Maria Carmela Ostillio

Corporate museums and brand authenticity: Explorative research of the Gucci Museo

Abstract In this paper we explore the role played by a fashion company’s museum as a driver of brand authenticity. The museum could offer to its visitors a holistic view of the brand’s original culture and values, in a synthesis that integrates past and present, reinforcing the visitors’ connection to the brand. Drawing on the existing literature, this paper explores the attributes that, according to the objective and subjective dimensions of brand authenticity, characterize the role of corporate museums in the individual quest of authentic brands. Furthermore, in addition to the objective and subjective dimensions, the paper aims to understand how the brand’s authentication tools (pioneering, protagonist in history, stylistic continuity, geographic roots, personalization and characterization) may have been influenced by the perceptions of authenticity that the museum has preserved. Finally, according to the self-expressive dimension of brand authenticity, the paper explores how the brand’s authentication tools may have been influenced by the perceptions of authenticity of visit experience. This paper will focus on the museum created by Gucci. After a synthetic overview of the literature on brand authenticity, the methodology of explorative research will be explained, and finally the results obtained will be presented.

Vintage autentico o autenticità nel vintage

Vintage is not a new phenomenon, although during the past fewyears, it has became an important trend. It is so important that, corporate,brand, media and new media - e.g. blog, web-site, book, guide,tradeshow and retailer - try to be inspired or to appeal. In spite of thedifficulty to define the «vintage market», it is now evident of the interestand the diffusion of the phenomenon among youths and adults:this appears to be the expression of a society which seems to advancetowards the future but with its head in the past. This attitude, that indulgesin nostalgia and recovery of the past, is the object of this paper.It is based on a quali-quantitative exploratory research, and has the goalto contribute to the definition and comprehension of the Vintage phenomenon,widespread but difficult to profile.

Salvatore Ferragamo: Brand Heritage as Main Vector of Brand Extension and Internationalization

As with many other family businesses that collectively comprise Italy’s economic fabric, Salvatore Ferragamo began as a workshop that soon grew into a global player within its industry, all while maintaining a core spirit of familial entrepreneurship in the form of its organizational structure and identity. Today, the company operates in over 90 countries via its own 33 subsidiaries. The Salvatore Ferragamo Group has pursued a coherent corporate branding strategy over time. Its brand heritage serves as an intrinsic feature of its value proposition and brand positioning, having been cohesively maintained even amid brand extensions and internationalization. Leveraging this heritage, the company has evolved during its 88-year-long history from a single-product company to a multi-category company; from a product-oriented brand to a retail-oriented brand; and from a family business to a publicly owned global business.

Tod’s: A Global Multi-Brand Company with a Taste of Tradition

As with many other Italian companies, the Tod’s Group began as a family business and has since evolved into a global fashion player boasting a portfolio of four brands (Tod’s, Hogan, Fay, and Roger Vivier). The group operates in 37 countries and yields a total sales revenue of €965.5 million as of 2014, approximately 70 % of which has been generated from exports. The Tod’s Group adopts a double management approach: (i) a vertical strategic decision-making process in the upstream to ensure the entire group achieves cost and operation efficiency and (ii) a horizontal operating process in the downstream to guarantee a diversified identity of brands in terms of design, marketing, and retail management. The group employs a hybrid branding strategy, wherein the core brand Tod’s utilizes a corporate dominant strategy while the other brands (Fay, Hogan, and Roger Vivier) prefer brand dominant strategies. Tod’s, the group’s core brand, currently leads the group’s global markets, representing approximately 60 % of overall sales in 2014 and 70 % of its stores worldwide. This chapter explains the group’s unique approach to brand communication and commitment to corporate social responsibility, particularly in terms of local communities, the environment, and the welfare of its stakeholders and employees.

L’autenticità come driver strategico per il brand value. Il caso Salvatore Ferragamo

italianoUn settore particolarmente sensibile al tema dell’autenticita e quello del lusso. Aspetti quali tradizione, heritage, artigianalita, unicita e i valori del brand generano un’aura di autenticita che non solo rafforza le fonti del valore della marca, ma alimenta anche nuove brand association e promuove giudizi di qualita, affidabilita e considerazione che concorrono a rendere unici i brand all’interno del consideration set dei consumatori.#L’articolo analizza il caso Salvatore Ferragamo, un’impresa del lusso che ha saputo far leva sul proprio passato per affermarsi come brand autentico. L’analisi, basata su una ricerca effettuata sui consumatori, dimostra non solo che questi percepiscono i tratti del brand, ma che esiste un potenziale di autenticita che puo offrire ulteriori spazi di differenziazione per rafforzare l’unicita del brand. EnglishThe luxury industry is highly sensitive to the issue of authenticity. Aspects such as tradition, heritage, craftsmanship, uniqueness and brand values contribute to building an aura of authenticity that not only succeeds in strengthening the sources of brand equity, but also nurtures new brand associations and promotes judgments of quality, reliability and consideration which create a unique brand within the customers’ consideration set. The article discusses the Salvatore Ferragamo case, a luxury company that has been able to leverage on its heritage to establish itself as an authentic brand. The analysis, based on consumer research, shows how consumers perceive the traits of brand, but also that there is a potential of authenticity for differentiating and strengthening brand uniqueness.