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How can retailers navigate economic headwinds, shifting consumer behaviours and rapid advances in AI technology to stay relevant and profitable? Vogue Business hosted the Power to the Marketer Festival 2023 in partnership with Emarsys to explore how brand leaders can combine art and science to deliver hyper-relevant experiences, win customers in a volatile market and turn a new generation of shoppers into fans.

This year’s global festival kicked off at Famtain private members club in Munich on 13 June before travelling to The Standard in New York on 4 October. “Marketers are walking a tightrope,” said Joanna Milliken, CEO of Emarsys. “On one side, their customers; on the other side, their business. They have to answer to both and keep both happy. It’s a balancing act.”

Fewer, bigger

In the opening fireside chat, Carolyn Dawkins, CMO of luxury jewellery retailer David Yurman, said the role of the marketer has become increasingly complex. “We try to focus on ‘fewer, bigger’,” she said. “What are the key things that will have the biggest impact? Who are the critical consumers we need to win? How do we acquire them, and how do we retain them? Then we have to galvanise the magic of the entire team around those big moments.”

The jeweller tapped Sofia Richie Grainge to be its newest global ambassador and the face of its Sculpted Cable bracelet collection campaign. “We knew we needed to attract the next generation — and there’s no one who dominates style on Instagram and TikTok more than Sofia Richie Grange,” said Dawkins. “The campaign delivered four of our top-performing marketing assets of all time and took us just three months to launch. Brands have to find that balance between agility and long-term planning.”

Doubling down on DNA

In a panel session on how to future-proof loyalty, Saks CMO Emily Essner pointed to a rebound in luxury spending. According to the latest Saks Luxury Pulse, a periodic online survey of luxury consumers’ attitudes towards shopping, spending and fashion trends, 58 per cent of luxury consumers planned to spend the same or more on luxury in the next three months, representing the first increase in luxury spending plans since the survey began tracking this in May 2022.

“Personalisation is really core to our strategy. We want to demonstrate to our customers that we know who they are and what they’re looking for,” said Essner. “That’s centred around what we call our customer DNA, which is about 250 observed and predicted attributes. That allows us to serve customers with highly relevant content and recommendations while driving retention.”