社交媒体倒逼奢侈品牌平民化

Luxury Brands and the Social Campaign
社交媒体倒逼奢侈品牌平民化

José de Cabo spends a lot of time on social media. But unlike most people who post on Twitter and Facebook to keep up with friends and family, Mr. de Cabo and his team of more than 140 people ― primarily based in New York and London ― have another goal.

若泽・德卡波(José de Cabo)把大量时间都花在了社交媒体上。然而与多数人为了与亲友保持联系而在Twitter和Facebook上更新状态不同，德卡波和他手下140多人的团队――主要在纽约和伦敦――有着另一个目标。

They scour the world’s most popular social media sites on behalf of luxury brands like Lancôme and Yves Saint Laurent, hunting for photos taken by individuals that feature the brands, say an image of a handbag or pair of shoes, that could be used in marketing campaigns.

他们在全世界最受欢迎的社交网站上四处搜寻，为兰蔻(Lancôme)、伊夫圣罗兰(Yves Saint Laurent)等奢侈品牌寻找个人拍摄的突出这些品牌的照片，比如某只手袋或某款鞋子的图片，用于市场营销的活动。

By tapping into the digital world, Mr. de Cabo said, brands (which have final say over what photos are used and do not pay people for their online images) can foster closer relationships with their followers. They also can add extra credibility to marketing at a time when consumers are increasingly turned off by traditional advertising.

德卡波说，这些品牌（对使用哪些照片拥有最终的决定权，不会为拍摄者支付报酬）利用网络世界的资源，可以拉近与用户之间的关系。在消费者越来越反感传统广告的当下，这种做法还可以增加营销活动的公信力。

“There’s an army of fans out there for every brand, and they want to be part of your world,” said Mr. de Cabo, who started the company, called Olapic, with friends soon after completing an M.B.A. at Columbia University in 2010. The start-up says that its social media content can increase online sales by roughly 5 percent compared with traditional marketing photos.

“每个品牌在全世界都有大批拥趸，他们想要成为品牌的一部分，”德卡波说。2010年在哥伦比亚大学获得MBA后不久，他和朋友创办了这家名为Olapic的公司。这家初创公司表示，与传统的营销图片相比，社交媒体内容可以使在线销量增加约5%。

“People are now wired in a different way,” Mr. de Cabo said. “They are used to seeing authenticity online. By embracing that, brands can build a stronger connection with consumers.”

“人们上网的方式变了，”德卡波说。“他们习惯了在网上寻找真实的信息。了解到这一点，企业就可以加强与消费者之间的联系。”

Services like Olapic are the latest attempt by luxury brands ― alongside traditional retailers ― to stay relevant in a world where social media has given people greater power over how a company is perceived online.

如今，社交媒体让普通人拥有了影响企业网络形象的能力，而Olapic提供的这类服务是奢侈品牌――以及传统零售商――面对这一形势保持品牌影响力的最新尝试。

Where once a brand could use its marketing campaigns to present a coherent message, the meteoric rise of social media ― and its billions of daily digital discussions, many involving global luxury brands ― has forced companies to reassess how they use, interact and respond to the likes of Instagram and Snapchat.

过去，企业完全可以利用市场营销活动传递出一个连贯的信息，但现如今，社交媒体的迅速崛起――以及网上每天数十亿的讨论，其中许多与国际奢侈品牌有关――使企业不得不重新评估自己对Instagram和Snapchat等网站的使用、互动和回应方式。

That includes finding new ways to engage with those brand followers, either through regular digital interactions on popular social media sites or offering online extras, like behind-the-scene looks at fashion shows or photo shoots, to reinforce their ties to a designer or fashion house. Brands also have turned to social media to extend their presence beyond the traditional customer base, partly to reach a new generation of consumers that have grown up online.

这需要企业寻找新的方式与粉丝建立联系，无论是通过在知名社交媒体上的经常性互动，还是提供线上的福利，比如邀请消费者到幕后探访时装秀或照片的拍摄，强化他们与某个设计师或时尚品牌的关系。一些企业还借助社交媒体扩大在传统客户群之外的影响力，一定程度上是为了吸引在网络上成长起来的新一代消费者。

Yet just like in the offline world, some luxury brands have embraced social media and other digital activities with greater energy than others.

然而，就像在真实世界一样，奢侈品牌在社交媒体和其他网络活动上投入的精力也各不相同。

Those are the findings of a recent report by L2, a company based in New York that tracks the digital impact of brands. The study, based primarily on U.S. consumer habits, compared the digital strategies of some of the world’s most well-known fashion houses, such as Chanel and Dior, ranking each company on their social media outreach, digital marketing, e-commerce and daily interactions on mobile platforms.

这些结论来自L2公司最近发布的一份报告。该公司总部设在纽约，主要追踪各大品牌在网络世界的影响力。这份主要基于美国消费者习惯的研究报告对比了一些世界最知名时尚品牌的网络策略，如香奈儿(Chanel)和迪奥(Dior)，并为这些企业的社交媒体影响力、网络营销、电子商务，以及移动平台上的日常互动进行了排名。

Some digitally savvy brands like Burberry, according to L2’s report, have incorporated social media and other online platforms directly into their wider marketing campaigns. These activities, says Maureen Mullen, L2’s head of research, have given companies a greater reach in the online world, associating Burberry’s regular posts on the likes of YouTube and Snapchat with people’s increasing desire to be connected to the next online trend.

根据L2的报告，一些擅长网络营销的品牌，如博柏利(Burberry)，已经把社交媒体和其他网络平台直接纳入了整体的营销计划中。L2的研究主管莫琳・马伦(Maureen Mullen)说，这些活动让企业在网络世界有了更大的影响力，她说，博柏利在YouTube和Snapchat等网站上定期的发布内容，是人们越来越渴望融入下一个网络趋势的原因之一。

“Seven years ago Burberry meant ‘British’ and ‘plaid,’ and now a core association of the brand is innovation,” Ms. Mullen said. “They’ve effectively changed the brand values through a lot of the things they’ve done in a digital capacity.” (Kate Spade is the only other company in L2’s “genius” category.)

“七年前，博柏利意味着‘英伦风’和‘彩格布’，如今这个品牌引发的核心联想是创新，”马伦说。“他们通过网络活动有效地提升了品牌价值。”（Kate Spade是除博柏利之外，唯一一家被L2评为“天才”的公司）

But most luxury brands have yet to turn a growing digital presence into increased sales.

不过，多数奢侈品企业还没有把日益扩大的网络影响力转化成销售额的增长。

Online sales still represent just 6 percent of luxury companies’ total revenues, according to L2. And roughly 10 companies, including Ralph Lauren and Michael Kors, dominate this digital world, generating a combined 65 percent of all traffic to websites associated with the luxury industry.

L2的报告显示，网络销售仍然只占奢侈品企业总收入的6%。包括拉夫・劳伦(Ralph Lauren)和迈克・高仕(Michael Kors)在内的约10家公司，在奢侈品网络营销中占了一半以上的份额，共同产生了与奢侈品行业有关的网站65%的流量。

Yet retailing experts say that how a company is viewed online ― not just by its primary customers, but also by the wider online population ― can have a significant impact on a brand’s overall reputation, particularly with digitally literate young shoppers.

然而零售业专家称，一家企业的网络形象――不仅是在主要用户群心中的形象，还包括更广泛的网络用户――可能对品牌的整体声誉产生重大影响，在精通网络的年轻购物者当中尤其如此。

“With social media, consumers are taking brands and reinventing them to fit their own tastes,” said Frederic Court, a London-based partner at Felix Capital, a venture firm that invests in fashion-related digital companies. “Brands need to find a new way to relate to their customers.”

“通过社交媒体，消费者们可以对品牌产生影响，使其符合自己的品味，”Felix Capital驻伦敦的合伙人弗里德里克・考特(Frederic Court)说。这家风投公司投资了一些与时尚有关的网络公司。“企业需要寻找一种新的方式打动消费者。”

This change has been particularly acute for luxury brands such as Louis Vuitton and Chanel. These companies ― born decades before social media ― have fostered an image of exclusivity as part of their marketing strategies, portraying a lifestyle that is often out of reach for most people.

这个变化对路易威登(Louis Vuitton)和香奈儿(Chanel)这样的奢侈品牌来说格外强烈。这些在社交媒体出现之前几十年诞生的公司，已经营造出了一种少数人专享的高端品牌形象，这也是它们的营销策略的一部分，它们描绘了一种通常让多数人难以企及的生活方式。

In response to the digital free-for-all that is synonymous with the Internet, analysts say many companies have had to expand their brands’ online footprint, often teaming up with social media darlings and other celebrities to present a more populist image.

一些分析师说，为了应对网络世界全民自由参与的局面，许多公司已经扩大了品牌的网上足迹，通常与社交媒体达人和其他名人合作，展示一种更加平民化的形象。

That includes Dior, which joined forces with the music star Rihanna, whose social media following is four times as large as that of the fashion label. Calvin Klein signed a deal with Justin Bieber, in part to tap into the Canadian singer’s avid following on Instagram and Twitter, where his audience is up to 15 times as large as that of the brand.

比如，迪奥就与歌星蕾哈娜(Rihanna)携手，后者的社交媒体粉丝数量是这个时尚品牌的四倍。卡尔文・克莱因(Calvin Klein)也与贾斯汀・比伯(Justin Bieber)签订合约，一定程度上是为了利用这位歌手在Instagram和Twitter上的活跃粉丝资源。后者的关注人数是卡尔文・克莱的15倍。

“Each brand needs to strike a balance between exclusivity and inclusiveness,” said James Lovejoy, an analyst at Brandwatch, a technology firm in New York that tracks discussions on social networks.

“每个品牌都需要在专享性和包容性之间找到平衡，”Brandwatch的分析师詹姆斯・洛夫乔伊(James Lovejoy)说。这家位于纽约的科技公司长期追踪社交网络上的舆论。

“When Rihanna wears Dior in an Instagram photo, the reach she gets might not be exactly Dior’s consumer base,” he added, “but she certainly attracts a wider audience.”

“当蕾哈娜在Instagram发布身穿迪奥的照片时，她影响到的人可能并不是迪奥的客户群，”他接着说，“但她毫无疑问吸引了更多的关注者。”

For Matt Jacobson, head of market development at Instagram, the photo-friendly online platform that has become the social network of choice for luxury brands and their followers, this ability to engage with a wider audience lies at the heart of how companies should use online platforms.

对于Instagram的市场开发负责人马特・雅各布森(Matt Jacobson)来说，这家图片共享平台已经成为奢侈品牌和关注者在选择社交网络时的不二之选，这种与更广泛人群互动的能力，是企业利用网络平台策略的关键。

The British label Karen Millen, for instance, has crowdsourced photos from social media as part of its online store, showing how its customers ― and the wider world ― view the brand online. And Coach turned to user-generated images in a recent advertising campaign to highlight its range of footwear, including an interactive map showing where customers had taken their digital photos around the world.

例如，英国品牌凯伦・米莲(Karen Millen)把通过在社交媒体上众包的照片放入在线商店，并展示其用户――以及全世界――对该品牌的网络评价。寇驰(Coach)在最近的一次广告宣传中使用了用户的图片，着重展示鞋类产品系列，包括一张展示顾客在全世界哪些地点拍照的互动地图。

These types of online interactions, Mr. Jacobson said, would happen irrespective of a brand’s participation. But by engaging with both core consumers and the broader digital audience, luxury brands have an opportunity to use the marketing potential offered by social media.

雅各布森说，无论企业是否参与，这些网络互动都会发生。通过让核心用户和更广泛的网络用户参与其中，奢侈品公司就有机会利用社交媒体的营销潜力。

“The conversation is happening, with or without you,” he added. “You can’t choose to opt out. But you can choose not to participate.”

“你参不参与，对话都在进行，”他接着说。“你无法退出。但你可以选择不参与。”