Global Luxury and Management Masterclass Provides Insight, Networking for Luxury Market Professionals

More than 60 luxury professionals gathered for an evening of networking and insight at the inaugural Global Luxury and Management Masterclass Series event held at the Core Club in New York City on May 2, 2018.

The event was presented by the Global Luxury and Management program through NC State University and was co-sponsored by the French-American Chamber of Commerce and Italy-America Chamber of Commerce.

Opening remarks by masterclass presenter Cara Fratto, an independent marketing consultant specializing in luxury brand marketing and a 2008 graduate of the Jenkins MBA program at Poole College of Management, set the stage for the evening’s events.

“As a marketing student, I learned about the four P’s: Product, Place, Promotion and Price. That was before the online world,” she said. Now, “it’s still a matter of getting the right message to the right people at the right time, but instead of the Four P’s, it’s the Four E’s. Product is Experience; Place is Everyplace; Promotion is Evangelism, and Price is Exchange.” That shift has occurred over the past decade. Through a series of video clips and commentary, Fratto demonstrated how some luxury brands have embraced the increasing emphasis on the Four E’s.

It was a message that resonated with the wide range of luxury market sectors represented by the attendees, as evidenced by the Q and A following her presentation and the conversations in the networking session that followed Fratto’s presentation. View a brief video from the event here.

Attendees included professionals in the following global luxury sectors: clothing, footwear, jewelry and other accessories; fragrances, fine wine and dining; household appliances; architecture and real estate; research, product innovation and marketing, wealth management and law.

Also attending were members of the French American and Italian American chambers of commerce and the Global Luxury and Management program, who provided introductions to their organizations at the start the start of the event.

About the Presenter

Cara Fratto is an independent marketing consultant specializing in luxury brand marketing. She currently works with a number of clients including KRW Consulting, a New York City-based firm founded by industry powerhouse and former senior vice president of partnerships and media for Hudson’s Bay Company Kathleen Ruiz, and Luxury Shoe Club, a shoe resale startup app. She has over 15 years of experience across multiple marketing disciplines including strategy, branding, selling, events, public relations, and communications in the luxury sector.

Prior to starting her own consulting company, Fratto worked for luxury retailer Saks Fifth Avenue for eight years in both store and corporate roles. She served as marketing director for Raleigh and Boston locations, developing marketing strategies and executing large scale fashion and top customer events. In 2014, she moved to New York and began working at Saks Fifth Avenue’s corporate offices as director of event marketing before transitioning to a strategic role focused on integrated marketing campaigns across Saks Fifth Avenue’s communication channels. She previously held a lead marketing role for seven years at VIETRI, one of the largest U.S. importers of luxury Italian tableware and home decor.

Fratto holds an MBA from North Carolina State University Poole College of Management and a bachelor of science in business administration from Kenan-Flagler Business School at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill.