Wynn Magazine - Las Vegas
Issue link: http://www.ifoldsflip.com/i/867995
35 I n the world's increasingly complicated political and humanitarian climate, luxury brands understand that they have the power—and responsibility—to be a force for good in their community. They real- ize the crucial nature of delivering a luxury product with a side of good karma. Important stakeholders in the fashion world recognize the importance of giving back, too. The Council of Fashion Designers of America gave its first Swarovski Award for Positive Change this year to Kenneth Cole, recognizing his leadership in the fight against HIV/AIDS through his work with amFAR. The rise of "ethical brands" such as Lemlem and Urban Zen, has given shoppers a window into where their money is going and who it's helping. It's a trend that jibes with most current marketing studies, to be sure: Where the millennial generation comprises a quarter of the population, spends more than a trillion dollars annually, and influences luxury brands, a recent Millennial Marketing study shows that nearly half would be more willing to make a pur- chase if it supported a cause. Customers know that when you buy a luxury bag, you're buying more than the leather and hardware holding it together. You're buying a dream. But increasingly it has become crucial for luxury brands to diversify the value prop- osition of that dream. Philanthropy has become an indispensable way to build a brand's identity. Goodwill has become currency, and philanthropy has become value. But building brand identity is a cynic's way of looking at the power of luxury to give back. The companies whose charitable efforts have lasting value have philanthropy baked into their DNA—regardless of the cachet it affords them. As Maurice Wooden, President of Wynn Las Vegas, has come to know, that philanthropy often starts at home. Since 2014, Wooden has personally overseen a partnership between Wynn Resorts and Las Vegas's Dean Petersen Elementary School, which had been struggling to serve its students. "This school was very challenged with respect to what they were receiving from the govern- ment and was in a very challenged part of our community," says Wooden. "We started by taking advantage of resources available in our warehouse. We had our AV department come in and fix the school's intercom systems that weren't working. We brought in new carpet that we already had." As the partnership grew, it became about much more than simply providing material goods. "Our special-events team adopted a class, our nightclub team adopted an entire grade, and all these different groups throughout Wynn Las Vegas started to come out and volunteer with the kids," Wooden says. To date, Wynn has donated thousands of school supplies and provided improvements and repairs to the school building, while Wynn employees have volunteered over 3,000 hours of their time with the children. "This isn't a PR stunt for us," Wooden says. "This is real. We've benefited from giving back because our employees love it and are excited to be a part of it." Importantly, Wynn employee involvement in the community is driven by the employees themselves. 今世界的消費格局和人道主義氣息變得越來越複 雜，奢侈品牌深知他們既有權力、也有義務擔當推 動社區慈善福利的角色。他們已經意識到，透過奢 侈品傳遞回饋社會的善念，是品牌內涵裡極為重要 的組成部分。 時尚界的領袖們也認識到回饋社會的重要性。美國時裝設計師協會 將今年首個施華洛世奇積極變革獎頒給Ken net h Cole, 表彰他帶頭以設 計作品支援美國愛滋病研究基金會的努力。諸如 L em lem, Urba n Zen這 類『道德品牌』的崛起，讓顧客清楚知道自己花的錢在慈善上的去向。從 當前市場研究結果中能看出一個明顯趨勢：佔世界人口比例四分之一的 千禧世代，每年消費總額超過一萬億美元，這種強大的消費力也在影響 著奢侈品牌，最近針對千禧世代的市場營銷研究表明，如果購買一件奢 侈品能支持某項慈善活動，近半數的人會更樂意考慮。 顧客們清楚知道，他們買一個名牌手袋不僅是買下那些皮革和構 成部件，更是買下了一個夢想。奢侈品牌要盡量將這個夢想的價值主 張變得更加多元化，這一點至關重要。品牌想要建立自身識別度，投身 慈善事業是必不可少的一步。善意已成為貨幣，慈善事業已成為品牌價 值。但就此斷言奢侈品牌回饋社會的努力就是為了建立品牌識別度，未 免過於偏激。那些長期堅持為慈善事業貢獻價值的公司，會將慈善的精 神融入品牌DNA , 而且不計較回報。正如永利拉斯維加斯總裁 M aur ice Wooden所言，慈善事業往往從自家起步。自2014年起Wooden親力推動 永利渡假村與拉斯維加斯Dea n Peter sen小學之間的合作。當時學校的 運營狀況已經頗為艱難，『學校從政府處得到的支援有限，在我們的社 區裡屬於極需幫助的機構，』他回憶說，『我們開始調用永利的倉庫物 資和人力。例如派出影音工程部為學校修復對講機系統，還把倉庫裡的 新地毯捐贈給學校。』 隨著合作關係的發展，永利除了捐贈物資，開始為學校提供更多幫 助。Wooden 介紹說：『永利拉斯維加斯上下各個部門紛紛加入與小朋 友們互動的志願行動。宴會活動策劃團隊負責其中一班，俱樂部僱員團 隊負責整個年級。』到目前為止，永利已經捐贈了數千件學校用品，為學 校建築進行修繕改良工程，永利僱員們自願騰出了總共超過30 0 0小時的 私人時間照顧學校的小朋友。 『這不是我們的公關花招，』Wooden說，『這是出自真心的行動。 我們的員工喜歡並且享受參與慈善活動的過程，對我們來說已經是最好 的回報。』最重要的是，永利僱員完全是出於自發參與活動。 一個企業如何看待『奢侈』這個概念，往往會影響他們回饋社會的 方式。服務的精神深深地根植於永利的品牌DNA , 也無縫地融入酒店對 外界社會的回饋服務。對於設計師Br unel lo Cuci nel l i來說，只有將僱員 視作珍貴的藝術家一樣培養，才能成就一個真正的奢侈品牌。這就是他 在意大利翁布裡亞的中世紀小鎮 Solomeo為僱員打造烏托邦之城的原 因。他限制工作時長，建立僱員專屬的劇院和禱告花園，並堅持 9 0分鐘 當