When you’re working with some of the most discerning customers in the world, it’s a huge challenge to maintain their engagement and provide them with experiences they haven’t encountered before.
That’s exactly the task faced by Glion alumna Eugénia Moser, Events & Client Development EMEA at luxury fashion maison Louis Vuitton. Eugénia is responsible for running a whole range of exclusive, invite-only gatherings aimed at bringing the brand to life for clients and keeping it at the forefront of their minds.
“Constantly being relevant and innovative in a dynamic world where things are changing all the time and people get bored really quickly is probably my biggest challenge,” she says. “These are people who value experiences a lot more than material objects, so it’s really a question of getting to know what makes them tick so you can create occasions that genuinely have a ‘wow’ factor.
“Ultimately, we’re aiming to deliver dream-like experiences that fire their imaginations and stimulate demand in what’s a super-competitive industry. That’s why understanding the client is so critical.”
Getting to know you
Fortunately for Eugénia, looking after and anticipating customer needs and aspirations is nothing new. As well as studying such a client-centric subject as hospitality while at Glion, her career has been characterized by immersion in the robust customer service culture of renowned hospitality brands.
“Around three weeks after graduation, I joined the management training program at The Ritz in London,” says Eugénia. “That involved rotating between different departments, such as reservations, revenue management, rooms division and reception. The Ritz was almost obsessed with getting to know clients because the more information we had about them, the better we were able to serve them.
“There’s a reason The Ritz stands out. While London has plenty of five-star hotels and many of them now have the latest technology or maybe more comfortable mattresses, very few do customer service like the Ritz. That’s because there are people who have worked there for years and have made it their mission to know the clients by heart. It was at The Ritz I learned that the best way to impress your clients is to know what they like.”
Change of direction
While her time at The Ritz was rewarding and allowed Eugénia to fulfill her childhood ambition of working in a hotel, the chance to move into events arose and it was one that proved too good to miss.
“My second internship at Glion was in events and, honestly, I still look back on it as one of my favorite experiences despite it being more than 10 years ago,” she says. “I was working at Chateau Marmont in Hollywood putting on events during the Oscars season and I even delayed my return to school so I could stay there another month.
“So when an opportunity came along to work in events again – this time with LVMH in London – I jumped at it.”
Eugénia spent 2.5 years as Events Manager with LMVH, mainly organizing internal events for the group’s 75 different brands. Then came the enticing prospect of a move to Paris to work with one of those prestigious maisons – Louis Vuitton – and for Eugénia, it was a no-brainer.
“It was the logical next step for me to continue growing my career in this industry,” she says. “I’d spent 10 wonderful years in London, but when you think of those haute couture maisons, they tend to be based in Paris. So the chance to work in the center of the luxury industry with an amazing brand was too good to miss. Honestly, I didn’t need to think about it much. I said ‘yes’ immediately and moved to Paris.”
The personal touch
Since her move from London, Eugénia has been heavily involved on the client side, putting on events in store and at other prestigious venues to showcase different fashion collection launches, among other things.
“Initially, I was working on highly exclusive events for the brand’s top 0.15% of clients,” she says. “That was amazing and involved really getting under their skin to create magical experiences for them. Now I’m working in client insight, seeing much more of the bigger picture, and I’m loving it.”
As well as calling on her organizational and logistical abilities, Eugénia’s role involves working across geographies and with different departments and being prepared for any eventuality. What sets it apart from most event planning roles is the need for constant innovation.
“I’m always striving to deliver something elevated, sophisticated and like nothing clients have seen before,” she says. “There’s a definite trend for more personalization too, which again means you really have to understand and anticipate client need. But perhaps more importantly, you need to really believe in what you're selling, believe in the dream and believe it’s something magical. That’s the only way people will actually buy into your idea.”
Experience counts
The trend for more personalization in the luxury events arena is one Eugénia thinks is likely to continue for years to come.
“Luckily, we're one of the few industries that’s unlikely to be affected by AI, simply because client contact is key to creating the sort of experiences people want,” she says. “As the saying goes, people might forget what you say, but they always remember how you made them feel. And I think this is at the core of what we want to deliver now and in future.
“I can already see us expanding into more unique and personalized experiences, because that’s what’s considered genuine luxury. It’s no longer just about having high-end designer products that are scarce; real luxury is about exclusivity and even privacy.
“The other thing I’ve noticed is we’re starting to see more holistic experiences at luxury events. As organizers, we’re increasingly thinking of how different elements interact with each other to create the emotional response we want to inspire in clients. So having a real 360-degree view of factors such as setting, smell, sound, texture is incredibly important in creating those unique events for clients.”’re paying for something to remember and to tell their friends and family about when they go back home.”
Futures and pasts
As for her own future, Eugénia is seeking to consolidate and build on her already varied and in-depth experience.
“I want to continue growing in the industry,” she says. “As much as hotels will always be my first love, I really enjoy working in luxury. Perhaps in future, it might be nice to move into other areas of the industry, such as watches or jewelry, but for the time being, my focus is on building closer relationships with clients so I can continue to deliver events that align with their vision of the brand.”
That kind of professionalism and commitment to learning the craft are qualities employers around the world recognize in Glion graduates. They are definitely the characteristics Eugénia was seeking when she was in the recruiting hot seat.
“I think the fact you do two internships at Glion as part of your degree makes a huge difference,” she says. “I felt far more mature than my colleagues who were straight out of school when I started work because of my placements. And when recruiting, we tended to favor Glion graduates because they were the ones who knew how to do the practical stuff and were more likely to complete the training program.
“The emphasis on practicality and professionalism you get at Glion is invaluable. And it’s reflected in everything, from the dress code to the faculty, who all had industry experience to back up their academic records. Their ability to give us real-world examples really helped bring clarity to often complex subjects. I definitely appreciated the Glion way as both a student and as an employer.”
Photo credit
The Ritz: _ultraforma_/Getty
