Bob Barker,
VP of Corporate Marketing and Digital Engagement,
Alterian
Gucci
Luxury brands will always have a strong following because of the lifestyle affinity the brand promises. Many brands move into social media to protect their brands but for Gucci, they realise social media is another channel to connect with their customers. Gucci’s high ranking offline is magnified online because of the social webs ability to allow people to gather around what they love, whether they can afford it or not.
Gucci has an excellent start into their foray into social media marketing. Their Facebook page has attracted 3.7 million friends, their Twitter handle has over 34,000 followers and their YouTube channel has nearly 300,000 views. This isn’t necessarily a measure of success, but it does point to the affinity consumers have with their brand and the potential that the web offers them to engage with these consumers.
If you look beyond the number of friends and followers, however, you can see that Gucci is primarily providing content rather than engaging in two-way communication. It isn’t clear whether a 3rd party has executed this for them, but what it does indicate is the huge online potential the brand has if they were to grow their presence organically by hiring a community manager. This would allow them to personalise the engagement and humanise the brand.
The advantage of having conversations directly with consumers is that Gucci can then extend their online engagement to supporting their customers, seek product innovation at the same time as fostering and utilising peers to peer product advocacy. It would also help them grow their following and introduce the brand to new customers.
Another advantage with social media is the opportunity to engage with brand advocates. As an established brand, Gucci probably has many fan-based communities that would welcome the brand joining them and supporting their celebration of Gucci products and the lifestyle it represents. This, indeed, is the opportunity that social marketing offers.
In being ranked as number 6, Gucci is well on its way to growing its online presence but it certainly has many opportunities to expend its present efforts.
NMA Opinion
In the luxury fashion market, Gucci is top of the pile for digital engagement. It recently remodelled its main website to emphasise iPad functionality, social media and video content, and has built a following of 3.7m on Facebook (packed with relevant, two-way conversation and exclusive content). Hats off to the team behind these developments as it’s a far cry from the brand’s previous belief that the web was only a channel to reach customers who lived in areas without Gucci stores or who only shopped online.