The 4 E's of Luxury Brands Digital Marketing

Did you ever hear of the 4 Es of digital marketing for luxury brands?

Experience

Exclusivity

Engagement

Emotion

A very interesting article about the 4 E's says that the key challenge for luxury brands is to correctly position their brand online, and the way to do this is through a comprehensive understanding of their digital landscape. This  means they have to know who are their consumers, how do they use digital media and what are the competitors doing.

Once this is set, to effectively reach out to its consumers, brands need to provide an online experience which will rise emotions and engage with consumers. However luxury brands need to be careful. There is a tricky aspect to digital marketing which is the "Exclusivity" part. Because online is often associated with "available everywhere", brands need to be visible online but remain exclusive. One way to do so is to create platforms exclusively for consumers, as a community (eg: Burberry's Art of Trench where customers become part of the Burberry online community, or DFV providing a limited edition product only available through its iPhone app). We could therefore say that digital marketing might offer a great opportunity to control and enhance a brand’s exclusivity. It’s what the article calls“prestige technology.”

A well though digital marketing stratgey is crucial for luxury brands and pays off when it takes into account the 4 E's. For instance Burberry just reported that by switching the majority of its marketing budget to digital experiences, it enjoyed a 29% increase in revenue.

The 4 E's, a great guideline for luxury brands to follow!

Ralph Lauren and mobile apps

Leading the way in m-commerce, Ralph Lauren started setting standards in digital media already a few years back. Remember in 2009 (quite some time ago from a digital standpoint!) when Ralph Lauren launched the Rugby brand and an iPhone app to go with it? It was truly something unique in terms of the experience that it provided to users. The "Rugby Make Your Own" application (see video below) was very innovative in terms of how to connect with the consumers. But the brand did not stop the application to mobile devices; Ralph Lauren took the app outside the iPhone by engaging with customers through interactive store windows, outdoor display content and its online store.

As for a more recent app, you can check the Ralph Lauren Collection App which features highlights of the  latest runway shows  and give you a closer look at the season's styles thanks to a Lookbook feature. It also allows you to get connected immediately with Ralph Lauren Collection specialists using the "Call a Personal Shopper" option. 

For more info, visit Ralph Lauren official website or their Rugby brand!

Hotel du Petit Moulin SEO

Few slides on what differentiators the Hotel du Petit Moulin could/should use to improve their online visibility and therefore bookings. From our research we concluded that the hotel is not using properly differentiators to appear in organic search results and could gain a lot in revising its strategy.

Hotel du Petit Moulin

Self Assessment

If I would have to assess the material I post on my blog, I would have to say that I started out mostly with descriptive blog posts, putting in my own words what I understood from interesting articles and topics. After a few I believe we start to be analytical, sharing our point of view and opinions. However I think the next step for me would be to really make in depth research on the subject I'm interested in and come up with a new info or a new take on one. Even though these days I posted my posts after the deadlines, I think writing blog posts come with practice and I will therefore do my best to blog whenever I have some relevant info/insight to share.. and of course on time for assignments!

How can Google Places increase a business visibility? Part II

Open publication - Free publishing - More google

Reputation Management.. Influencing the Influencers ;)

Just a few slides on how to find influencers and get them to talk about you...

Influencing influencers

View more presentations from icybirdy


To learn more about reputation management click here

How can Google Places increase a business visibility?

Check out this really cool video about Google Places! There will be more to come on this subject later on so don't forget to check back :)

A look at Hotel and OTAs Relationship...

Hotel and OTAs Relationship

View more presentations from aMathisse.

Lanvin launches online (cooking) contest!

For the launch of its first children collection, Lanvin Petite, the brand organizes a cooking contest called "ma recette du gâteau au chocolat". The brand invites moms and their daughters to share their chocolate cake recipes on their website. The best one will be selected and prepared by the Chef of the prestigious Ecole Ritz Escoffier. The winners will then be invited to a children tea party hosted by Lanvin the 4th of December at the Ritz, where everyone will be able to eat a piece of the winning cake!

Their approach is to create the buzz around their new children collection, already available online here. Indeed, contests are an excellent retail marketing strategy to increase traffic to retail stores as well as online ones. In addition, they provide the brand with contact information from customers, that could later be used for e-mailing campaigns.

For more information on the contest check out this article or better, directly go to the contest page!

Atlantis, the Palm's Digital Marketing

Here is a short presentation on Atlantis, the Palm's online activities. From its website to its presence on social media, this Dubai hotel of 1,539 rooms (wow!) is definitely on the right track to a high digital IQ. See for yourself and explore the hotel's website, Facebook page, Twitter and Youtube channel.

                                             Atlantis, the Palm's Digital IQ

Burberry's online strategy

Burberry is definitely the brand to look after when you want to see how one succeeds in its online strategy. Ranked #6 in L2 luxury brands digital IQ 2010 index, Burberry is actively working on social media platforms and experiments online in various ways. It even won the Digital Innovation Award at the 2010 British Fashion Awards.

A great article about Burberry online strategy (check it out here) provides a cheat sheet about their most powerful digital activities. Among others, the The Art of Trench, living celebration of the Burberry trench coat, is a unique and well thought interface for the Burberry community to experience something new. There is therefore no doubt that the company engages with its customers on innovative levels and takes advantage of the Internet and the opportunities it has to offer.

What do you think Burberry has in store for its online community??

Burberry's Facebook page

Burberry's Twitter page

Digital IQ Travel and Luxury Reports

In terms of digital marketing, the travel industry seems to be one step ahead of the luxury industry. For example, most travel brands have realized the huge impact of Facebook on generating traffic to their own sites and increasing sales volume, while many luxury brands remain focused on their main site as a way to attract customers. Of course, some luxury brands such as Burberry and Gucci understand that their potential clients are on the popular social media but in general, luxury brands have to optimize their “social media” strategies in order to be more competitive.

 

It also looks like travel brands tapped into all possible ways (Facebook, Twitter, Foursquare, iPhone apps, etc...) to attract customers early on whereas luxury brands were more reluctant to do so. This could be due to luxury brands’ scare of losing their exclusivity if they would increase their digital presence. However, in today’s world, it is crucial to embrace the online possibilities. Interestingly, social media can be exclusive: for instance, Diane Von Furstenberg (ranked Gifted) designed a dress available exclusively through its iPhone app.

 

For top Digital IQ companies, social media therefore represents a sea of opportunities.  It is an important tool to get to know more their clients, interact with them, and therefore personalize the services they are offering.

Google's Street View goes beyond streets!

BBC - Google's Maps Street View service pilots indoor photos

Google’s Street View services are going beyond the streets. Completely up to the businesses, Google Street View's new option, allows businesses (in big cities) to showcase their location and ambiance through 360° images. I believe it is a great opportunity for businesses to attract more customers; however the problem of privacy is still on everyone's mind. Even though Google have asked businesses to inform their customers before photoshoots take place and ensures to blur people's faces, they have, in the past, repetitively been accused of intruding privacy. Moreover, we can wonder if all photographs will be true to the real ambiance you feel when you actually visit the place; if not it could compromise the businesses instead of bringing new customers.

So next time you decide to grab a bite at the little sushi place down the street, remember that Big Brother, Google might be watching you ;) 

Hotel Website Marketing