Digital marketing strategies rated
A new study has revealed which luxury retailers are winning the race when it comes to implementing effective digital marketing strategies.
The New York University Leonard N Stern School of Business evaluated 109 brands across 11 retail categories on criteria such as their
SEO efforts to date, brand translation,
social media usage and competency implementing new technologies.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, Apple emerged top of the pile in the electronics sector while Louis Vuitton claimed number one spot for fashion and Tag Heuer was designated best watchmaker. Skincare specialist Clinique, jewellery retailer Tiffany and home furnishings company Viking also led their respective fields.
Cars are the stars
In terms of categories, automakers were identified as the best at implementing digital marketing techniques. Of the eight companies given a genius rating in the report's Digital IQ Rankings, three were car manufacturers – Audi, Porsche and BMW. Apple, Sony, Louis Vuitton, Ralph Lauren and Tag Heuer were the others to receive the highest award.
Scott Galloway, clinical associate professor of marketing at the New York University Leonard N Stern School of Business, led the team of experts behind the study. He said: "2009 represented a tipping point concerning the importance of digital competence in the luxury industry. While the industry grappled with double-digit revenue declines, traffic to luxury brand sites increased an average of 61 per cent."
Meanwhile,
Mercedes-Benz appears to be making a concerted effort to catch up with its rivals in the digital marketing stakes. During a debate at the DMexco conference in Germany, Mercedes-Benz vice president for brand communications Anders Sundt Jensen revealed that the company had allocated 50 per cent of its UK marketing budget to digital compared to less than 40 per cent in other European countries.
