marketing to luxury brands online - a case study

Christie’s Post War & Contemporary Art SaleDigital experience

Contents

— Introduction

— Objectives

— Project scope

— Technical specifications

— Timeline

Introduction

— Christie’s New York Spring Post-War and Contemporary Art sales in 2008 offered a spectacular series of lots

— Including an extraordinary grouping of Abstract Expressionist paintings –

— A Rothko, a Sam Francis and a Gottlieb

— A series of unique artworks from the eighties – including works by Jeff Koons and Richard Prince

— A “Double Brando” by Warhol

— The Kauffman house designed by Neutra, an architectural landmark of the Post-War period

Objectives

— To raise awareness of the exciting lots featured in the three sales

— To help build momentum in order to clinch the sale of more exciting works of art for these auctions

— To enhance the perception of Christie’s as the market leader in these three periods

Imagination was invited to deliver a digital experience that would highlight this unique opportunity, generate excitement around the three sales and highlight in the process Christie’s market leadership.

Key considerationsThe luxury consumer online

— 42% of luxury buyers cite the internet as one of their three primary sources

— More luxury consumers cite the Internet as a top-three source of information than cite stores or magazines

— Many are experienced net users – banking, share-dealing, shopping and communicating online. In 2000 53% of the affluent audience were online versus 43% of general population.*

— Expect high-quality, high-value, usable content experiences

* Forrester, The Millionaire Online 2001,

Social Computing Strategies for Luxury Brands 2009

Key considerationsBrands

Brands do not define luxury, but many luxury consumers look to the brand and the brand’s reputation as a signal of

quality.*

* The Conference Board,The Global Luxury Market

Key considerationsBrands

Personal brand

“Luxury is highly personal and something the individual interprets and judges for him or herself.”*

Christies brand

— Expert, authorative

— Sophisticated

— Innovative and dynamic

Key considerationsThe Art

Investments, yes, but also passion pieces.

Value of art is about the combination of excellence and emotion.

Strategy

Deliver content rich, user-focused experience

Enhance the personal brand of the interested visitor.

Complement not cannibalise Christie’s brand.

The art is the hero, not our design. Create an emotional context around them.

Project Scope

Animation

— Design and build of a one minute flash animation that brings to life the key highlights of the sale in a dynamic and compelling manner. This animation was used on christies.com as well as on a dedicated micro-site and other in-house channels, such as TV monitors.

It was also be disseminated to visitors of Christie’s offices around the world using Bluetooth and other technologies.

Components of this animation (e.g. any logo treatments) were also be leveraged for opportunities around subsequent PW-CA sales or sales for other departments.

Project Scope

Microsite

— Design and build of an elegant micro-site, developing a unique experience that weaved together the many different aspects of the sale and the rich content already available, to build a compelling, integrated story.

— Applied the design developed to a series of ancillary communication pieces such as email templates and event invitations.

Project Scope

Microsite

— Build and delivery: 02/29 04/09

— Site live: 04/09

Thank-you