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Dior keen to amp up high-tech social media efforts
In 2015, Dior introduced a virtual reality headset which enabled its store customers to experience the backstage atmosphere of Dior’s catwalk shows. Since then, the couture label owned by the LVMH group has shifted to a higher gear. In addition to more high-tech feats, Dior also stepped decisively into the social media arena, through a plethora of initiatives concocted by a dedicated communications team.
The latest initiative has been deployed by Dior Couture, which recently introduced an augmented reality filter on its Facebook account to promote the launch of the new DiorColorQuake sunglasses. The luxury label developed the filter in partnership with Facebook and advertising special effects specialist The Mill. The filter allows Facebook Story users to virtually try on the Dior sunglasses in their five different colours.
To heighten the fun, the filter can also be used together with a friend through the ‘tap to quake’ functionality, which plunges online users into a virtual collage of posters themed around the label’s catwalk show last February and the ready-to-wear collection for the Autumn/Winter 2018-19, mixed with slogans from the May 1968 student demonstrations in France.
“Developing this filter was a huge undertaking for Dior, in close collaboration with Facebook and The Mill agency, to become one of the first luxury labels able to deploy such effects. This is a prime example of how fashion and digital technology can work together, using a social media platform as the springboard,” commented the label’s digital team.
Another initiative which sparked a major social media buzz was the return of the Saddle Bag handbag, reinterpreted by Dior’s creative director Maria Grazia Chiuri 20 years after it was created by John Galliano. The handbag’s social media launch on July 19 generated more than 10,000 posts and nearly 6.2 million comments, equivalent to an earned media value - the value of the brand’s free visibility on social media - of $4 million, according to Tribe Dynamics, an agency specialised in measuring social media engagement and returns for lifestyle brands. “From the first week of the launch, Google searches increased by more than 300% compared to the previous year,” said Dior.
Nothing in comparison to the huge social media hype generated by the September 1 wedding of Italian rapper Fedez with Chiara Ferragni, the renowned fashion blogger and influencer who chose Dior for her wedding dress. For the luxury label, the Fedez -Ferragni nuptials generated more than 3 million likes and over 2 million page views, with a total reach (the number of people reached by the posts) estimated at 39 million.
“This wedding generated more buzz than the royal wedding of Meghan Markle with Prince Harry,” said Dior, which benefited from a media exposure worth an estimated investment of $5.2 million, according to Launchmetrics, the French-American firm specialised in marketing analytics for the fashion and luxury markets.
Like many other luxury brands, Dior is increasingly relying on social media influencers. The most popular among them guarantee in fact a quantifiable advertising investment return, at costs that are still far below those of print media advertising. Such social media stars, with millions of followers, enable brands to tap a broader clientèle, notably the younger generations, who are much keener on their smartphones than on glossy magazines.
As Dior said to FashionNetwork.com, “the maison will continue to develop digital initiatives in the future. The three instances above are just the start of a spate of future projects to come.”
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