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Social media to amplify luxury brands’ Oscar chatter

February 22, 2011

Sandra Bullock at the 82nd annual Academy Awards

Consumers are expected to flock to their Twitter feeds and Facebook pages to interact in real-time with their friends while watching the most highly-viewed and talked-about advertising opportunity for luxury brands at the 83rd annual Academy Awards.

The Oscars create an opportunity for luxury brands such as Harry Winston, Tiffany & Co., Valentino, Giorgio Armani, Ralph Lauren, Oscar de la Renta, Cartier and Bulgari to take advantage of the viewership and dress celebrities in the latest and most desired apparel and jewelry. Marketers can also benefit after the event by posting images of celebrities on social media sites.

“The fashion is one of the main reasons that people even watch the awards,” said Abe Sauer, writer at Brandchannel.com, New York. “Everyone is intrigued by celebrities, and what they wear.

“They like the celebrity, they want to be the celebrity and the closest thing that they can get to that is to dress like the celebrity,” he said. “Also, it’s a much more effective and cost-efficient way to build brand awareness than a 30-second TV spot.

“It is the greatest advertisement that’s not actually an advertisement.”

Chit chat
Last year, the American audience alone for the awards was 41.7 million viewers. This year, the estimated number of countries watching is 200, with a global viewership of several hundred million.

With the explosion of social media interaction, consumers can talk about everything that is going on with their friends throughout the broadcast both domestically and overseas.

“More people tend to be interacting on social media channels while watching the Academy Awards on television, and therefore can talk about what everyone is wearing with their friends in real time,” said Maryssa Miller, vice president of ecommerce at createthe group, New York. “It encourages them to talk about the brand and why they think it’s special and what they love about their favorite designers.”

During and after the awards, social media sites will be filled with pictures, adding to the visual friendly of who wore what.

Both consumers and brands will post images to their Facebook feeds, Twitter accounts, Web sites and blogs showing celebrities wearing their gowns, suits and jewelry.

Brands such as Valentino, Giorgio Armani and Tiffany & Co. have put up celebrities wearing their designs from last year’s Academy Awards on their Facebook pages.

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Tiffany & Co.

Additionally, luxury brands posted images from other red-carpet events this year, such as the Grammys and the Golden Globes.

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Armani’s pictures from the 2011 Grammy Awards

It is not unusual for consumers to look at over 100 images in one sitting, according to Shenan Reed, managing director and founder of Morpheus Media, New York.

If marketers are aware of the power that social media has in terms of branding, why do they not share ahead of time so that luxury customers can watch for their favorite brands?

“If everyone knew ahead of time, it takes away the element of surprise and delight of the big reveal moment,” createthe group’s Ms. Miller said. “Keeping it secret creates a greater aura of exclusivity and it creates a little chatter and buzz and speculation as part of the overall build-up to the event.”

Anne’s tailor
Luxury brands can benefit from both affluent and non-affluent consumers watching the Academy Awards.

“If someone sees Anne Hathaway in a gown and knows what brand it is, they can go to that designer’s store and say that they want the Anne Hathaway dress,” Brandchannel’s Mr. Sauer said. “It’s a great claim for the brand to get high-end buyers, and will also spill over into lower-end products for consumers that can’t afford that kind of gown.”

If a viewer sees a celebrity wearing a designer and cannot afford exactly what she is wearing, the consumer can still emulate them to a degree.

For example, the consumer may not be able to buy a Donna Karan gown, but she can shop at DKNY. Or rather than buying a Gucci suit, a consumer can get a Gucci fragrance.

“Every major Web site portal and celebrity magazine is covering all of these red-carpet events,” Morpheus Media’s Ms. Reed said. “The traffic they get is amazing, and brands know the value that the coverage has.

“We spend so much time focused on the red carpet, and the buzz about who-saw-who in whatever brand adds a lot of additional buzz for these brands on social media networking, and extends the reach of the brand in a nonpaid way,” she said.

Rachel Lamb is an associate reporter on Luxury Daily. Her beats are apparel and accessories, arts and entertainment, education, food and beverage, fragrance and personal care, government, healthcare, home furnishings, jewelry, legal/privacy and nonprofits. Reach her at rachel@napean.com.