The Three Shifts Reshaping Luxury Value Today
Feature by Havas Media Lux.
The luxury landscape remains in flux, shaped by economic pressures, cultural shifts, and increasingly fragmented audiences. Creative leadership is more fluid than ever, budgets are under scrutiny, and fewer brands are managing to capture sustained attention. And yet, as we enter 2026, there are early signs of renewed confidence. Major brand houses have reported resilient performance - not quite enough to indicate a full recovery, but enough to show that consumers are still willing to spend – albeit selectively and with intention. What this has surfaced is a more demanding value equation. As our recent “New Codes of Luxury” report shows, today’s luxury consumers are no longer satisfied with how brands look; they’re focused on what a brand gives back beyond the product. With self-gifting and emotional reward now outweighing overt status, trust, credibility, and relevance have become decisive factors in purchasing decisions. Value no longer ends at the point of purchase; it extends into the world a brand creates, the culture it contributes to, and the experiences it offers beyond commerce.
At the same time, reassurance has become harder to earn. In a fragmented, always-on media landscape, luxury is encountered — and judged — long before purchase. Media is no longer simply how luxury is communicated; it’s where value is tested, and reassurance is formed. Three dynamics are shaping this shift.
Image: Bottega Veneta “Craft is our Language” Campaign, 2025
1. Media is how luxury delivers value beyond the product
If value now extends beyond the point of purchase, the question for luxury brands becomes where that value is delivered. Increasingly, the answer is media. Luxury brands are no longer judged solely on what they sell, but on what they offer people access to before ownership - ideas, culture, creativity and experience. Media has become the primary space where this broader value is felt, not as promotion, but as participation. For today’s culturally fluent consumers, this contribution matters. They notice whether brands act as patrons rather than broadcasters - supporting artists, creating cultural moments and offering something meaningful in return for attention. This is how luxury moves from transaction to relationship. Hermès perfectly demonstrate this through initiatives such as “Interludes” - short films created with local artists and shared across their social platforms. These moments aren’t designed to drive immediate purchase. They exist to express the Hermès world, offering creativity and perspective as value in its own right. In doing so, the brand uses media not to extract attention, but to give something back.
Image: Hermès Interlude created by artist Linda Merad, 2025.
2. Media consistency turns value into reassurance
In today’s luxury landscape, reassurance is earned through behaviour, not messaging. Brands are judged on how they show up publicly and repeatedly - whether they hold a clear point of view, resist trend-chasing and demonstrate discipline over time. Media plays a defining role in this judgement. When a brand’s presence feels calm, considered and cumulative, it signals reliability. When it feels reactive or inconsistent, confidence erodes quickly. Reassurance is not a tactic; it’s the emotional outcome of consistent delivery across product, service, culture and media. Burberry illustrates this clearly. Its sustained commitment to British identity - expressed through culture, storytelling and creative restraint - has created a brand that feels recognisable and stable over time. By maintaining a coherent point of view across media, Burberry shows how continuity itself has become a form of value in an uncertain environment.
Image: Burberry “It’s Always Burberry Weather” Campaign, 2025
3. Media has become the first filter
Luxury value was once implicit. Craft, heritage and quality were understood, and price signalled worth. For today’s luxury consumers, value must be felt. Long before a store visit or purchase, luxury is encountered through brand film, cultural storytelling and social presence. These bigger media moments shape expectations quickly and often decisively. In media, consumers are not asking whether a brand is visible, but deciding whether it feels credible, considered or quietly reactive. In an era of intentional spending and self-gifting, judgement happens fast. If media fails to demonstrate substance, craft or coherence, the relationship often ends before it begins. Media has become the first filter - determining whether a brand is even worth further consideration. Patek Philippe illustrates this dynamic clearly. Their media doesn’t chase attention or immediacy. Instead, it’s used to consistently reinforce permanence, stewardship and generational value - most famously through the idea that you never truly own a Patek, you merely look after it. Across decades, platforms and formats, the message never wavers. That discipline allows media to perform the same role as the product itself: signalling reliability. Before price is ever considered, value is already judged.
Image: Patek Philippe “Cubitus “Campaign, 2025
What This Means for Luxury Brands in 2026
The future of luxury doesn’t lie in louder storytelling or greater content volume; it’s about demonstrating true value through every interaction, especially in media. Today, media serves as the stage where brands demonstrate value beyond the product, and where consistency is tested over time. It’s the space where brands prove their craft, contribute to culture, and show their commitment to delivering genuine value. In 2026, luxury brands will be judged on more than what they make. They’ll be assessed on how they show up, what they give back, and whether their media behaviour signals long-term value and intent. Media is no longer an amplification layer – it’s the delivery system through which luxury is experienced, evaluated and remembered. Ultimately, value is no longer defined by what luxury brands claim; it’s determined by what their media consistently delivers.
To find out more about “The New Codes of Luxury” get in touch via Hmgukcomms@havasmg.com.