社交媒體倒逼奢侈品牌平民化

Jos 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.

若澤·德卡波(Jos de Cabo)把大量時間都花在了社交媒體上。然而與多數人爲了與親友保持聯繫而在Twitter和Facebook上更新狀態不同，德卡波和他手下140多人的團隊——主要在紐約和倫敦——有着另一個目標。

They scour the world’s most popular social media sites on behalf of luxury brands like Lanc 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.

他們在全世界最受歡迎的社交網站上四處搜尋，爲蘭蔻(Lanc )、伊夫聖羅蘭(Yves Saint Laurent)等奢侈品牌尋找個人拍攝的突出這些品牌的照片，比如某隻手袋或某款鞋子的圖片，用於市場營銷的活動。

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.

德卡波說，這些品牌（對使用哪些照片擁有最終的決定權，不會爲拍攝者支付報酬）利用網絡世界的資源，可以拉近與用戶之間的關係。在消費者越來越反感傳統廣告的當下，這種做法還可以增加營銷活動的公信力。

“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.

“每個品牌在全世界都有大批擁躉，他們想要成爲品牌的一部分，”德卡波說。2010年在哥倫比亞大學獲得MBA後不久，他和朋友創辦了這家名爲Olapic的公司。這家初創公司表示，與傳統的營銷圖片相比，社交媒體內容可以使在線銷量增加約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.”

“人們上網的方式變了，”德卡波說。“他們習慣了在網上尋找真實的信息。瞭解到這一點，企業就可以加強與消費者之間的聯繫。”

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，社交媒體讓普通人擁有了影響企業網絡形象的能力，而Olapic提供的這類服務是奢侈品牌——以及傳統零售商——面對這一形勢保持品牌影響力的最新嘗試。

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.

過去，企業完全可以利用市場營銷活動傳遞出一個連貫的信息，但現如今，社交媒體的迅速崛起——以及網上每天數十億的討論，其中許多與國際奢侈品牌有關——使企業不得不重新評估自己對Instagram和Snapchat等網站的使用、互動和迴應方式。

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.

這需要企業尋找新的方式與粉絲建立聯繫，無論是通過在知名社交媒體上的經常性互動，還是提供線上的福利，比如邀請消費者到幕後探訪時裝秀或照片的拍攝，強化他們與某個設計師或時尚品牌的關係。一些企業還藉助社交媒體擴大在傳統客戶羣之外的影響力，一定程度上是爲了吸引在網絡上成長起來的新一代消費者。

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，就像在真實世界一樣，奢侈品牌在社交媒體和其他網絡活動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.

這些結論來自L2公司最近發佈的一份報告。該公司總部設在紐約，主要追蹤各大品牌在網絡世界的影響力。這份主要基於美國消費者習慣的研究報告對比了一些世界最知名時尚品牌的網絡策略，如香奈兒(Chanel)和迪奧(Dior)，併爲這些企業的社交媒體影響力、網絡營銷、電子商務，以及移動平臺上的日常互動進行了排名。

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.

根據L2的報告，一些擅長網絡營銷的品牌，如博柏利(Burberry)，已經把社交媒體和其他網絡平臺直接納入了整體的營銷計劃中。L2的研究主管莫琳·馬倫(Maureen Mullen)說，這些活動讓企業在網絡世界有了更大的影響力，她說，博柏利在YouTube和Snapchat等網站上定期的發佈內容，是人們越來越渴望融入下一個網絡趨勢的原因之一。

“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‘英倫風’和‘彩格布’，如今這個品牌引發的核心聯想是創新，”馬倫說。“他們通過網絡活動有效地提升了品牌價值。”（Kate Spade是除博柏利之外，唯一一家被L2評爲“天才”的公司）

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

不過，多數奢侈品企業還沒有把日益擴大的網絡影響力轉化成銷售額的增長。

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的報告顯示，網絡銷售仍然只佔奢侈品企業總收入的6%。包括拉夫·勞倫(Ralph Lauren)和邁克·高仕(Michael Kors)在內的約10家公司，在奢侈品網絡營銷中佔了一半以上的份額，共同產生了與奢侈品行業有關的網站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.

然而零售業專家稱，一家企業的網絡形象——不僅是在主要用戶羣心中的形象，還包括更廣泛的網絡用戶——可能對品牌的整體聲譽產生重大影響，在精通網絡的年輕購物者當中尤其如此。

“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.”

“通過社交媒體，消費者們可以對品牌產生影響，使其符合自己的品味，”Felix Capital駐倫敦的合夥人弗裏德里克·考特(Frederic Court)說。這家風投公司投資了一些與時尚有關的網絡公司。“企業需要尋找一種新的方式打動消費者。”

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.

這個變化對路易威登(Louis Vuitton)和香奈兒(Chanel)這樣的奢侈品牌來說格外強烈。這些在社交媒體出現之前幾十年誕生的公司，已經營造出了一種少數人專享的高端品牌形象，這也是它們的營銷策略的一部分，它們描繪了一種通常讓多數人難以企及的生活方式。

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.

一些分析師說，爲了應對網絡世界全民自由參與的局面，許多公司已經擴大了品牌的網上足跡，通常與社交媒體達人和其他名人合作，展示一種更加平民化的形象。

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，迪奧就與歌星蕾哈娜(Rihanna)攜手，後者的社交媒體粉絲數量是這個時尚品牌的四倍。卡爾文·克萊因(Calvin Klein)也與賈斯汀·比伯(Justin Bieber)簽訂合約，一定程度上是爲了利用這位歌手在Instagram和Twitter上的活躍粉絲資源。後者的關注人數是卡爾文·克萊的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.

“每個品牌都需要在專享性和包容性之間找到平衡，”Brandwatch的分析師詹姆斯·洛夫喬伊(James Lovejoy)說。這家位於紐約的科技公司長期追蹤社交網絡上的輿論。

“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.”

“當蕾哈娜在Instagram發佈身穿迪奧的照片時，她影響到的人可能並不是迪奧的客戶羣，”他接着說，“但她毫無疑問吸引了更多的關注者。”

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.

對於Instagram的市場開發負責人馬特·雅各布森(Matt Jacobson)來說，這家圖片共享平臺已經成爲奢侈品牌和關注者在選擇社交網絡時的不二之選，這種與更廣泛人羣互動的能力，是企業利用網絡平臺策略的關鍵。

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，英國品牌凱倫·米蓮(Karen Millen)把通過在社交媒體上衆包的照片放入在線商店，並展示其用戶——以及全世界——對該品牌的網絡評價。寇馳(Coach)在最近的一次廣告宣傳中使用了用戶的圖片，着重展示鞋類產品系列，包括一張展示顧客在全世界哪些地點拍照的互動地圖。

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.

雅各布森說，無論企業是否參與，這些網絡互動都會發生。通過讓核心用戶和更廣泛的網絡用戶參與其中，奢侈品公司就有機會利用社交媒體的營銷潛力。

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

“你參不參與，對話都在進行，”他接着說。“你無法退出。但你可以選擇不參與。”