On LVMH’s New Entertainment Division… And Branded Entertainment…
I caught the news item on LVMH’s push for a New (Brand) Entertainment Division (called 22 Montaigne) today and somehow it was an “Outside In Said So” kind of moment today… A moment that felt like a Substack Post (!), rather than a Twitter or a LinkedIn repost or like… This should be a lightning fast and enlightening bright read… Enjoy!
First, a Quick Catch-up on the LVMH News item (in case you haven’t caught it yet) here at: https://www.fastcompany.com/91035700/why-lvmhs-new-entertainment-division-is-the-future-of-brand-content
Highlights:
All (LVMH) Brands are all about Story. “They’re steeped in history; their origin stories are each unique. They’re in the business of creating desire.” – Jae Goodman
Creation of 22 Montaigne, a new division to explore content possibilities for its 70 Brands, including Louis Vuitton, Fendi, Kenzo, Tiffany & Co., and Dior (Read that again: Content for 70 – Seventy – Brands)
The division is a partnership Superconnector Studios, which has had an integral role in creating and working with the companies and their respective entertainment divisions. You can learn more about Superconnector Studios here at: https://www.fastcompany.com/90907318/superconnector-studios-jae-goodman-john-kaplan-brands-advertisers-entertainment
This new venture with LVMH is another incremental evolution of a thesis Superconnector has worked to prove for decades: that brands can create better content that is entertaining and that people actually want to see
LVMH already spends a lot of money to attract and engage an audience to create culture and be married to culture. They’re already in a place of recognizing, that they have to build Live Events to try to pull people into the Brand
So, it wasn’t a tremendous leap for them to then suggest that they could create really compelling “Prestige Entertainment” and there’s a business ecosystem associated with that
And, it means that they (Superconnector Studios) don’t have to spend all the money to Produce the Content, or all the money to Distribute the Content
Superconnector’s role is that of connective tissue between the Entertainment Industry and the Company’s Brands. LVMH found out that a number of projects that weren’t looking for money from the company, but looking to partner with LVMH brands to enhance the Authenticity
Insight on the Working Model
When Superconnector Studios first started talking to Brands, as well as Hollywood studios, distributors, and creators, about a potential entertainment division for that company, there was always a pitch involved on the value of a Brand’s involvement in creating high-quality Entertainment
Either Brands weren’t sure about how they would be represented, or those on the Entertainment side saw collaboration as no more than product placement and marketing tie-ins. But as the collective media culture has continued to fragment across so many different platforms, both now see the value each can bring to a Project
For the Brands, Hollywood can help craft and tell stories that will only deepen the emotional connection they have with an audience. And for Hollywood, it has a broader promotional reach as brands use their marketing to promote a Project
Image Source: MS Copilot Prompts on Prestige Brand Entertainment
How It Will Work:
They have created a Ranking and Filtering system based on a series of objective Criteria
When it comes to entertainment entities, 22 Montaigne will make sure they understand the point of view of the brand, how that brand connects with consumers, and look for alignment there before anybody starts talking about ideas, let alone deals
Hello Sunshine (the Media & Production Company) is already working with 22 Montaigne. “Given that the overwhelming majority of luxury consumers are women, and that the worlds of fashion and luxury have long been driven by iconic women, it’s only natural that many of the stories within LVMH’s Maisons (read: Brands) will have women at the centre”. – Sarah Harden
Another example is the scope and scale of the Tiffany Brand Archive in New York. “There is a library of stories that have never been told, pens that signed declarations of peace, love letters between the most famous people in the world, jewellery—and then there’s stuff like making the Vince Lombardi (Super Bowl) trophy and the Stanley Cup. They would like to be telling these stories”. – John Kaplan
22 Montaigne will not structure creative deals to include promotion, but it’s inherent in the overall Collaboration
Additional Reading: How Tiffany makes the Super Bowl Trophy from scratch Every Year: https://www.fastcompany.com/91024922/how-tiffany-co-makes-the-super-bowl-trophy-from-scratch-every-year
Now, onto the “Outside In Said So” Moment…
Nothing heavy here… Just a few links to old Outside In ‘Full’ Posts that (kind of) envisaged the rise of “Branded Entertainment”…
1) Branded Entertainment Will Rise: https://outsideinlens.substack.com/p/branded-entertainment-will-rise-livestreaming
2) Branded Entertainment – How to Decide: https://outsideinlens.substack.com/p/branded-entertainment-how-to-decide
3) Branded Entertainment – How to Make It Work: https://outsideinlens.substack.com/p/branded-entertainment-how-to-make
4) Slide 3 on Masaba Masaba and Conde Nast on Netflix, from Outside In’s #Trends Marketing 2030 Blog Post here at: https://outsideinlens.blogspot.com/2023/01/trends-marketing-2030.html
An Adjacent Read, as Food for Thought:
Curators as Creators: https://outsideinlens.substack.com/p/branded-entertainment-how-to-make
I like to believe that Superconnector Studios are the ‘Brand’ Curators for LVMH in the 22 Montaigne Relationship. What do You Think?
In Conclusion
Hope this Outside In post comes across as an expression of “excitement about getting one’s hypothesis validated by real Industry developments”, rather than a Showoff about a getting a Brand & Consumer prediction right!
Excitement about the potential of Branded Entertainment is indeed the ‘authentic’ Intent here… Cheers!
References & Sources:
1) Fast Company on LVMH’s New Entertainment Division: https://www.fastcompany.com/91035700/why-lvmhs-new-entertainment-division-is-the-future-of-brand-content
2) Fast Company on Superconnector Studios: https://www.fastcompany.com/90907318/superconnector-studios-jae-goodman-john-kaplan-brands-advertisers-entertainment
3) Fast Company on Super Bowl Trophy: https://www.fastcompany.com/91024922/how-tiffany-co-makes-the-super-bowl-trophy-from-scratch-every-year
4) Insight on Working Model Image Source: MS Copilot Prompts on Prestige Brand Entertainment