Tom Meggle on experiential brand consultancy
Condé Nast College had the pleasure of hosting Tom Meggle Founder and CEO of Momentom 8, as part of our weekly industry lectures. BA (Hons) year 1 student Devon Armogeda, explores Tom’s illustrious career history within luxury brands which he transformed to the launch of his own experiential brand consultancy firm, Momentom 8.
About Tom Meggle
Born in Bavaria, Southern Germany, Tom Meggle attended the European Business School and his background is Business and Managerial Economics. In Tom’s life before fashion, he flourished for ten years in the wine industry, and then spent five years developing his third generational family-owned whey and dairy business, Meggle Wasserburg GmbH.
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With a shift in career trajectory, Tom Meggle was offered a position with Cartier as their General Manager, regulating the German, Swiss, and Austrian markets. In addition, he was to develop the Eastern European market, by forging new brick-and-mortar locations for the development of increased customer engagement and revenue profitability.
Tom reminisces fondly stating,
“I had an amazing time with Cartier; it was a dream job and a love affair.”
Fast forward six years, and Tom accepted Louis Vuitton’s job proposal to be Managing Director in Germany, later to relocate to London where he was promoted to Managing Director of the UK, Ireland and South Africa, where he remained for seven years until exiting the company in 2018. “The lessons I have learnt from these great masters [referring to Cartier and Louis Vuitton] of luxury branding, is when it comes to conquering new communities and pairing up with new brands and artists; and commissioning third parties is to create visibility for a brand.”
Momentom 8
Tom Meggle founded his own company, Momentom 8, in August 2018 not long before Covid-19 that would screech economies to a standstill. Thinking fast on his feet, Tom juggled the start of his own company, plus coaching for tech start-ups targeting the luxury goods industry. Throughout the pandemic, Tom worked as a Business Mentor for Hēdoïne, became a Strategic Advisor for Hero in the video and conversational commerce market, was a Non-Executive Director for Inkpact, and finally was a Strategic Advisor for both Wovn and Save Your Wardrobe.
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Momentom 8’s brand logo is a play on Tom’s first name and has deeper meaning: “Momentum is the best word to describe the magic when the unexpected happens and brands connect with their audience, creating excitement and also business growth. The number eight is symbolic not only for infinity and yin and yang but also for the continuity of transformation.”
Tom’s ever-evolving line of work requires honing a level of awareness of the continuous transformations happening from sociological, economic, political, and cultural standpoints. Momentom 8 offers their customers customised consulting services on brand strategy and collaboration specialising in eCommerce growth, virtual reality, augmented reality, digital transformation, and sustainable solutions.
Momentom 8’s Five Core Brand Values
Inspire
At the beginning of brand development, there must be inspiration. It is crucial brands create a cocktail of uniqueness and accurate brand positioning that strikes the right balance between craftsmanship, heritage, tradition yet also innovation, and glass ceiling shattering goals. A brand should question: What is the purpose of your brand? Who is the target audience? What is the unique signature?
Engage
Tom states the importance of any business or brand to engage with customers. He states to identify with them, connect with them, and finally engage with them. “Once you’ve conquered them [the new customer audience] you have to retain them. The art for any business or brand is to continuously recruit new clients and communities.”
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Reinvent
Tom stresses the art of reinventing your brand as a fine art to master. Once customers are engaged with the product and services offered, reinvention must remain subtle enough to create continuous product engagement with the customer, yet remain subtle enough as to veer the brand image and identity astray. “The replication of your product and service is tempting, you age with your company and clientele, ultimately you will die and disappear with them – so in order to survive you have to continuously develop your business.”
Create
Tom elaborates how millennials and Generation Z are transforming the once solely tangible fashion industry into a gamers delight with the inclusion of virtual reality and augmented reality. Experiences are at the forefront of brand image and customer interaction. “The gaming industry is the birthplace of a new consumer behaviour where customers buy into experiences [rather than solely physical items].”
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Commit
Businesses and brands must have a social purpose beyond selling a product for increased revenue, being able to connect with the consumer and commit to the brand ethos are synonymous with a successful business plan. “It’s not only about the commitment it’s about tangible results.”
Key Takeaways
- A brand should continuously re-invent itself, in order to grow with their client base
- The future of brand engagement is in gaming and virtual reality
- Brand visibility to key to penetrating a new market
By Devon Armogeda, BA (Hons) Fashion Communication
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