I came across these two slides from a marketing course for luxury brands in Vietnam. I find them really interesting, and after mulling them over for a few days, here are some thoughts and explanations of the slides. Contemporary luxury as we know it is largely a construct of the LVMH conglomerate and Bernard Arnault, who industrialized and democratized what was once a niche artisanal market. Historically, access to exceptional products came through direct relationships with artisans and family-run workshops. The shift to mass production created a hierarchy: the first three levels (Entry, Aspirational, Mature) mainly target the middle classes and the nouveau riche through volume and relative accessibility. The…

I read a text written in Vietnamese by a communication expert that I really enjoyed. Here’s my summary of it: He describes a crisis of meaning in the modern world: individuals, lost and without bearings, desperately seek to feel useful and recognized. From this thirst for importance is born a market of emotional comfort, where one can “buy” meaning through seminars, training, and products promising to “awaken your potential” or “find your life’s mission.” Two groups fuel this market: Around them hover the meaning entrepreneurs, who turn collective distress into a commercial opportunity. The most emblematic are life coaches, those “life guides” who, often in crisis themselves, sell their own…