* MEC POV: Rather than just selling the benefits of the products itself, LV opens up an outlet which lead consumers into discovering bits and pieces of LV as a brand and not just a product line. This should be considered a pretty effective campaign as it led the consumer to the level of “interest” in the brand as a whole, from the designer to the product itself and not just a superficial level of vanity.
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FULL ARTICLE FROM LUXURY DAILY
JAN 17 2012
Click Here To View Original Article
Louis Vuitton's digital magazine
French fashion empire Louis Vuitton is increasingly using video to engage fans and drive them to its online magazine called “New, Now.”
The brand has posted five videos on its Facebook page since the beginning of the year. Louis Vuitton included a link to its digital magazine and invited consumers to discover the full story behind the video on New, Now.
“Embedded videos in social campaigns have recently provided interesting results, especially if there is a specific call-to-action,” said Dalia Strum, president of Dalia Inc., New York.
“As long as the content is related to the online magazine, the online video should be a great opener as well as possible teaser,” she said.
Ms. Strum is not affiliated with Louis Vuitton, but agreed to comment as third-party expert.
Louis Vuitton could not be reached before press deadline.
Stepping up
Louis Vuitton’s first product-focused video post of the year focuses on its shoe collection and its shoe style director Fabrizio Viti titled, “Walking in Fabrizio Viti’s Shoes.”
Louis Vuitton's Facebook post
Real- and doll-sized Louis Vuitton shoes have a life of their own in the film, moving in-sync in as if they were performing a choreographed dance.
Animated Barbie dolls make an entrance in the film and slip into a few of the miniature shoes and continue to dance to the electro-funk soundtrack.
The shoe style director never makes an appearance in the video, but Facebook fans are invited to learn more about him and his inspirations on the Louis Vuitton online magazine found at http://www.louisvuitton.com/newnow.
Louis Vuitton’s shoe video
On the site, consumers can read about Mr. Viti’s connection with dolls and how the Louis Vuitton shoe workshop does indeed make miniature versions of each shoe for his doll collection.
Readers are able to share the video via Facebook or Twitter and can grab the embed code for the magazine article.
Louis Vuitton used a similar strategy for its “The Journey of Little Bagcharms” video.
The brand also posted this video on Facebook and encouraged users to learn more about the project with a link to New, Now.
This video features a small, cartoon-like version of Louis Vuitton’s air balloon bag charm that floats over various scenes including a desert and a forest.
While the video seems a bit odd when it is standing alone, when a consumer clicks through and reads the content on New, Now, she finds that the video celebrates the release of the air-balloon bag charm.
The article also contains information about Louis Vuitton’s history of bag charms.
“Online videos are a great way to engage a client and create an emotional bond,” Chris Ramey, president of Affluent Insights, Miami.
“I found the video of bagcharms was a great fantasy-like journey and the music was appealing and I enjoyed watching it,” he said. “But, I did look to see when it was going to end.
“Videos have to be short and tight because you are not only appealing to your apostles but to those who don’t know if your brand fits their values.”
Too Flashy
Louis Vuitton’s New, Now section on its Web site houses all of the editorial content and is therefore referred to as on “online magazine” by the brand.
However, the layout is a bit different than most luxury brands’ digital magazines and blogs.
New, Now’s home screen features one article on the left-hand side and then a menu made of icon-sized pictures that represent different stories.
The title does not appear until someone scrolls over the image, though the date is always visible underneath the image.
Louis Vuitton's online magazine New, Now
Also, the article on the left-hand side is not necessarily the newest piece of content in the digital magazine.
Viewers can browse stories by most-viewed and most-recent. Within these categories, they can further zone-in with category and month options.
Unfortunately, the online magazine is hosted on Louis Vuitton’s redesigned Web site which did not receive such favorable reviews when it launched in November (see story).
Due to multiple rich images and videos meant to correctly showcase luxury items, the Louis Vuitton site uses Flash heavily.
Flash-based sites may look nice, but they are generally frowned upon by digital marketing experts because of their slow-loading times and inaccessibility from iOS devices.
On the Louis Vuitton site, iconic symbols alternate while users wait for content to appear when switching sections.
Consumers sometimes have to wait a while for the page to load when transferring between categories.
Therefore, Louis Vuitton may have been better off creating a microsite or using a third-party platform such as Tumblr to host its editorial content.
“The Louis Vuitton online magazine environment itself is a pretty impressive vault of high-quality content,” said Gail McClelland, New York-based senior brand strategist at Pod1. “From a display and UX standpoint I find the layout and Flash induced transitions, including the interactive ‘cubic’ navigation tool overly tricksy and complicated.
“One not only gets immersed, but thoroughly lost within the content sections of this site,” she said. “A more logical and streamlined display would be more appropriate and would certainly encourage me to re-visit.”
However, for now the newness of the site and the editorial content should be enough to engage affluent consumers.
“Louis Vuitton’s online magazine offers engaging product shots in an interactive environment,” Ms. Strum said.
“This is an extremely creative approach that essentially provides additional value to Louis Vuitton by allowing them to story-tell with their luxury merchandise,” she said.
Final Take
Kayla Hutzler, editorial assistant on Luxury Daily, New York
Kayla Hutzler is an editorial assistant on Luxury Daily. Her beats are automotive, consumer electronics, consumer packaged goods, financial services, media/publishing, software and technology, telecommunications, travel and hospitality, real estate, retail and sports. Reach her at kayla@napean.com
Louis Vuitton's digital magazine
French fashion empire Louis Vuitton is increasingly using video to engage fans and drive them to its online magazine called “New, Now.”
The brand has posted five videos on its Facebook page since the beginning of the year. Louis Vuitton included a link to its digital magazine and invited consumers to discover the full story behind the video on New, Now.
“Embedded videos in social campaigns have recently provided interesting results, especially if there is a specific call-to-action,” said Dalia Strum, president of Dalia Inc., New York.
“As long as the content is related to the online magazine, the online video should be a great opener as well as possible teaser,” she said.
Ms. Strum is not affiliated with Louis Vuitton, but agreed to comment as third-party expert.
Louis Vuitton could not be reached before press deadline.
Stepping up
Louis Vuitton’s first product-focused video post of the year focuses on its shoe collection and its shoe style director Fabrizio Viti titled, “Walking in Fabrizio Viti’s Shoes.”
Louis Vuitton's Facebook post
Real- and doll-sized Louis Vuitton shoes have a life of their own in the film, moving in-sync in as if they were performing a choreographed dance.
Animated Barbie dolls make an entrance in the film and slip into a few of the miniature shoes and continue to dance to the electro-funk soundtrack.
The shoe style director never makes an appearance in the video, but Facebook fans are invited to learn more about him and his inspirations on the Louis Vuitton online magazine found at http://www.louisvuitton.com/newnow.
Louis Vuitton’s shoe video
On the site, consumers can read about Mr. Viti’s connection with dolls and how the Louis Vuitton shoe workshop does indeed make miniature versions of each shoe for his doll collection.
Readers are able to share the video via Facebook or Twitter and can grab the embed code for the magazine article.
Louis Vuitton used a similar strategy for its “The Journey of Little Bagcharms” video.
The brand also posted this video on Facebook and encouraged users to learn more about the project with a link to New, Now.
This video features a small, cartoon-like version of Louis Vuitton’s air balloon bag charm that floats over various scenes including a desert and a forest.
While the video seems a bit odd when it is standing alone, when a consumer clicks through and reads the content on New, Now, she finds that the video celebrates the release of the air-balloon bag charm.
The article also contains information about Louis Vuitton’s history of bag charms.
“Online videos are a great way to engage a client and create an emotional bond,” Chris Ramey, president of Affluent Insights, Miami.
“I found the video of bagcharms was a great fantasy-like journey and the music was appealing and I enjoyed watching it,” he said. “But, I did look to see when it was going to end.
“Videos have to be short and tight because you are not only appealing to your apostles but to those who don’t know if your brand fits their values.”
Too Flashy
Louis Vuitton’s New, Now section on its Web site houses all of the editorial content and is therefore referred to as on “online magazine” by the brand.
However, the layout is a bit different than most luxury brands’ digital magazines and blogs.
New, Now’s home screen features one article on the left-hand side and then a menu made of icon-sized pictures that represent different stories.
The title does not appear until someone scrolls over the image, though the date is always visible underneath the image.
Louis Vuitton's online magazine New, Now
Also, the article on the left-hand side is not necessarily the newest piece of content in the digital magazine.
Viewers can browse stories by most-viewed and most-recent. Within these categories, they can further zone-in with category and month options.
Unfortunately, the online magazine is hosted on Louis Vuitton’s redesigned Web site which did not receive such favorable reviews when it launched in November (see story).
Due to multiple rich images and videos meant to correctly showcase luxury items, the Louis Vuitton site uses Flash heavily.
Flash-based sites may look nice, but they are generally frowned upon by digital marketing experts because of their slow-loading times and inaccessibility from iOS devices.
On the Louis Vuitton site, iconic symbols alternate while users wait for content to appear when switching sections.
Consumers sometimes have to wait a while for the page to load when transferring between categories.
Therefore, Louis Vuitton may have been better off creating a microsite or using a third-party platform such as Tumblr to host its editorial content.
“The Louis Vuitton online magazine environment itself is a pretty impressive vault of high-quality content,” said Gail McClelland, New York-based senior brand strategist at Pod1. “From a display and UX standpoint I find the layout and Flash induced transitions, including the interactive ‘cubic’ navigation tool overly tricksy and complicated.
“One not only gets immersed, but thoroughly lost within the content sections of this site,” she said. “A more logical and streamlined display would be more appropriate and would certainly encourage me to re-visit.”
However, for now the newness of the site and the editorial content should be enough to engage affluent consumers.
“Louis Vuitton’s online magazine offers engaging product shots in an interactive environment,” Ms. Strum said.
“This is an extremely creative approach that essentially provides additional value to Louis Vuitton by allowing them to story-tell with their luxury merchandise,” she said.
Final Take
Kayla Hutzler, editorial assistant on Luxury Daily, New York
Kayla Hutzler is an editorial assistant on Luxury Daily. Her beats are automotive, consumer electronics, consumer packaged goods, financial services, media/publishing, software and technology, telecommunications, travel and hospitality, real estate, retail and sports. Reach her at kayla@napean.com
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