Designing a Digital Marketing Strategy for Start-Up Luxury Brands: The Case of Vidda Royalle

This study investigates how a luxury start-up can use a digitalization strategy to overcome the liabilities of smallness and newness and compete with well-established incumbents. Given that many luxury firms have been relatively slow in adopting digital technologies out of brand-dilution concerns, start-ups can compete if they can successfully manage the “internet dilemma” of marketing high-value brands online, and especially if these competences can be leveraged across geographical markets. This study examines the case of Vidda Royalle, a Portuguese luxury start-up already operating in international markets. Based on case data, the authors find that Vidda Royalle´s digital strategy is based on the brand´s ability to leverage its unique collaboration with renowned artists in the production of its luxury bedlinen. The study presents a series of strategic recommendations based on the RACE framework (reach, act, convert, engage) for further enriching the online customer journey, and enhancing its competitive advantage.