Why luxury brands don't need more agencies. They need the right expertise.
Not long ago, many brands could rely on a handful of agency partners to meet most of their marketing needs. Today, the landscape looks very different. Customer expectations are rising, technology is evolving at pace, new channels continue to emerge, and marketers are expected to deliver more personalised, measurable and connected experiences than ever before. The challenge is no longer finding an agency. It's finding the right expertise.
Victoria Sinclair
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Head of Growth
The days of one-size-fits-all are disappearing
Luxury brands now face a wide range of specialist challenges. One month it might be defining a new brand positioning. Next, it's improving customer experience, launching into an international market, exploring AI or building a CRM strategy that genuinely strengthens loyalty.
Each challenge requires different skills, different perspectives and often, different specialists. Expecting one agency to excel in every discipline is becoming increasingly unrealistic.
The best teams are built around the challenge
We're already seeing this shift in the conversations we're having with luxury brands.
Recently, we met with a brand that wasn't looking for a new agency. They already had brand, creative and media partners in place. What they wanted was an independent perspective to help unpack a new positioning and understand how it should come to life across customer experience, communications and international markets.
It's a challenge we're seeing more often. Brands aren't looking to replace their existing partners; they're looking to fill capability gaps, add fresh thinking and bring in specialist expertise where it can have the greatest impact.
The questions have changed too.
Instead of asking, "Who should be our agency?" they're asking:
Who has solved this challenge before?
Who can challenge our thinking?
Who understands today's luxury customer?
Who can help us stay relevant across international markets?
Who can turn our positioning into meaningful customer experiences?
Who has genuine experience in luxury?
Who can help us make sense of AI?
The focus has shifted from appointing an agency to assembling the right team around a specific business challenge.
Luxury has always valued specialists
Luxury has always celebrated craftsmanship. Whether it's a master watchmaker, a perfumer or a whisky maker, the world's most admired brands are built by specialists who dedicate themselves to mastering their craft.
Marketing should be no different.
Bringing together experts with deep knowledge in specific disciplines leads to stronger thinking, better decisions and, ultimately, better outcomes.
A different way of thinking
At Pimento, we don't begin by recommending an agency. We begin by understanding the challenge, then connect brands with the independent specialists best placed to solve it.
Because today's luxury brands don't need more agencies.
They need the right expertise.
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