My Brand Is Smarter Than Your Brand

Are luxury brands going to pass the test? Scott Galloway has the answers.

In his Digital IQ index, Scott Galloway, Professor at NYU’s Stern School of Business and Founder of LuxuryLab,  ranked 109 brands  and gave them an “IQ” by these four criteria:  
Search engine optimization: Traffic, Key word competence, Web authority
Brand translation: Aesthetics, Messaging, Heritage, Corporate Citizenship
Leveraging the medium: Technology, User Interface, Interactivity
and Social media: Facebook, YouTube, Twitter presence, and user-generated content and mentions on blogs.

 Out of all luxury fashion brands, Louis Vuitton and Ralph Lauren came in first and second with Gucci following third. Out of all the luxury brands (including automobile, watches, jewelry, beauty & skincare etc.) Louis Vuitton and Ralph Lauren came in sixth and seventh out of 109.  

Some reasons for the overall rankings of fashion companies out of the 109 companies surveyed:
-Louis Vuitton was ranked sixth overall at the genius level because of their fusion of ecommerce, editorial, and mobile abilities on their site.
-Ralph Lauren is seventh and also at the genius level because their site allows for consumers to customize apparel.  
-Gucci, at 11, and gifted, was ranked there because of their impressive use of social media, and because of “search-optimized and e-commerced-enabled” site features. 
-At ranking 24, gifted Hermes is praised for their “inventive” site. 
- Tory Burch comes in at 31 as gifted because as a CEO blogger, she gives the company a voice.  

These are just some highlights of the reasons for the rankings. Brands can examine this list to see what specifically works for each company and if it will work for them.

In this video Scott Galloway talks about the importance of his survey. One thing to take away from this video is that having an online presence is important to the future of a brand and important to the financial aspects of a brand. The key thing to take away is from how they ranked the companies in the “genius” category. To be genius you have to keep your site fun and engaging while preserving your brand’s image BUT also you have  to keep consumers buying your products. 

 

In the Business of Fashion blog, the post  Fashion 2.0 | Digital IQ Ranking of Fashion Brands’ Digital Competence addresses the survey and blogger Imran Amed stresses that with social media a brand is strongly shaped by consumers and what they think about a brand, they will surely share with their Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter networks. He makes a good point that social media will drastically change the fashion industry but companies will have to first understand and utilize the listening, sharing, and broadcasting aspects. They will have to throw away the idea that social media can only be used as a marketing tool. 

Brands are still experimenting with social media but I think this survey will provoke healthy competition within companies who strive for a higher digital IQ ranking. I believe this survey is a helpful eye opener to CEOs about social media and that in the next couple of years we will see more brands making the transition to a stronger online presence, stronger sites to target consumers, and especially more brand/consumer interaction.

I’m a Fan! Of Gucci and Versace on Facebook

I’m a fan of Gucci and I can even suggest the official fan page to my friends on facebook! At the moment I’m one of 453,144 fans to be exact.

This is an image of the official Gucci Facebook fan page.

On the official fan page, I can check out photos of models showing off the newest sleek, gorgeous designs of Gucci. I can check out videos of what happens backstage during a run way show, the fashion show itself, and a video of the current advertising campaign.

I can check out short press releases about the newest Gucci has to offer and what Gucci is up to. I can click a link to their official website.  On the information tab I get a quick history of the company.

What is best though, is that I can interact with other fans. Under ‘Feedback’ Facebook allows users to click a “like” button if they like something.  Comments of “I love this!” and “I need this!” are abundant on the site.

On September 17, Versace joined Facebook as well. Compared to Gucci’s Facebook page, Versace has a Gallery tab, a Runway tab, a Versace tab showing an iconic Versace picture and an events tab whereas Gucci has the standard photos, videos, notes and boxes tabs.

Another key difference between the two Facebook pages is that Versace has a list of all their stores and phone numbers for direct connection of the customer to the store. The goal of the Versace Facebook site according to this article: Versace Arrives at Facebook and Twitter; Marc Duhm Named Director of Wholesale is to create a way for consumers to connect to the brand globally. The set up of the page seems to do this well.

So why are these luxury labels creating Facebook pages?  In the article Social Climbing: Luxury Fashion Brands Must Embrace Social Media the author says that the key part of being a luxury brand is preserving a brand’s image.  On Facebook there is an unofficial Gucci fan page with almost 100,000 fans that was created before the official page. For Versace, there are many unofficial Versace fan pages for specific products like perfume to ‘Versace Rules’ fan sites with fan bases from 10 fans to fan bases of  hundreds.  Gucci and Versace joined Facebook to ensure that their image stayed true to the company’s values. An unofficial page can not guarantee that. It is important, says the author of the article Social Climbing: Luxury Fashion Brands Must Embrace Social Media that brand sites have a voice from someone who officially represents the brand.

Official online presence is important in Web 2.o. Official presence also helps the company connect to consumers while mostly avoiding ‘fakesters’ and people who misrepresent the brand.

Sign Me Up

People subscribe to magazines because they like the content of a specific magazine and expect new content about the specific topic of the magazine. People subscribe to podcasts for the same reasons, they like to hear new information continually about their topics of interest. I want fashion information. I want to hear it from a voice and/or see it continuously. I want to hear opinions, I want to hear interviews, advice, insider tips, opinions on the newest fashions, information and reviews on runway shows. And I want constant updates about new material without having to search for it. Welcome to the world of fashion podcasts and RSS feeds.

Fashionising, a company that organizes fashion events, has a blog, and calls itself a fashion community, has a podcast and encourages listeners to “Subscribe to our fashion insight”. You can subscribe for them on itunes. They’re a British company and claim they give a fresh take on fashion. I enjoyed listening to the podcast but the main personality talking I thought was too monotone. However, they do one key thing in their podcast:  they talk about trends or pictures and tell listeners that they can look at them on the website. This links the listeners further to the company and encourages listeners to come back to the site and podcast.

Style.com offers an RSS of the latest articles in style news and is updated frequently. They allow you to subscribe to receive information daily, weekly, or hourly. They have four different feeds with specific content in each and also have a video, and forum feed. Just in “The Latest Fashion Trends and News” feed, three new stories were posted yesterday. By specifying the type of feed and how frequently you want to be updated, Style.com tries to caters to the wants and needs of its readers and consumers.

Most of the podcasts I looked at online are listed on iTunes for easy accessibility to content. These sites and companies are utilizing social media tools to be able to connect to listeners constantly and wherever their users are.

MODTV, a fashion network, claims they keep listeners up to date with “what’s hot and fashionable” and update weekly. They keep things interesting in their videos with upbeat music, backstage footage, and really show case fashion looks.  I would definitely subscribe to their podcasts because their videos are enticing and loaded fast. All their videos share the same format, and if a viewer subscribes, they know what they can expect in the form of content. This conformity ties all the feeds together and helps shape the MODTV image.

Companies are using podcasts to talk about fashion, to engage fashionistas in the discussion, to appeal to the tech-savvy generation, and to generate more buzz about fashion. By using RSS feeds, they connect to their consumers and the consumers are updated as frequently as they want to be. The news goes to the consumer in a way the consumer WANTS.

Psst. Pass It On.

Viral marketing has been utilized by the fashion industry to promote products and services in an innovative, creative way. Fashion is all about marketing and creating a brand image. Viral marketing and Web 2.0 are just new ways for the fashion industry to do so.

According to a Fashion2point0 column from MyItThings online magazine, there are four types of viral marketing: incentivised viral, undercover marketing, and buzz marketing/ edgy gossip, and four ways that viral messages are distributed: e-mail, instant messaging, Web sites, and word-of-mouth.

Gucci uses James Franco in their commercial for their new fragrance “Gucci” by Gucci. On youtube the video has over 330,000 hits. On youtube, the video has 451 comments and 3 video responses. Some like it, some don’t but even if they don’t they are still engaging in the conversation, telling their friends, and all are watching. This is an example of Buzz Marketing. Buzz was created because of the celebrity involved, the video, and the new perfume. This was distributed on TV, then on a website through word of mouth and messaging.

In 2008, Marc Jacobs named his Ostrich Bag “BB” after blogger BryanBoy because of Bryanboys’ a video called”Faggotry in Motion” which praised Marc Jacobs.  Marc Jacobs capitalized on the popularity of the video for added press. On Youtube alone, the video has over 51,000 views.

Also, in 2008, Louis Vuitton tried viral marketing with a video featuring Keith Richards and a Louis Vuitton guitar case. According to this blog post from The Business of Fashion, 8000 press articles were written about the video, bloggers posted commentary about it, and on YouTube thousands watched it. Success? I think so.

There are other types of viral marketing techniques besides video. In a post called  3 Viral Marketing Tips to Creat an Explosion of Traffic to Your Site another tip includes creating a HubPage.

Hubpage has a specific Fashion and Beauty category where you can look at “hot” articles, or the “best” or “latest”. Why would a fashion company use HubPages? People ask and answer questions about fashion and the articles are looked at by an interested community, bloggers, and journalists.

An example of pass-along marketing is the share with a friend icon. On The Purse Page, here is a Gucci purse and the share with the friend icon is on the right.

Another pass-along marketing scheme is the current Gucci Eyeweb marketing campaign where you can upload pictures and they will be reflected in the glasses. You can share or “pass-along” the photos to your friends.

An example of incentivised marketing from the Viral Marketing| Pass-along, Incentivised, Undercover, Buzz, Edgy Gossip article from the Fashion2point0 column is this button from gilt.com, where you invite a friend for an incentive of $25.00.

Viral marketing is a way for companies to use consumers to advertise for them and Web 2.0 makes it easier for consumers to pass along media through many different kinds of media outlets.

The Classy are Tweeting

In my last post I wrote about Bloggers gaining recognition because of their influence in the blogosphere and on the internet and being invited to the front row of runway shows. Now I’m going to write about designers entrances into social media sites and their influence on the web. 

Twitter. 14o words or less. Follow who you like. Connect to thousands.

Designers and stores are following the twitter trend and in 14o words or less are telling their fans about what is new, what is next, what sales are going on, and what celebrities are wearing. 

Why Twitter? It’s simple to update for designers and stores. The page doesn’t require too much personalization or maintenance like a website. The tweets do not need to be professional because followers would rather like personal. The 140 characters is not hard to fill. Most importantly though, maybe Twitter is on the rise says Chris Crum in his blog post New Twitter Numbers Show Tweeting Increase. 

Some examples of what designers and stores are tweeting about:

- Louis Vuitton most recently tweeted about Freida Pinto and Leighton Meester wearing Louis Vuitton in Paris. 
- Stella McCartney tweeted from the runway about her coffee break during the show, told readers to be eco-friendly by turning off their taps, and about new lace luxe looks.
  - BCBG wrote about customer’s last chance to receive thirty percent off before Monday in stores and online, to make sure people are on their catalog’s mailing list, and what BCBG feels is the latest Daily Find.
-  Saks Fifth Avenue recently tweeted about an event at their Sak’s stores in San Francisco – a book signing by Christian Siriano. In another tweet they thanked people for coming to another event. 
- William Rast, Justin Timberlake’s line, in a tweet asks if people like the Spring 2010 collection. The line also tweets what they are doing- that they are working on a project or a photo shoot.

For a list of twittering designers and stores click here.  

Some designers are still hesitant to join twitter. Dolce and Gabbana have not started tweeting yet because in an interview with Christina Binkley, Dolce said his advisor said he wouldn’t know what Dolce would say making it too dangerous for Dolce to tweet. 

Tweeting helps a brand understand what people are saying about them. On Wall Street Journal’s Twitter Roundup tweets are collected  about what people are saying about runway shows. If a brand is smart, they will follow these people to see what is being said about them and then tweet back to them. 

Renata Espinosa  in a post on her blog The Fashion Twitterati, coined the term Twitterati when talking about her experiences with Twitter and Fashion week. She loves Twitter because people tweeting at the runway give you a glimpse of what is going on back stage or all around you. If you are not at the fashion show, reading the tweets help you feel like you are there or in the author’s case, reading other’s tweets helps her see what she missed out on. 

She also loves reading tweets on fashion because the tweets are direct and not based on interpretation which she says can be done later. I think that if a brand is able to tweet, consumers will like the direct message of the brand talking to them rather than reading about the brand on other people’s tweets. 

However, if a brand is  tweeting, tweets should be updated constantly to keep followers interested and talk about things that the consumer is interested in.  In How the Fashion Industry Uses Twitter, the author gives examples of Twitter basics, what should be in a tweet, the pros and cons, and Tweeting etiquette. If a brand can benefit if is able to be personal, update and maintain a Twitter page, and keep it interesting. Dell, while not in fashion, attributed a jump in sales to their Twitter page last year. Brands increase sales through increased awareness which Twitter can help do.

While tweets from designers did have things in common like writing about celebrities wearing their clothes, and tweets from stores and designers promoted sales, there seems to be a large spectrum of what each brand is trying to convey. Some brands are more personal and others like Urban outfitters seem a little less personal. Either way, they are all reaching out to consumers. They are gaining followers. They are gaining interest. They are generating TALK.  In turn, talk will generate sales.

Even Harrisonburg’s boutique The Yellow Button has it’s own blog and twitter site!

Bloggers are Getting Classy

During Fashion Week this week bloggers are getting FRONT ROW access, close-up views, VIP treatment, heightened status and recognition. WHOAAA the luxury fashion industry is changing.

This video from Wall Street Journal shows that because of internet access, no longer are exclusive invitees the only ones who can see runway shows six months in advance. Shows are being put online for everyone to see.  The industry is now faced with how to keep the public interested in the clothes for the six months it takes for clothes to get to stores.

One way is to keep the public interested is to keep them ENGAGED. So why not put them in the first row with celebrities and fashion editors? Bloggers are gaining power.

The Industry benefits as well.  It is free publicity, support from the public, and a glimpse into the world of glamor for a normal person.

Christina Binkley of Wallstreet Journal writes about the entrance of designers into social media sites in From the Runway to Your Laptop. She writes about luxury fashion’s hesitation with social media and the internet because online consumers can compare prices, avoid sales clerks, and cannot try clothes on. BUT women are buying luxury clothes on line at sites like Yoox so the industry IS taking notice.

Binkley interviews Dolce and Gabbanna in the article and states they have a staff of 30 people working on new media. They allowed bloggers at their show.  Here is a video of Dolce and Gabbanna talking to the bloggers taken off the designer’s online magazine site Swide.

Dolce and Gabbanna are making changes because they feel that it is how they will be able to connect to people in their 20s.  I think they are on the right track but bloggers can reach much more then people in their 20s! In Milan Fashion Week: Bloggers go Front Row, the JoJo Iles writes about bloggers previously sitting in the back rows with notebooks but now grace the front rows with laptops and says the power of the web is not undermined any more.

On the Wall Street Journal there is a Twitter Roundup which showcases tweets pertaining to topics like the Twitter Roundup on the Gucci Show. Some of these tweets are from people who are actually at the show and tweeting directly from their phones giving the public a glimpse into the runway show from the twittering people’s eyes.

A blogger in her post called Front Row Fashion Bloggers at Dolce and Gabbana wrote about the new faces in the front row and how other front row attendees were uncomfortable with the idea.  I’m thinking that people are hesitant to think that other people next to them could be writing about them. In one of the tweets on the Twitter Roundup, a tweeter indeed posted about “who is the woman with all the surgery.” Anything can be posted. Every one will see. Anyway back to the topic.

Here is a picture of blgger bryanboy at Australia's fashion week sitting in the front row.

I emailed Binkley asking her opinion on social media and in the midst of being at the runway in Paris, she found time to reply and tell me that “Social Media has huge potential if anyone can figure out how to harness it. Now it’s like electioneering- shake every hand and hope it comes to something.”

Now in fashion: From people blogging, to people tweeting, to people commenting on sites and joining in the conversation- all their hands are being shaken.

 

The Luxury of Luxury Websites

As I was looking online at fashion websites, I was examining the different tactics between luxury clothing designer’s sites and inexpensive clothing store’s websites. Most designers websites open with an image or simple logo before you enter in to the rest of the site. This design is simple but glamourous. The inexpensive clothing stores opened with ads of discounts or immediate access to the online store.

It’s an interesting tactic because I find myself more compelled to linger on the designer’s sites and feeling like a princess looking at the sophisticated and unique clothes. On the inexpensive sites I feel myself shopping with an agenda, only looking at the products I think I need. 

Gucci’s site opens with a plain beige background but it is the simple Gucci symbol in gold that draws the eye. Louis Vuitton’s site opens with a glamourous picture of a model with a purse. Prada’s site is interesting because it opens with pictures of models modeling the brand but every time you refresh, different models and poses come up.

Chanel’s main page opens up simply with the brand’s classic logo. Jimmy Choo’s website begins with three pictures of the brand’s newest arrivals.

Immediate access to the clothes and products is not as simple as inexpensive clothes’ website because of exclusivity and the appeal to the glamor of the brand. A luxury designer’s website cannot have immediate access because they are not appealing to the masses but to a specific affluent consumer. The glamour and sexiness of the models posing with the clothes and accessories shows that these clothes will make you look rich, glamourous, sexy and pretty. 

Logo and brand identity is what is important to these sites. In an article called Creating Your Fashion Business Website, advice is given saying that the designers brand identity is key in a fashion website. The logo is what these companies have built up to create a luxury reputation and the reason why most of these sites just open up with the logo because it’s something people can relate to. The way these brands decide to portray themselves online will have to be an identical representation of their reputations on the Runway and in stores in order to keep their following and to keep their brand images consistent. 

The face of clothes websites then changes when looking at brands that are not as luxurious. For instance, Urban Outfitters begin their website with an advertisement for free shipping and a highlight of a promoted good. American Eagle Outfitters also use the same tactic with an advertisement of a sale alongside a picture of models. On the site they also have places to enter sweepstakes or join the mailing list.
 Guess goes a step farther and has a pop up asking for your name, email information, and demographic information to enable you to sign up on their email list to give you special offers and the latest trends. Bargains, deals, and sales of these sites are a stark contrast to the luxury sites that don’t offer such things. 

However, this economy has created a surplus in luxury goods because they aren’t being sold at the high prices. This has prompted some sites to pop up that offer luxury goods at a discount price. In an article in the New York Times Magazine, Exclusivity for All author Rob Walker  examines sites like Rue La La, Gilt, and Haute Look which, with an “invitation only”, members-only set up, the sites allows users to look at and buy luxury goods on sale.  This preserves the exclusivity of buying designer clothes and utilizes social media because members can invite friends, download the iPhone applications for the sites, and creates a social network of fashionistas because the site only allows you to be a member if invited by another.