussion regarding the role of the aesthetic in art education and the range of expectations visitors have from a museum visit.

The discourses of contemporary 'Leadership' and 'Enterprise Theory' are, much like the wider discourse of Management Theory itself, in a state of critical transformation. The authority, validity, and appropriateness of that type of scientifically influenced or 'positivist' thinking that informed so much of the early 'Taylorist' and 'Fordist' influenced work of the so-called 'first age' (Snowden, 2005) of Management Theory has been thrown into disrepute, as have many of the premises of that more contextually aware and 'constructively' influenced work that informed the so-called 'second age'.

Undermined by both the universalising and de-contextualising tendencies of that type of thinking that defined the 'first age', and the still latent problems of the 'implementation' or 'internalisation' (Nonaka, 1995) of the insights of that thinking that defined the 'second age,' we are now in a position in which – in what is increasing being recognised as the 'third age' of Management Theory – all of the principal discourses of Management Theory from Knowledge Management, to Organisational Theory, Enterprise Theory, Innovation, and Leadership, are having to come to terms with the difficult question of how they can still deal with their various objects of analysis, whether that be the essential nature, qualities, or conditions of successful Leadership, Enterprise, or Innovation, in a relatively organized, structured, and predictable way, and yet a way that does not undermine, foreclose, or delimit the essential 'complexity', unpredictability, and 'emergent' qualities of these phenomena and the contexts in which they arise. This is a problem that has seen a pronounced emphasis in recent years on the analysis of the role that the individual 'creative', 'entrepreneurial', or 'self-actualising' subject plays in the 'narrative' construction of their own relationships to those contexts in which they exist, innovate, lead, or learn (Tsoukas, 2005).

This module will introduce students to all of the main theories that have contributed to the evolution of this discourse from the early scientifically orientated, 'positivist', and 'essentialist' theories of Frederick Winslow Taylor in The Principles of Scientific Management (1911), to Joseph Schumpeter’s work on Innovation as “creative destruction” (1934), to Gordon Allport (1921) and Kurt Lewin’s (1935) early work on 'Trait Theory' and 'Situational' theories of personality as they have been applied to Leadership, to Ralph Stacey (2001, 2003, 2010), and Henry Chesborough’s (2003, 2006, 2010) recent work on 'Organisational Complexity' and 'Open Innovation', to more recent 'Transactional', 'Transformational', and 'Organic' Theories of Leadership, to Ikujiro Nonaka’s (1995) and Hubert Dreyfus’ (1997) 'ontologically' orientated theories of Innovation, and Roger Martin (2009) and Armand Hatchuel’s (2010) recent work on the value of various 'design thinking' lead creative research methodologies to the articulation of how we can most ‘productively’ act, think, innovate, and lead, within the ever increasing 'complexity' of current business environments.

The principal objective of this archaeological analysis of the history of the evolution and development contemporary Management Theory, and particularly as it has been applied to the discourses of contemporary 'Enterprise' and 'Leadership' Theory, is to enable students to develop a comprehensive understanding of not only the history of the discourse but also how the insights of these theories can be practically applied to the conceptualisation and analysis of their own projects—thus overcoming the much debated 'relevancy gap' in so much contemporary Management Theory and education.

Particular emphasis will also be placed on the 'cross-cultural' significance of this work in relation to both Gert Hoftstede (2001) and Richard E. Nisbett’s (2005) work on the differing 'dimensions' of cultural belief, value, and understanding.

This module aims to nurture the skills and attitudes of students to allow them to become innovators and to provide models of entrepreneurial/business support relevant and useful for creative entrepreneurs. This course will provide a link between the theoretical aspects of the broader overview of the sector and the practice specifics, and work to focus on how creativity can be strengthened when put through creative commercialisation modelling techniques. The course has evolved from NESTA’s Creative Pioneer Programme and will use the Modelling Techniques that were designed and have evolved from `The Academy’ ‘Starter for Six’ and `Insight Out’ which provide approaches to commercialising creativity.

It will critically review the key characteristics of successful enterprises, entrepreneurs and leaders, within the cultural and more commercially focused creative industries. It will look at the range of business models that exist and review how best to build a financially sustainable organisation.

In line with the ethos of this programme, which seeks to foster the development of creativity and entrepreneurship as related activities rather than bringing entrepreneurship or business to creativity, this module allows you to continue to develop your understanding of a creative practice. This module, therefore, comprises studies in one area of creative practice related to your chosen pathway. Please see the relevant MA Creative and Cultural Entrepreneurship pathway page on the website for more information on options 

This module provides students with an in-depth engagement with the principles and practices of creative social media. The course introduces the foundations of a marketing approach to social media, but moves beyond this, focusing on the creative use of social media for storytelling, political campaigning, audience engagement, multiplatform and interactive production. From a theoretical perspective, it will look at how digital identities are created, and how we perform ourselves online. By specifically referencing the work of Douglas Rushkoff, Sherry Turkle, Jose Van Dijk, most recently looking at the ideas of ‘Lively Data’ (Lupton:2016) we examine the uses and abuses of the information that we leave behind. It will also take in the work of Goldsmiths’ Liz Moor and the rise of brands in modern culture and how this has impacted on the idea of ‘personal brand’.

On a practical level, it will explore creative uses of tools and techniques such as GIFs, live streaming, pre-roll advertising, click-bait, social storytelling and virality. The syllabus will respond to developments in the creative industries and fields of research related to social media. It will also ground students in the relevance and significance of social, aesthetic, theoretical, political and historical contexts in which social media operate. This provides students the opportunity to develop proficiency in the techniques and relevant software packages for realizing and analysing creative projects. Students will develop an ability to generate and develop social media strategies, they will understand the process by which a digital brand is created, and the production techniques to that respond to a range of different creative ideas – led by themselves and others working across different platforms – and potential client needs. They will learn how to translate narrative, conceptual and some marketing ideas into creative social media form.