Warc, 19 August 2013
MOSCOW: Luxury brands have established a presence in Russia
but are failing in their digital communications, frequently lacking a Russian-language
website and a social media presence and with a mobile offer incompatible with
local devices, new research has said.
L2, the think tank, analysed the digital performance of 84
global and local prestige brands in Russia for its report, Digital IQ Index:
Russia. Brands were ranked on website effectiveness (30%), social media (30%),
digital marketing (20%) and mobile (20%).
It found that just 14% of luxury brands had a
Russian-language website, compared to 45% with a global website in English. But
only around 5% of the Russian population is proficient in English.
Successful digital investment, argued L2, required a local
approach. It pointed to the importance of Yandex as a search engine, the
popularity of domestic social networks and the continued use of feature phones.
"In Russia, leading global brands consistently
underinvest in language optimization, prove absent from local social platforms,
and copy Western mobile investments despite a different device mix found on the
ground, all of which significantly handicaps the majority of prestige brands
examined," Leeza Kuznetsova, research lead at L2, the US think tank,
explained to Luxury Daily.
She advised the prioritisation of social media investment on
VK, with three times as many users as Facebook, and added that brands operating
directly in Russia, rather than through a franchise partner, performed best in
digital.
The most highly rated luxury brands in the survey were Estée
Lauder, Dolce & Gabbana, Louis Vuitton and Chanel. But overall, 71% of the
brands reviewed by L2 were rated as "feeble" in their digital offer.
The report also noted that most luxury purchases by Russians
took place abroad, partly because of infrastructure issues and partly because
of a fear of counterfeits – up to 30% of goods sold in some sectors, such as
apparel and cosmetics, are fake.
Kuznetsova suggested that having a local site could help in
this regard. "Without a direct presence, brands that operate from the
periphery face increased competition from unofficial channels," she said.
Data sourced from L2, Luxury Daily; additional content by
Warc staff
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