The document provides an overview of the luxury market in China and discusses how luxury brands can utilize social media strategically.
The key points are:
1. The luxury market in China is huge and growing rapidly, expected to account for 20% of the global luxury market by 2015. Leather goods (bags) generate the most online discussion.
2. Different social media sites have varying levels of engagement and influence regarding luxury brand discussions. Understanding these sites is important for effective media planning.
3. Brands should listen to conversations, understand Chinese cultural context and purchase drivers, and then strategically participate in discussions using celebrities and other approaches tailored to each brand's voice.
The Voice of Luxury: Social Media and Luxury Brands in China
1. The Voice of Luxury:
Social Media and
Luxury Brands
in China
2011 GroupM Knowledge - CIC White Paper on Luxury
2. Executive summary
Background: The luxury market in China is huge and growing fast.
• China’s most wealthy are spending more every year, with luxury consumption
expected to account for 20% of the global market by 2015.
Methodology:
• General Market Intelligence: GroupM Knowledge provided a luxury market
overview, including data from the GroupM Knowledge/ Hurun Wealth Report
• Social Media Intelligence: CIC collected, mined and analyzed millions of
Chinese social media comments relating to luxury, utilizing patent pending
technology and a team of seasoned analysts
CIC L-K-P FRAMEWORK FOR MAKING SENSE OF THE BUZZ
Listen听 Know识 Participate融
Topic E-Culture Communication
Listen to the buzz Know the culture Participate in the
and find out and context of the conversation.
what’s hot online. internet
community.
The Voice of Luxury: Social Media and Luxury Brands in China i
3. Executive summary
Strategy 1: Listen to talk about luxury
• Brand Overview: Louis Vuitton lead the luxury market’s online discussion in
China; Chanel command high buzz volume and positive sentiment.
• Category Overview: “Leather Goods” (Bags) - the most discussed luxury
category in China.
• Efluencer Overview: The top 20% of netizens contributed 80% of the content
in luxury category. There are 4 types of luxury efluencer shaping the
conversation: Shopaholic, Style Guru, Fashionista and Brand Fan.
Strategy 2: Know and understand China’s unique cultural context
• “Shai” (showing off) is very popular in Chinese luxury & fashion BBS
communities, accounting for an average of 90% of the comments about luxury
brands.
• Globally speaking, China is positioned as “in the show” stage of luxury
consumption, going through different stages of shai; Product Shai, True Man
Show and Lifestyle Shai.
• Overseas purchase and purchasing agents (i.e. Daigou) are also hot topics.
• Live broadcasting from fashion shows is a new way for Chinese netizens to
keep in touch with the latest fashion trends. Now “runway broadcasting” is
popular via microblog, incorporating pictures, videos and real-time interaction.
• Chinese luxury consumers are categorised in four groups: Aspirational Buyer,
Quality Pursuer, Status Seeker and Trend-Setter.
Strategy 3: Participate in the conversation in a relevant and appropriate way
• The microblog (weibo) offers brands a platform that is not only for listening but
also for actively participating in the online conversation. Chanel is the most
mentioned brand in Chinese microblogs (600,000 tweets between January and
May 2011), while Burberry’s account is the most engaged (43,001 retweets
and 5,320 comments in the same period).
• There are numerous engagement strategies that brands can employ to
participate in the conversation, including leveraging celebrities’ massive social
reach to spread the brand culture.
• Brands should track weibo accounts carefully to ensure they create content
that resonates with netizens and is appropriate for the brand’s voice.
• Central to microblog engagement and any social media participation is a tone
of voice befitting your brand culture. So, luxury brands must find the luxury
voice in social media.
August 2011
The Voice of Luxury: Social Media and Luxury Brands in China ii
4. Table of contents
Chapter I
Listen- Listen to the buzz and find out what’s hot online
P 02 - 1.1 Luxury Category Overview
P 07 - 1.2 Luxury target audience
P 10 - 1.3 Luxury efluencers
Chapter II
Know- Know the culture and context of the internet community
P 13 - 2.1 Luxury brand position in China
P 17 - 2.2 Purchase drivers
P 18 - 2.3 Differences between Chinese and Western consumers
P 24 - 2.4 Overseas purchase
P 27 - 2.5 Counterfeits
Chapter III
Participate- Participate in the conversation
P 28 - 3.1 Luxury brand microblogs
P 33 - 3.2 How do luxury brands utilize social media?
P 35 - 3.3 Social media strategies / Marketing luxury brands
P 37 - 3.4 New challenges and opportunities
The Voice of Luxury: Social Media and Luxury Brands in China iii