How To Protect Your Luxury Brand’s Reputation – Advertising, Marketing & Branding

Luxury brands attract consumers through shared values.
This article explores risks when expectations fall short and offers
strategies to prevent reputational damage and maintain
trust.

Media stories can damage consumers’ trust in luxury brands,
who may face allegations that include unethical working conditions
or the mistreatment of animals. Criticism has also been levelled at some
provocative advertising campaigns and celebrity endorsers who have
caused offence.

The chart below, from WTW’s risk monitoring partner,
Polecat, shows the volume, sentiment and impact of media coverage
between January and October 2024 on the luxury brand sector.

Point 1 highlights an early indication in January 2024 of
heightened risk in the working conditions peril with the release of
a report by The Business & Human Rights
Resource Centre highlighting fashion brands’ “failure to
eradicate forced labour putting workers at heightened
risk”.

Historically, fast-fashion has taken the larger share of voice
on working conditions, but a shift had occurred in 2024,
highlighted by points 2, 4 and 5 representing increased focus and
investigation by European authorities regarding poor working
conditions across the luxury sector.

For reference, points 3 and 6 relate to animal welfare and abuse
issues.

Polecat Reputation Risk Data

Analysis of Media Coverage Impact on the Luxury Brand Sector
(January – October 2024)

In an age when negative stories can quickly go viral on social
media, companies need to be vigilant and proactive to protect their
brand and reputation.

We’ve identified some of the key risks that luxury brands
need to consider, along with mitigations that can help companies
prevent a crisis and manage incidents sensitively if they do
occur.

Labor abuse

High profile cases have brought media attention to working conditions in
luxury sector supply chains, with allegations of illegally hired
workers, poor working conditions and wages that prioritise profit
over worker welfare.

Polecat Reputation Risk Data

Analysis revealing how media focus on working conditions grew
following reports of poor labor practices in the supply chains of
luxury brands in 2024.

The charts above from Polecat shows how media focus on working
conditions increased when news of poor working conditions in the
supply chain of well-known luxury brands hit the headlines earlier
this year and highlight a low level of risks detected from January
with a major uptick in June.

Brands that own and govern their own factories can put measures
in place to stop these practices, but for many brands, suppliers
are contracted and subcontracted across the globe making it
difficult to monitor and maintain good and ethical working
practices.

• Audit your supply chain: Map your supply chain
  so that you understand where every component comes from. Regular
  audits will identify labour issues so that you can address them
  quickly. Hold suppliers accountable for breaches in ethical
  standards and labour laws.




• Have a supplier code of
  conduct: Establish a comprehensive supplier code of
  conduct that outlines your expectations for labour practices, fair
  wages, and safe working conditions and highlights a zero-tolerance
  policy for child and forced labour. Make this code of conduct part
  of your contractual agreement with suppliers.




• Stay ahead of global legislation: Ensure
  you’re aware of legislation regarding issues such as modern
  slavery, animal welfare, and conflict minerals in all the
  territories where you operate. Adopt human rights due diligence in
  line with frameworks such as the UN Guiding Principles on Business
  and Human Rights.

Misconduct and scandals involving celebrity partners

Many luxury brands rely on partnerships with celebrities to
promote products. Celebrity partnerships can yield significant
benefits, but brands can suffer by association if a celebrity
endorser is involved in a scandal or behaviour that goes against
the brand’s core values.

• Carry out due diligence: Conduct background
  and social media audits on celebrity endorsers. Check for past
  misconduct and make sure they align to your brand values, image and
  target customers.




• Use clear morality and termination clauses:
  Make sure you can quickly terminate contracts if celebrity
  endorsers act in a way that could harm your brand.




• Diversify your marketing
  strategy: Don’t make celebrity partners and
  endorsements the sole focus of your marketing strategy. Make sure
  you maintain a strong brand identity independent of celebrity
  partners.

Animal welfare

Consumers and investors care about how brands address animal welfare as awareness of
sustainability and ethical consumption grows. Activist groups have
made allegations of luxury brands using wild animal skins and
feathers, and exposed the mistreatment of animals at farms
supplying some luxury brands.

The charts below from Polecat show how animal rights and animal
welfare re-emerged as a theme in the media in September 2024
following an upsurge in activism on animal rights themes, including
protests outside shops and disruptions of runway shows.

Polecat Reputation Risk Data

Analysis showing how animal rights and welfare resurfaced in
media in September 2024, driven by increased activism, protests,
and runway show disruptions.

While most brands are committed to improving animal welfare,
they still need to make sure they uphold their commitments at every
stage in their supply chain.

• Have an animal welfare policy: Include your
  vision and an implementation plan in your animal welfare policy
  with measurable goals and deadlines to show how you’ll achieve
  your vision. Review and update your policy to keep up with changes
  in technology and animal welfare knowledge.




• Know your supply chain: Make sure you know
  your supply chain from the finished product back to the farm.
  Communicate your animal welfare policy to your suppliers and make
  sure they adhere to it.




• Be transparent: Be transparent about the
  animal products you use and where you source them from. Lack of
  transparency can fuel suspicions that your brand is involved in
  unethical practices.

Misfiring advertising campaigns

Brands needs to find fresh and creative ways to engage their
audience and create an image that gets people talking and sets them
apart. Advertising campaigns that are intended to be provocative
and get people talking can cross a line into being offensive.
Performative and tone-deaf marketing campaigns, especially
regarding race, gender or culture, can result in widespread social
media condemnation and accusations of cultural appropriation and
greenwashing.

• Filter all advertising through your brand’s core
  values: Consumers choose brands because they believe
  the brand’s values to align with their own, so make sure your
  advertising aligns with your brand values, especially if you’re
  using controversy as a tactic.




• Implement strong sign-off
  procedures: Make sure you have robust sign-off
  procedures for advertising and marketing campaigns that go beyond
  the marketing team and up the chain of command.




• Take ownership of any
  mistakes: Responding swiftly with a clear message
  that demonstrates you understand why your advert missed the mark
  gives you some control over the narrative.

The content of this article is intended to provide a general
guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought
about your specific circumstances.