Saks’ Like2buy images
While social media is still primarily used to engage with consumers, many luxury brands found ways to monetize tweets and Instagram posts in 2014.
From shoppable links to dedicated hubs, brands created a direct link and path to purchase for consumers, allowing them to find the products they admired within photos and posts. Instagram emerged as a popular platform for campaigns, as brands gathered user-generated content, allowing them to connect on a deeper level with fans.
Here are the top 10 luxury social marketers of 2014, in alphabetical order.
Instagram photo from Bergdorf Goodman about #Sx5F
New York department store Bergdorf Goodman asked South by Southwest attendees to spot its social media manager wearing clothing from its new contemporary collections at the conference and share a photo of her on Instagram to enter.
Part of the prize package was a Monsur Gavriel bucket bag, which was so coveted by consumers that it had a wait list, guaranteeing interest from its target audience. Because the winner of this contest was judged on quality of photo rather than at random, Bergdorf was able to amass user-generated content that has value, since consumers will be trying to impress.
Each day, Cannon Hodge posted her outfit to Instagram so consumers could see what she was wearing. If they were attending SXSW, this will help them know how to find her to enter the contest. To enter, consumers had to snap a photo of Ms. Hodge and post it to Instagram including the hashtag #SX5F.
For those following along from home, Bergdorf teamed up with 52grams to make its Sx5F Instagram posts shoppable. Consumers could click on a photo to see what designers are featured and then go to 52grams’ Sx5F page to purchase (see story).
BMW Instagram
BMW of North America let fans reserve one of 29 thirtieth anniversary BMW M5s to be sold in the United States exclusively through information revealed on Instagram.
Interested consumers were asked to follow the brand’s Instagram account through 1 p.m. EST on May 21 to access a gradually revealed reservation phone number. BMW’s attempt to stitch Instagram into the broader commerce tapestry speaks to a much larger and rapidly progressing trend.
The automaker produced 300 30th anniversary BMW M5s, 30 of which were imported to the United States. The model starts at $138,275 and is the most powerful BMW model in production.
Although the price point prevents the vast majority of BMW USA followers to take advantage of the revealed phone number, the limited production line ensures that a heated contest will take place between affluent consumers (see story).
Kate Moss and Cara Delevingne for Burberry
British fashion house Burberry was among the first brands to take advantage of Twitter’s latest “In Tweet Purchasing” program.
Although social media has been crucial for marketing purposes, there has yet to be a direct call to action to help complete conversions on channels such as Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Brands that incorporate In Tweet Purchasing are likely to see higher conversion rates due to the ease the program will create.
Burberry introduced its first tweet that was tweet purchasing-enabled during its Burberry Prorsum women’s wear spring/summer 2015 runway show Sept. 15. Instead of the fashions seen during the show, the tweet will enable consumers to purchase the nail polishes worn by the models.
The Runway nail polish shades were exclusive to Twitter and were limited-edition after the show’s completion through Burberry’s Runway Made to Order initiative. Later, Burberry plans to offer its consumers an In Tweet Purchasing option for its new My Burberry fragrance (see story).
Jean Paul Gaultier Glorywall
French fashion label Jean Paul Gaultier is building its Twitter presence without sending a single tweet.
The “Glorywall” campaign is a digital graffiti wall that automatically updates each user’s status based on the number of tweets sent about the brand’s collections, and the handle with the most tweets will win their favorite perfume. Jean Paul Gaultier’s campaign encourages fans to browse the Web site and choose their favorite items and tweet straight from the site.
Users are prompted to browse the Jean Paul Gaultier site and choose their favorite content and click the Twitter button on the bottom right of the photo they wish to tweet. Each tweet promotes the user’s status on the Glorywall (see story).
Marc Jacobs’ Daisy
U.S. fashion brand Marc Jacobs built a community for its Daisy fragrance lovers by creating a virtual daisy chain that incorporated social media, the scent’s ongoing campaign and in-store efforts.
The label reinforced its promotion of the Daisy fragrance throughout the month of January with fan-submitted images that created a sense of community among enthusiasts. Marc Jacobs elevated the promotion of Daisy with a series of physical events that fortified the relationship established online to increase engagement.
From Feb. 7-9, consumers were invited to visit the brand’s temporary SoHo boutique to experience Daisy and take time to relax during the chaos of New York Fashion Week. The pop-up featured Daisy-themed artwork by artist Langley Fox Hemingway and music provided by DJ Jilly Hendrix in addition to Wi-Fi, snacks, fragrance samples and a Daisy photobooth.
Interestingly, the pop-up, which will have Marc Jacobs apparel, accessories and fragrances for sale, will only be accepting “social currency” as payment and not the United States dollar. To make a purchase, the consumer must use the branded hashtag #MJDaisyChain on social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram (see story).
Mercedes-Benz’ build your own GLA Instagram effort
Mercedes-Benz USA is continuing to mine Instagram in creative ways with a maze-like “Build your own GLA” campaign.
Mercedes-Benz ingeniously worked around the inability to link images on Instagram by creating a large network of tagged images that consumers can easily follow on their way to their ideal GLA model. More so than other automakers, the brand consistently innovates on Instagram, and its 1.3 million followers prove that it knows how to engage fans.
Interested consumers are asked to follow the @GLA_Build_Your_Own account where they can begin their journey by tapping a central image.
This process continues as consumers select wheels, a roof and a grille, and the customized car gradually gains new new details.
At the end of the journey, a consumer’s car and details about that car are revealed. Mercedes also tells consumers the price of the car and encourages them to take the final image to a local dealer to get started with the ownership process (see story).
Promotional image for #InstaKors
U.S. fashion label Michael Kors is tying social content to commerce with a new Instagram feature.
#InstaKors asks consumers to sign up, linking their Instagram handle with an email address, and then sends them an email when they like a shoppable image on the brand’s Instagram feed. Unveiling this feature before the holidays will let Michael Kors’ 3 million followers use social media to buy gifts directly or send ideas to family and friends as a wish list.
First consumers have to navigate to a dedicated page on the brand’s Web site to register with their name, email and Instagram handle. Once they are registered, they can browse Michael Kors’ Instagram for posts with the hashtag #InstaKors, which shows that a photo is shoppable.
Once they like an image, a personalized email is sent to their inbox, which includes product information for all of the items depicted. At this time, most of the Instagram images included are for holiday gift ideas or party attire (see story).
“Your Memories” section on The Ritz-Carlton Web site
The Ritz-Carlton is giving consumers a central location to share brand memories that will likely spur more social media interaction.
The newly minted “Your Memories” section on the brand’s Web site aggregates social posts with the #RCMemories hashtag and invites manual uploads from consumers. As consumers see the images of other engaged Ritz-Carlton travelers, it may foster a sense of community.
The new content hub was initially powered by social media submissions that have appeared on Twitter and Instagram with the #RCMemories hashtag since the campaign’s launch last year.
Fans had posted a sufficient number of images since the launch for the brand to develop a respectable mosaic of images.
Visitors to the “Your Memories” mosaic can also share images on their Facebook, Twitter and Sina Weibo pages (see story).
Promotional image for SaksStyle
Department store chain Saks Fifth Avenue is heightening its sense of community through a new content hub that streamlines social media interactions with consumers.
Using New York Fashion Week as a backdrop, Saks’ content page, housed on the retailer’s Web site, is set to launch on Sept. 4. The new aspect of Saks’ Web site, dubbed as a “fanreel,” will create a center for the retailer’s fashion-forward consumers to gather and share via social media.
Saks’ user-generated content hub, categorized under the tag #SaksStyle, will collect photos of purchased items from Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and Tumblr to give consumers an idea of popular merchandise available at the retailer.
By shining a light on what items have been purchased, the retailer will be able to create an organic look book full of pieces bought by actual Saks consumers, rather than stylized by the department store (see story).
Van Cleef & Arpels Flipboard promotional image
French jewelry maison Van Cleef & Arpels has combined its social media accounts into the jeweler’s first Flipboard magazine issue for a seamless experience that will promote sharing and educate consumers about the brand’s inner workings.
According to Van Cleef & Arpels, the jeweler has introduced the first Flipboard publication on the social magazine application dedicated solely to the works of a high jewelry maison. Branded magazines of all types are a popular trend among luxury brands and are used to expand awareness among dedicated consumers and entice unfamiliar individuals through curated content that highlights achievements, innovation and craftsmanship.
When consumers download or access the Flipboard app, the landing page is an interactive table of contents.
From here, the consumer can access articles and pictorials on Van Cleef & Arpels’ various Tumblr accounts or view images from the jeweler’s Instagram. Also, on the cover page is a tally of readers, page flips and articles to show interest and generate shares.
Included content ranges from campaign videos to pieces of high-jewelry as well as everyday pieces on Pinterest and Instagram to Van Cleef & Arpel books available for purchase from Apple’s iTunes store and articles on Tumblr.
Many of the images also land directly on Van Cleef & Arpels Web site where the consumer can make a purchase, request more information or search for a local boutique (see story).
Final Take
Sarah Jones, editorial assistant on Luxury Daily, New York