photo credit Tory Burch Resort 2015

If it is true that theory guides research “which it is” every luxury brand should evaluate their social media perception. It’s still a major debate among luxury brands “to do social media” or not. I must first personally express that paid social media influence never returns the same brand awareness value as organic. Those luxury brands expecting paid social media to produce the same results as paid traditional advertising found this out the hard way. Yes, there is a major difference when it comes to traditional paid advertising and paid social media advertising… Hence the craze for social media marketing demand.

NetBase has conducted one of the best studies yet for understanding social intelligence platforms impact on luxury brands. From this research data even emerging luxury brands can learn where and how-to position their brand awareness value in the marketplace. I believe it was Steve Jobs who said something like this “good artist copy; great artist steal” which is the best approach. Identify what’s missing in the marketplace by applying those ideas that are well received among varies industries and create a better niche luxury offering.

NetBase Study

photo credit Michael Kors Resort 2015

Reviewing the NetBase study emerging as well as seasoned luxury brands can draw conclusion from social media perceptions to steal marketshare. NetBase conducted in-depth study of social media perceptions among luxury brands. The study, was completed in October 2014, applied NetBase proprietary social analytics technology to two full years of brand conversations across social networks, review sites, blogs, forums, and news sites worldwide, between September 2012 and September 2014, and identified the top 45 luxury brands in the world.

The results were used to identify and rank the top luxury brands, and in addition go deep into the trademarked Brand Passion Index™ with a subset of brands to reflect the degree of passion that consumer had for a brand — a critical metric for luxury brands that thrive on emotional attachment in support of premium price.

The report highlighted several shifts in consumer perception, including the rise of Apple as a luxury brand. The company was second on the list of global top luxury brands, after Louis Vuitton and outranking Chanel, Burberry, Hermès, Gucci, and others. It was one of only two technology brands on the list, which also included two of the company’s products, the iPhone (7th) and iPad (28th).

One example of the predictive capabilities of social analytics can be seen in regard to the report’s findings related to Apple and its line of products.

In July 2014, Apple hired an executive from TAG Heuer, another contender in the Luxury Brand Report that ranked 29th on the list after moving up 33 spots from the year before. Several months after making the hire, Apple unveiled plans for the Apple Watch. While other luxury watch brands like Rolex are slipping in the rankings, moving from the No. 1 luxury brand to eighth on the list, Apple is gaining traction in this luxury list.

Other notable results from the NetBase study include:

• Louis Vuitton is the No. 1 luxury brand worldwide as measured by social media analytics — parent company LVMH is No. 9;
• Some of the strongest consumer passion is seen with Michael Kors and Tory Burch;
• Mercedes-Benz is the leading automaker on the global list, in the No. 12 position;
• The biggest drop among the top 45 brands is by Rolex (down 86%), followed by Nike (down 19%), and then UGG (down 18%).

The full NetBase Brand Passion Report for Luxury is available for download here .