luxury and the social web

Luxury and The Social WebOne Alfred Place, 23rd September 2009

Presented by Gavin Williams

Co-Founder, Video VenturesKellie McSorleyManaging Director, Silksearch

Exhibit 1

RetailHead Office

sales & marketing channel

= a conversation

25.”Companies need to come down from their Ivory Towers and talk to the people with whom they hope to create relationships.”

The Social Web affect

customers are free to have their

own conversations in

online communities

RetailHead Office

Sales & Marketing Channels?

The Social Web For Business

• It’s always about the customer..– They want to talk to you– They want to talk to their friends about you– They want to talk to people they’ve never met

before about you

• Oh and…– They want to write about you– They want to publish videos about you– They want to write reviews about you

2 Challenges for Luxury Brands and Social Media?

Luxury implies a sense of exclusivity; that it isn’t for everyone. Online is an open

environment

A luxury brand needs to maintain the appropriate aesthetics and social media

platforms do not allow for this

The Real Challenge

• The Readiness of our Management teams to firstly endorse and then engage

• Hierarchical cultures

• Our marketing agencies

• Our current skill set

• (Whisper it..) Our Creative Directors!

Challenge 1 Do I know how to talk?

Who is Speaking For You?

LibertyDaniel: DON'T get your legs out for the lads...http://bit.ly/iS4Wn

LibertyDaniel @montyknits Guess what I'm holding in my hand, I'll give you a clue...it's just come back in and has bows

Montyknits @LibertyDaniel yayyyy! :) now, when can i get down? running a knitting class in covent garden on sunday....

LibertyDaniel @montyknits I'm about to sort out the stock on the website, so you can do it online if that's any easier?? I can just send you the new link

Montyknits @libertydaniel @libertylondon o pretty, pretty bows... http://www.montyknits.blogs... now off to show them off...!

LibertyDaniel @montyknits Yes! you got them, well done!

Montyknits @LibertyDaniel argh! all black bows gone! managed to slip in last night before going out to dinner. bare legs or boring black it is then...

LibertyDaniel @montyknits gutted! the black ones with the gold bows, yeah? if you can wait til Tues - i'll see if we can find you a pair??

Montyknits @LibertyDaniel yea! too late for the party, but will just give me an excuse to throw one myself! :) ta muchly

LibertyDaniel @montyknits Good weekend? I've just had a word with the buyer - we are out of stock, but they've been re-ordered - should be 7-10 days...

Montyknits @LibertyDaniel thank you so much for that, am in france this weekend, so no need for tights anyway! will be at the front of the q nxt wk...

LibertyDaniel @montyknits no worries, I'll tweet you when they're in

Turning a Conversation into a Transaction

Challenge 2 If we build it, will they come?

(Burberry, Gucci and Mercedes)

Burberry

Gucci

Mercedes Benz Social Network A Controlled Environment

Challenge 3Am I ready to lose control?

Challenge 4Do I have the time to go

looking for my customers…

Vs

Challenge 5Do I understand the

technology?

Understanding the Social WebA Structured Approach

Weare here

This is an internet map showing user activity

COLLECTORS CRITICS

CREATORSCAMPAIGNJOINERS

SPECTATORS

1 - Who is my Community?

Here’s your (creators)

• Bloggers• Video makers• Podcast creators

These are your (critics)

• Answers Yahoo• Reviews - Trip advisor• Changes to Wikis• Advice on products

The (Collectors)

• Adding tags to posts• Categorising content• Voting on content• Sharing content

The (Joiners)

• Updates on facebook• Retweets in Twitter• Pokes in facebook• MSN messages

The (spectators)

• Consumers• RSS readers• Blog lovers• Tripadvisor visitors• Podcast subscribers

The (inactives)

Yawn …

This is what is called the social eco system• Creators

• Critics• Collectors

• Spectators

• Joiners

• Inactive’s

2 - Listen…for Free

Listening = Research (2)

• Feedback on brand and products

• On brand associations

• On representations of the brands at retailers

• On whether your brand messages are getting across

• On the bad stuff as well as the good

3 - Learn

• What are their expectations of you?

• If you own retail stores, what are they saying about your staff

• If they trade online what are they saying about the efficacy of your site?

• What are they saying about the quality of your product?

4 - Before you Respond - Identifying the Talent

• Talking isn’t easy

• Do you have a Liberty Dan?

• Will using an agency help you learn?

• Will using an agency eventually expose you as a fraud?

• YOU NEED SOMEONE WHO GETS IT!

5 - Responding

• If someone has a gripe do you respond?– Yes if it’s reasonable– Yes if it could impact on how people see you– No if it’s sounding off (the curse of the web!)– Yes if you’re prepared to converse

• Your brand needs to set the level it’s comfortable with

• Your brand need people who know how to respond

6 - I can’t measure the ROI can I?

YES YOU CAN!!!

Your Business is Our Business!!

What’s Next?

•VRM?

•WAVES?

•TABLETS?

• @video-ventures• gavin@video-ventures.co.uk• www.video-ventures.co.uk• Linkedin.com/Gavin07williams

• @silksearch• kmcsorley@silksearch.com• http://www.silksearch.com/ • linkedin.com/in/kelliemcsorley1