Maintaining the aura of exclusivity has always been a goal for luxury marketing. High end brands have been fashionably late to the social media party. However, it appears that at least a few players in the industry are finally making an entrance on the social media catwalk.
The trend started in early 2009, when new bloggers started appearing in the first row of fashion shows along high-stake buyers and fashion magazine editors. Bloggers like Bryan Grey-Yambao, the founder of BryanBoy.com (@bryanboy) and Scott Schuman creator of the Sartorialist Blog, (@sartorialista) were quickly able to demonstrate the power of social media with impressive reach and engagement. BryanBoy.com alone gets 215,000 unique visitors a day. Compare that to alternatives like, say, the British Vogue magazine, which sells just over 200,000 copies a month.
While it appears that the luxury fashion industry is continuing to embrace social media slowly but steadily, here are three reasons why smart high end marketers should fast track their social media efforts:
Fashion is innately social: Luxury fashion audience tends to be passionate about the products they buy. And they are more loyal to and more engaged with brand. And being passionate, loyal and engaged is what social media is all about. Diane von Fustenberg, (@insidedvf), who seems to have been focusing its effort on Twitter has now over 68,000 followers. In 2009 both Dolce & Gabanna and Louis Vuitton live-streamed their fashion shows on their website, giving the public instant access to their new collections.
The elite crowd you seek may already be on social media: According to Nielsen’s Q1 2010 Consumer Confidence Survey, 75% of the active U.S. Internet households now visit a social networking site. More importantly, 96% of Generation Y, the next generation of luxury consumers, is using social media according to Facebook statistics. Twenty-seven percent of these people also claim that their purchase decisions are influenced by information gleaned from these sites, according to a study by Hill & Knowlton. The Oscar De La Renta Resort 2011 collection that was live streamed on Facebook, (@oscarprgirl) in June 2010, reached over 35,000 fans.
Social Media offers a low cost way to grow the customer base: Social media happens to be a low-cost way of launching ephemeral new products in a tough economy. It shortens the cycle between launch and reach to their audience which normally averages 3 to 6 months. Diane Von Fustenberg has seen its web-traffic increase by 13% and a noticeable upward jump in sales. Oscar De La Renta, is more focused on diversifying their audience when using social media. In their own words – “We’re a family-owned, relatively small business competing against big players (…) We have to constantly be looking for ways to get an edge, to punch above our weight”.
While major players like Chanel, Gucci and Kenneth Cole are noticeably absent on the social media scene, we expect them to come up with their own spin in this new and emerging channel. Mainstream brands are already embracing social media as a viable and measurable channel and it is only a question of time before luxury brands figure out how to make it work for them. Will these high end brands lose their luster of exclusivity by going social? Will increased revenue offset the loss of luster? Let us know what you think by leaving your comments.
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Jun 10
Why luxury fashion brand marketers need to embrace Social Media faster?
Maintaining the aura of exclusivity has always been a goal for luxury marketing. High end brands have been fashionably late to the social media party. However, it appears that at least a few players in the industry are finally making an entrance on the social media catwalk.
The trend started in early 2009, when new bloggers started appearing in the first row of fashion shows along high-stake buyers and fashion magazine editors. Bloggers like Bryan Grey-Yambao, the founder of BryanBoy.com (@bryanboy) and Scott Schuman creator of the Sartorialist Blog, (@sartorialista) were quickly able to demonstrate the power of social media with impressive reach and engagement. BryanBoy.com alone gets 215,000 unique visitors a day. Compare that to alternatives like, say, the British Vogue magazine, which sells just over 200,000 copies a month.
While it appears that the luxury fashion industry is continuing to embrace social media slowly but steadily, here are three reasons why smart high end marketers should fast track their social media efforts:
Fashion is innately social: Luxury fashion audience tends to be passionate about the products they buy. And they are more loyal to and more engaged with brand. And being passionate, loyal and engaged is what social media is all about. Diane von Fustenberg, (@insidedvf), who seems to have been focusing its effort on Twitter has now over 68,000 followers. In 2009 both Dolce & Gabanna and Louis Vuitton live-streamed their fashion shows on their website, giving the public instant access to their new collections.
The elite crowd you seek may already be on social media: According to Nielsen’s Q1 2010 Consumer Confidence Survey, 75% of the active U.S. Internet households now visit a social networking site. More importantly, 96% of Generation Y, the next generation of luxury consumers, is using social media according to Facebook statistics. Twenty-seven percent of these people also claim that their purchase decisions are influenced by information gleaned from these sites, according to a study by Hill & Knowlton. The Oscar De La Renta Resort 2011 collection that was live streamed on Facebook, (@oscarprgirl) in June 2010, reached over 35,000 fans.
Social Media offers a low cost way to grow the customer base: Social media happens to be a low-cost way of launching ephemeral new products in a tough economy. It shortens the cycle between launch and reach to their audience which normally averages 3 to 6 months. Diane Von Fustenberg has seen its web-traffic increase by 13% and a noticeable upward jump in sales. Oscar De La Renta, is more focused on diversifying their audience when using social media. In their own words – “We’re a family-owned, relatively small business competing against big players (…) We have to constantly be looking for ways to get an edge, to punch above our weight”.
While major players like Chanel, Gucci and Kenneth Cole are noticeably absent on the social media scene, we expect them to come up with their own spin in this new and emerging channel. Mainstream brands are already embracing social media as a viable and measurable channel and it is only a question of time before luxury brands figure out how to make it work for them. Will these high end brands lose their luster of exclusivity by going social? Will increased revenue offset the loss of luster? Let us know what you think by leaving your comments.