Expanding luxury and retail industries into digital and social marketing was the
focus of Scott Galloway’s presentation at the 2011 Women in the Know
conference presented by the Women’s Jewelry Association in New York City Jan. 6.
 
“The death of luxury has been vastly overstated,” Galloway said. “There’s talk
about how the next generation doesn’t like to spend money on bling—it’s total
rubbish.”
 
Galloway, a clinical associate professor of marketing at NYU and founder of
digital marketing research firm L2, explained that luxury sales were up 10
percent last year and marketing tools transitioning online.
 
“It seems like corporations are lagging the consumer in terms of marketing
spent,” he said. His presentation included information gathered by L2’s Digital
IQ Index of the luxury market.
 
According to the report, 26 percent of media consumption is now on the
Internet. “If you’re targeting tomorrow’s consumer and targeting tomorrow’s
wealthy consumer, if you’re not on the Internet, you’re missing half of all
media consumption.”
 
Galloway said the study found that 80 percent of people under the age of 30
that make $100,000 a year are on Facebook every day and 40 percent watch TV
every day. “Your influence is twice as likely to be on Facebook than on
television. It’s dramatic.”
 
L2’s research indicated that the watch and jewelry business had the lowest
digital IQ score. Swarovski, Tiffany, Tag Heuer, Longines, and Hublot scored the
highest digital IQs among watches and jewelry by utilizing e-commerce, social
networking sites, and an increase in digital brand building.
 
Rolex, Chopard, and Cartier were ranked the lowest in digital marketing due to
lack of social media presence.
 
“People aren’t spending as much time on RalphLauren.com as they are
on Ralph Lauren’s Facebook page,” said Galloway.

JCK