Luxury watch brands have not hesitated to establish their presence on Facebook. Today, nothing is stopping this network from becoming a preferred communication, and even commercial, channel.
Brands have a growing list of electronic tools and platforms that let them interact with consumers - read our past posts regarding moblie marketing, the iPad and tablet computers and augmented reality applications. Besides the technologies themselves, the method in which they are used merits equal attention. Creating exclusivity and social-commerce is among these methods.
Overview of recent articles for which IC-Agency was solicited during the last three months:
Comment les marques de luxe reprennent le contrôle de
leurs ventes sur Internet ? – Le Temps, 17 juin Le
secteur a longtemps été confronté à une distribution en ligne bas de
gamme mettant en péril son image. Appuyé par une directive européenne
plus favorable, le luxe tente maintenant de gérer ses propres circuits
d’«e-commerce».
L’art de raconter
des histoires pour convaincre – Swissquote Magazine, 9 juin Pour
séduire investisseurs et consommateurs, les entreprises ont de plus en
plus recours aux techniques du storytelling. Exemples, entre
auto-mythologie et vérité.
IC-Agency
relie le luxe à son client final – CB Web, 31 mai IC-Agency,
une agence de 30 personnes (3 millions d’euros de CA en 2009, en
croissance de 30 % /08) réparties entre Genève et Barthurst au Canada.
Créée en 2000, elle est spécialisée dans le digital marketing du luxe.
Swatch
Surges After CEO Says Watchmaker’s Sales Rose – Bloomberg /
Business week, 26 mai Swatch Group AG, Switzerland’s biggest
watchmaker, rose the most in more than seven months in Zurich trading
after Chief Executive Officer Nick Hayek Jr. said sales climbed in the
first quarter.
Travaux
pratiques – Le Temps, 25 mai La toile regorge de vidéos
didactiques pour apprendre à jouer de la guitare, se maquiller à la
façon de Lady Gaga, renforcer ses abdos ou survivre à une attaque de
zombies. Un phénomène à la hausse qui intéresse les marques, ravies de
pouvoir parler de leurs produits différemment.
La réalité augmentée pourrait faciliter les ventes sur
Internet – TSR, 10 mai Les innovations se multiplient en
ce qui concerne les commandes de produits sur Internet. Des simulations
en trois dimensions toujours plus poussées permettent à l'internaute de
se représenter l'objet comme s'il était devant lui.
VENTES
EN LIGNE - Le luxe affûte encore son commerce digital –
Worldtempus, 4 mai Récemment, Richemont annonçait le rachat
du site de vente de produits de luxe Net-a-porter.com tandis que
Longines inaugurait son magasin virtuel focalisé uniquement sur les
Etats-Unis.
China
Swatch Partner Hengdeli’s Sales May Grow 30% – Bloomberg /
BusinessWeek, 3 mai Hengdeli Holdings Ltd., the retail
partner of Swatch Group AG in China, said 2010 sales growth may be the
fastest in three years as it expands market share and Chinese consumers
splash out on luxury watches and jewelry.
Cresce
il falso d’autore dichiarato – Il Sole 24 Ore, 26 avril Il
business viaggia prevalentemente sul web e riguarda soprattutto orologi
di lusso, profumi e design.
Les gagnants de
l’internet suisse – Bilan, 6 avril Sur la centaine de
sites qui se lancent en Suisse chaque mois, 5% seulement rentabilisent
leur activité. Le secret? Être le premier dans son domaine et fidéliser
la clientèle avant que des concurrents ne fassent leur apparition.
SIHH 2010: The Haute Horlogerie under the WorldWatchReport’s magnifying glass
The Premiere WorldWatchReport 2010 is launched today exclusively for the opening day of the SIHH in Geneva.
Among the main trends revealed by the 2010 report:
Despite a gloomy economical context, demand expressed for Haute Horlogerie brands registers a 14% increase in 2009.Alexa Traffic Rank for htt
Facebook becomes the biggest online community for watch fans, with more than 300'000 declared aficionados. Hublot is the most popular brand there with 56’000 fans.
Emerging markets from the BRIC already account for 12% of global demand for luxury watches on the Internet.
The 6th edition now includes:
BRIC markets Brazil, Russia, India and China
Additional contributions from opinion leaders of the industry
Social Media impact, measured through historical data
The market study is carried out by IC-Agency and published in partnership with Europa Star "the most influential watch magazine", with the precious support of the Fondation de la Haute Horlogerie. It will be officially released during BaselWorld 2010.
Brand protection on Google soon to become a luxury?
With Google's AdWords advertising system currently in place, luxury brands are losing all control of the use of their name on the search engine.
For the past 7 years, a legal battle has been unfolding on the European scene of which the result could send shockwaves throughout the online advertising domain. The protagonists? LVMH and Google.
The american giant, an inevitable point of contact between brands and their clients, holds on average 90% of the online search market in the Europeen Union. This is particularly true for the 5 top export markets for the Swiss watchmaking industry in Europe - France, Italy, Germany, United Kingdom and Spain.
What has Google done to become the target of the "number one" in luxury? In middle of these tensions is the advertising system Google AdWords, which allows the purchasing of keywords that make ads appear for specific queries.
Sending informative e-mails to a select, targeted group allows brands to refine their customer relations. Hublot and Raymond Weil have opted in to this strategy.
E-mailing is a communication technique based on sending promotional or informative e-mails from a brand to predetermined members of a network. Occasionally confounded as a mass marketing tool such as spam (unwanted junk mail), this technique actually has many advantages. A few years ago, luxury watch brands swore they would never communicate in this manner. Today, their point of view has changed and some have begun to use this communication technique to take advantage of opportunities like building customer loyalty and the potential sales increase it represents.
The social media strategies of cosmetics brands are at the forefront in the latest edition of BW Confidential, the B2B magazine of the beauty and wellness industry.
It includes points of views from professionals such as Julie Thompson, Interactive marketing director, Lancôme, Steven Plous, Direct Message Lab CEO, Marisa Thalberg, VP Global Online Marketing, Estée Lauder Companies, and Reynald Sauvet, Strategic Planning Director, Digitas.
Note the contribution of David Sadigh of IC Agency, interviewed for the occasion by Oonagh Phillips, editor in chief of the magazine.
Book Release: "La communication horlogère - Stratégies et nouvelles technologies"
Available at last! We strongly recommend reading the book "La communication horlogère - Stratégies et nouvelles technologies" which brings together the contributions made during the 12th Journée Internationale du Marketing Horloger, organized last year in La-Chaux-de-Fonds by the Association de Journées de Marketing.
APlease note the remarkable work done by the book editors in transcribing the analysis and debates, as well as the various research efforts needed for the occasion. You can purchase the book here.
The 13th edition of this event was held on November 26th, discussing "L'utilisateur Horloger dans un Monde en Mutation". Rich and exciting discussions were had by the participants in the presence of specialists like Antonio Calce, CEO Corum, Emmanuel Vuille, General Manager Greubel Forsey, Nathalie Veysset, Director De Witt, Françoise Bezzola, Marketing and Communication director TAG Heuer and Gregory Pons from Business Watches & Jewelry.
IC-Agency Participates in the HowToSpendIt.com Launch
The renowned How To Spend It magazine has launched its innovative new website: Howtospendit.com
The Financial Times had chosen Switzerland, more precisely the Beau Rivage Palace Hotel in Lausanne, to organize the launch last October 8th.
IC-Agency made a presentation on "The Essentials of Luxury Digital Marketing”, addressing relevant issues such as the importance of decoding the online environment of its target audience or social media integration.
This was followed by a presentation by DynamicLogic (WPP) and by Razorfish / Avenue A (Publicis) which developed the new Howtospendit.com platform.
Discover the presentation "The Essentials of Luxury Digital Marketing"
by Yves-Alain Schwaar, Head of Consulting & Operations, IC-Agency
What are the most important points that need to be addressed before doing online marketing?
Do Luxury shoppers search for your brand online?
How can E-advertising campaigns be effective for Luxury Brands?
How to balance social media and the need for exclusive communication?
In addition to the slides from the presentation available below, please find all videos from this exclusive event on http://www.youtube.com/FTStrategicSales.
Our Client, Tag Heuer, Honoured For Its Internet Strategy
Our client Tag Heuer has been honoured for its Internet strategy in a recent study conducted by New York University.
This distinction highlights the numerous efforts undertaken by the luxury watch brand in order to position themselves effectively online.
Among the strengths indentified by the author of the study, search engine optimization, which is managed internationally by IC-Agency, was a crucial factor. In fact, the strategy not only includes Google, Yahoo and Bing but also search engines such as Baidu and Yandex, which are leaders in China and Russia, respectively.
The development of rich multimedia content and the proactivity of the brand on social networks have also contributed to Tag Heuer’s ascension into the top ranks.
