THE ALGORITHM VS. THE CRAFT: A LESSON IN DIGITAL LUXURY

Business of luxury

Image credits: courtesy of Simran Kothari

DREA BY SHAMBHAVI

Simran Kothari: If everyone has it, nobody wants it anymore.

How do you sell exclusivity on platforms designed for mass accessibility? We sat down with Simran Kothari, Digital Marketing at Loro Piana and LVMH, to decode the delicate balance between visibility and mystery.

The "If Everyone Has It" Trap

The dopamine rush of millions of views. But Simran warns that "The most dangerous thing is when luxury brands get tunnel vision on growth and revenue," Kothari explains. "They'll ride a viral wave and quickly shift focus to hitting targets, often sacrificing the acquisition of the right clientele."

In the luxury game, scarcity is equity. Simran puts it bluntly: "If everyone has it, nobody wants it anymore."

The Myth of the Sole Genius

For decades, the narrative of luxury was controlled by the solitary Creative Director. When asked who truly controls the narrative today, she rejects the idea of a single dictator.

"It's increasingly a shared responsibility," she notes. "Creative directors initiate the essential vision, marketers strategically deploy it, and tech platforms provide the crucial arenas." When marketing is chasing clicks and creative is chasing art, the story fractures. The true power, she argues, lies in "deep organizational alignment." Also said it's the successful synthesis and complete alignment between these three forces to project a singular voice. Without this deep organizational alignment, wheneach department operates with differing incentives and KPI goals, the narrative becomes fragmented and ultimately loses its power

.The Metric to Ignore

In a boardroom filled with spreadsheets, one metric usually sits on the throne: Return on Ad Spend (ROAS).

She deliberately treats short-term, top-line ROAS with skepticism.

"When we focus only on immediately maximizing ROAS, we often push creative that's too transactional," she warns. "It completely misses the mark on aspiration, brings in the wrong audience, and fundamentally erodes what makes a luxury brand, well, luxury."

Simran argues you protect the long-term value of the brand. It’s not about who buys today; it’s about who wishes they could buy today and will still want to ten years from now.

Why "Perfect" is a Weakness

Perhaps the most refreshing insight from our conversation with Kothari is her rejection of perfectionism. In an industry obsessed with polish, she advocates for chaos—or at least, calculated experimentation.

The instinct I trust today that my younger self would’ve dismissed? Hands down, it's the power of continuous testing," she admits. "My younger self might have relied more on singular, grand strategies... Today, I understand that agility isn't just smart; it's essential."

Her "instant test" for creative longevity isn't a gut feeling or a focus group in a glass room. It’s the raw data of A/B testing. She’s learned that what the internal team deems "dreamy" can flop, while the unexpected creative resonates. "The data tells us what truly hits the mark," she says.

The Career Lesson: Bold vs. Reckless

For those looking to build a career in this high-pressure environment, she offers a crucial distinction between a "power move" and a career-ending blunder.

She champions the risk of self-advocacy and networking, pushing past the discomfort to demand your own growth. But she issues a warning about the "fake boldness" often rewarded on social media.

"A career-damaging risk that often looks bold but isn't is taking a leap without sufficient research... just to project an image of being a quick thinker," Simran cautions. In luxury, as in marketing, substance beats speed every time.