Why Luxury Brands Enter the Social Media Scene
The South By Southwest Interactive panel picker has done its duty and about 60 panels were announced last week, but one still caught my eye that did not get selected: Social Media for Luxury Brands and Brands With Issues. It looks like a very interesting discussion. One line from their abstract states what I would consider to be the crux of the issue of involvement in social media for luxury brands - “Some high-end brands fear getting their hands dirty by mixing with the masses.”
That’s no longer true for Cartier who overcame any supposed fear and got their hands dirty on MySpace last summer. I for one was surprised that Cartier has a MySpace presence. See and hear http://www.myspace.com/lovebycartier for the actual page and to view their 4048 friends.
The world’s most desirable luxury brands according to Forbes magazine include Gucci, Chanel, Calvin Klein, Louis Vuitton and Christian Dior. These are the brands that respondents to the survey would buy if money were no object. If you haven’t seen the site Brand Tags yet, check out the tags for Louis Vuitton (here’s a hint: expensive luxury bags are the top three tags).
One of Cartier’s stated goals with a MySpace campaign was to market to a younger crowd, but Cartier is not just after the teenyboppers instant messaging with their friends about their latest crush. MySpace says that fully 85% of their U.S.-based users are over 18 so Cartier’s definition of young may be 20-somethings.
According to the Forbes article, though, United Arab Emirates and Hong Kong are the world leaders in luxury goods consumption. So perhaps there’s a mismatch in the MySpace “walled garden” eyeball/audience tendency and the most likely luxury brand consumer.
No matter the analysis of effectiveness of reaching their target, the reality is that all brands are seeking the viral nature and virtual word-of-mouth marketing that social media offers. What brands do you wish were more “hip” online for you to share with others? Which brands have you tuned out on your favorite social media sites?
