Farewell, Fierce Fashion Felines ~!
Look of the Week~
Many luxury brands tend to take a slightly “arrogant” and exclusive stance in communicating with their following, and this noticeably translates through use of their social media efforts. However one implication, a REAL thumbs up, is that with all things going forward we’ll have to engage through some sort of new gaming technology (technological changes) at some point in the near future. With the constant updates to how we engage in all things social (human behavior), this new form of communicating can be a REAL thumbs down for luxury brands that choose not to have any direct interaction with their followers.
Chanel apparently sets the bar high when it comes to marketing and communications around their brand. The brands target market expects certain prestigious campaigns from the label, and despite a few eyebrows being raised, this was witnessed ever so seriously when the brand launched its first millennial “Robotic Campaign” designed specifically to capture the hipster audience.
We ask, how can this brand present itself to hipsters and not interact with them? For Chanel this approach has worked but one has to wonder how! To take a look deeper at why the brand considers this method, one will need to know how it positions itself to understand that. A quick look at the Chanel Twitter will validate this – a following of just over a million, yet they follow not a single user. The Twitter account also features no @ replies or @ mentions of other users. Chanel on Facebook tells a similar story – plenty of comments span various items on the page, but no further interaction and engagement from Chanel representatives themselves. They clearly think about digital and how it needs to match their overall approach to marketing their product and event driven content, with a broadcast only approach to communication. They choose to leverage things like display advertising in place of promoting individual engagement with fans and followers (Noakes, 2012).
Fashion forecasters understand that hipsters are those who have always had the internet as a routine part of their daily lives, comprehending their need for digital interaction. This generation is emotionally immersed online and their social interaction is based upon that (Botha and Reyneke, 2013). Does this approach work for Chanel? Not sure, but the brand is in no way going to shatter what its built upon and that’s exclusivity! Personally the brand has been one of the most sought after brands in fashion history and obviously its elitist’s method has worked thus far, but socially how can they continue to compete without engaging this new “millennial” crowd.
Here’s the answer, what you can’t have (afford) is what you’ll always want! Chanel gets behind this statement and continues to develop quality luxury goods that out surpass competitors in terms of price, design, quality, and sophistication. Hipsters will eventually get it, by committing and obtaining the necessary income to afford this lifestyle!
“Success is often achieved, by those who don’t know that failure is inevitable.” Mademoiselle Chanel~
Yours Fashionably,
Botha, E., & Reyneke, M. (2013) To Share Or Not To Share: The Role Of Content and Emotion In Viral Marketing. Journal Of Public Affairs (14723891),13(2), 160-171. doi:10.1002/pa.1471
Noakes, A. (2012). A look at Chanel’s approach to digital. http://switchedonmedia.com.au/blog/a-look-at-chanels-approach-to-digital/