Digital dilemma no more

Luxury brands find new ways to remain snobbish on the mass media of digital, social media and mobile. Joyce Yip reports.

Gaile Lok’s black curls glide with the Mediterranean winds, her ethereal dress quivers as she skips from one end of her yacht to another, looking for her misplaced bangle to complement her wardrobe. In the next scene, she’s cruising on a hilltop overlooking the breathtaking oceans, her sunglasses propped high her on gelled back hair.

These were some of the scenes from the 2012 spring/summer online campaign for Greek accessories label Folli Follie, where fans can choose various adventures for the then-ambassador to determine their own personalities – trendy, classy, or rock – and purchase the relevant jewellery.

Also around the same time was the launch of its official blog Fashion Forward by Folli Follie – a forum packed with proposals, images, inspirational wardrobe ideas, and trends in both English and Greek; and just this January, it pumped out its first e-commerce mobile app.

“We have already built up the all-rounded social media network like Facebook, Twitter, Blogger, Pinterest, Google+, etc. This is already a basic thing to do nowadays’ marketing world,” says Folli Follie group marketing director Eleana Pagoulatou.

“The fashion-conscious consumers have turned to the web and social media as a source of constant information flow and entertainment. Our offerings – whether it be blog, online campaigns or mobile – ensure that the Folli Follie fans have all the information and fun at her palms at all times.”

The Greek brand’s new-found dedication to digital is impressive, but it’s nothing new in the world of luxury fashion, which has only begun its digital journey recently.

The luxury fashion market strives on prestige – whether in its prices, runway shows, brand heritage, materials, craftsmanship or VIP galas – yet the looming pressure to go digital is holding these brands at gunpoint, forcing them to accept a level of interaction, masses and – god forbid – engagement that they’ve never seen before. Though a handful of brands have thrived with e-commerce, blogs and touch-points across multiple platforms, their marketing strategy remains to be mono-directional and less effective compared to their FMCG neighbours. To avoid the schizophrenic vacuum, therefore, luxury brands need to reinvent their own definition of “digital”.

Digital in the luxury context

In the past two years, the luxury world is finally reacting to the online revolution: in November 2012, Italian men’s fashion line Ermenegildo Zegna put its designers and creative directors on Google+ Hangout to talk to reputable bloggers around the world; Cartier finally debut its e-commerce platform two years after its announcement in 2010; and Louis Vuitton appeared in a online video-cum-TV ad spot. Even Spanish shoe brand Manolo Blahnik – who has been extremely lethargic with their online presence – opened a Facebook account last summer.

According to last year’s L2 Digital IQ Index: Fashion – a ranking system that judged brands based on their digital activity on mobile, social media, marketing strategies and website, email volume in the fashion industry went up from 0.73 emails per week last year to 0.96 in 2012; some brands, like Stella McCartney and Oscar de la Renta, are limiting site access until shoppers provide their personal data; Twitter and YouTube adoption has reached 90% while Instagram and Pinterest are at 80% -- the same rate as e-commerce adoption; mobile, moreover, was in 43% of luxury brands’ strategy, compared to just 23% in 2011.

This desperate rush to online comes late for a target audience that is already so dependent on electronic devices: according to The Affluence Collaborative, 57% of the world’s wealthy population said they like to have the latest gadgets to be in the know; 72% are also active Facebook fans. In fact, more than half of surveyed wealthy consumers believe that brands without social networking sites are out of touch, cited another L2 Digital ThinkTank report.

Though luxury brands are known to keep their prestige, Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide managing director Clara Shek explains the need for it to, finally, get off its high horse in five points: proximity to the customer - who often check out comments and feedback on social networking sites, third-party review micro-sites and bulletin boards before purchase; regaining control over the online presence; protection for the brand’s intellectual property rights, especially when globalisation takes hold of the retail sphere; as well as aspiration for the middle class and expanding a retail footprint for the future.

“Many luxury marketers realise that their brands are talked about and sold online anyway whether or not they establish their own online presence. It makes sense for them to embrace it so they have more control over how their brand is represented online, and capture whatever share of the online purchases that may come along with it,” she says.

The fashion-conscious consumers have turned to the web and social media as a source of constant information flow and entertainment.

Eleana Pagoulatou

Folli Follie group marketing director

“Also, there’s a limit to how fast a brand could expand its retail footprint. An online strategy allows the luxury brands to build a strong following whose purchase can be fulfilled either online or through the in-store presence.”

This is precisely the strategy for Mary Lau, Greater China head of marketing operations and communications at Swarovski, which has been launching digital pushes in the region – like a virtual gift-giving Christmas game and a collaboration with Instagram bloggers – and has established a presence on Facebook, Pinterest, Youtube, Google+, Twitter and WeChat.

“Swarovski builds and sustains the premium fashion position via various digital platforms. Photos are the easiest tool to demonstrate how to style yourself with Swarovski jewellery,” she says, adding that the digital popularity will not jeopardise the brand’s prestige; rather, she says it’s the best way to get as close to the consumer as possible via as many venues as possible.

“Digital is a flexible and innovative platform with no conflicts between uniqueness and intimacy with consumers. For example, a marketing campaign on Facebook, Sina Weibo, Instagram can be premium in terms of design while millions of fans can be reached in a very short period of time.”

Pagoulatou agrees, adding that though women-oriented fashion websites usually take a higher priority in ad placement, large traffic plays a significant role.

“The fashion conscious consumer tends to turn to this new media and engage into conversations about fashion, trends, styles and our brand; it can create word of mouth and viral effect in a very fast speed.”

TBWA China managing director Douglas Lin, however, disagrees, arguing that an incorrect choice of platforms is detrimental to a brand.

“The reason why brands like luxury magazines is because the editorial environment fits their niche, but you can’t do that with online. So yes, you can see these as mere distribution channels that reach your audience, but brands also have to be careful where they put them. Chanel, for example, won’t put their ad as a pre-roll on ESPN,” he says

“Online is a way to further their stories, but as they extend it past reputable mediums, you diminish it, and it does become – I don’t want to say cheapen the brand – but less desirable than it was before. So, there must be a strategy to explain why that brand is in a certain space.”

Even e-commerce, Lin adds, is underselling the shopping experience, especially for fashion labels, which, unlike cars or luxury watches who have a technology and scientific edge, can only bank on heritage and craftsmanship – a very touch-and-feel-dependent quality.

“It’s a fear mindset: brands do e-commerce because they’re falling behind, but going into a Chanel store, for example, is a special experience. People don’t go to make transactions, but to experience the Chanel brand – its heritage, prestige, luxury. It’s the physical details that matters.”

This lack of control over the online platform explains why most luxury brands’ digital campaigns are informational, uni-directional pushes without any room for interactivity. Yet, how can they change that model when what they want to sell most is heritage and history, or when the touch and feel is at the forefront of their sale revenue? (which may explain why Cartier took its time to put its product on a digital shelf).

“We really haven’t thought of that really well,” Lin admits and suggests brands to use digital as an add-on for their services and products rather than a mere marketing tool.

Taking control

One example that has impressed him, however, is Gucci’s flagship in Monte Napoleone, Milan, where five life-sized high-resolution displays drop from the ceiling to reveal runway shows; video columns programmed with Kinect boast the season’s latest and newest in 360 degrees; and – wait for it – a hologram of a bear strutting to the store music on the children’s floor.

“If I’m a Gucci customer, and I have a very innovative purchasing experience, I am going to talk about it Weibo or Facebook, and this is what luxury brands should be good at – giving that distinctive experience to people,” says Lin.

“This way, the narrative is still enclosed within the control of the brand, which doesn’t get cheapened by going on mass websites because it’s coming out of someone else’s mouth.”

Another brand that has flourished in the social sphere is Burberry, which placed first in last year’s L2 2012 Digital IQ Index: Fashion survey, topping competitors like Ralph Lauren, Kate Spade, Tory Burch and even Gucci.

With a tailor-made programme that tracks every brand mention in every platform, instant chat, real-time runway feeds, and direct marketing schemes like sending 250,000 perfume samples to Facebook fans in exchange for customer details, it deserves to top the charts.

Last fall, however, it further up its game with the opening of the Burberry Store of the Future in London. Designed to mimic the website, the in-store store mirrors and trays react to the NFC chips embedded in clothing to show images of how the garment is worn on a runway or details of how its made; in the children’s room, low-level tables are equipped with iPads to keep them off mommy and daddy’s hands; networks of high-speed lifts deliver clothing directly from the stockroom because netizens expect everything to be at high speed; a 38 square-metre screen dominates the main floor with videos of runway shows; staff holding iPads with customers’ saved online items are readily available.

And, get this, the floor is embedded with wires for further developments – if that is even fathomable.

“Society is moving so fast, this is how customers live. They wake up every morning with the device in their hands and life begins, so the onus is on us to keep pace with how fast everything is moving,” said Burberry CEO Angela Ahrendts in a video for Salesforce, the English fashion house’s digital partner.

“To any CEO out there that’s skeptical [about digital], you have to. You have to build a social enterprise today, you have to be totally connected to everyone who touches your brand. If you don’t do that, I don’t know what your business model is in five years.”

But whether brands like it or not, whether they are laughing scornfully at their own marketing budgets compared to that of Burberry or Gucci, or whether they’re just downright reluctant to put their century-long identities on a space where second-hand cars are sold and even psychopaths have a say, the world of digital has become an inevitable part even for a sector that had long prided on exclusivity, prestige and distinctiveness.

“Digital should be a part of the service offering, not just a communications strategy. Marketers should always push this, something more than just an interesting one-off campaign, something that is engaging and brings people back and end up loving the brand,” says TBWA’s Lin.

“Online is a natural evolution,” Ogilvy’s Shek adds. “It’s not a matter of online or not, but a matter of how to ensure the brand’s online presence truly reflects the brand and supports its expansion strategy.”