Digital IQ Reports- Analysis and Reactions

1.The travel and luxury industries are both increasingly influenced by the digital marketing mix however in different ways.

Firstly I would like to say that it seems to me that the luxury industry has untapped opportunities and should focus on an offensive digital marketing strategy by increasing brand efforts to be present on the web and interact with consumers. On the other hand, the travel industry should have a defensive digital marketing strategy by monitoring what is said about their websites and responding in a professional manner.

Both industries should tackle the marketing mix differently.

Starting with e-commerce and mobile marketing; While luxury brands can use e-commerce to enhance traffic on their respective websites and indirectly boost sales, travel companies are heavily dependent and should nurture online sales and facilitate transactions wherever the customer may be.
Travel industries make most sales online and this is the reason why they are increasingly (and should be) developing this channel - e.g the Mandarin Oriental's free applications for Iphones.It is worth noting the correlation between share value and digital IQ for this industry. On the other hand- traditional luxury brands are heavily dependant on personal selling for true luxury items and should perhaps turn to a more digital marketing and personalised e-mail systems as an approach on the web (although their website is critical in maintaining brand image).

Social media; The reports state that although luxury (for example Cartier) benefitted from many 'like tags' on facebook they were interacting limitedly with their followers. This has pros and cons- as such brands should not be 'available to all' otherwise they deteriorate their dream and luxury aura. Such luxury brands should limit their interactions to maintain online presence but not increase their availability by too much. In the travel industry however reviews are critical and interactions with social media is equally. For example, tactics such as the Air New Zealand contest based on favourite cuddle positions and rewards have positive impacts both in increasing brand loyalty but also brand awareness.

Digital marketing and in particular e-mails seem to be a worthwhile tactic for luxury brands as they can target 'true, loyal, and traditional' clients but still in a personalised way using personal selling. Marketing departments of such brands should think outside the box with the personalised dimension of the e-mail. For the travel indsutry it seems that this can be used as an enhancing factor for occasional action plans to boost sales or remind a customer of the presence of the brand.

In conclusion traffic to and from social media websites and brand sites has increased heavily, especially post crisis. The travel industry seems more dependent on digital IQ than luxury brands due to their high categories of online sales, and has developed the social media sector more. The luxury industry is reluctant to interact with the social media sector although efforts have been made.

2.
The views of the top 3 digital IQ companies towards social media.

In the travel sector, the top digital IQ companies are airlines (Delta, Southwest, and American Airlines) which view social media as a tool to enhance the flying experience, in other words the product they sell. They treat their followers as potential customers and facilitate buying transactions through social media.

Delta airlines had an effective strategy of turning its followers to buyers through social media. This was done by a facebook booking application which indirectly also increased traffic on its own website.

American airlines facilitates bookings through its online applications which permits the customer to stay connected with the company at all times and even play games. Customers are also rewarded through upgrades.

These companies have strong presence on facebook and interactions with their followers.

In the luxury sector the 3 top digital IQ companies are: Coach, Louis Vuitton and Ralph Lauren.

These brands also orient their followers towards shopping by being present globally in social media sectors and even going as far as giving the possibility to personnalize products through such channels (LV) or developing blogs (Coach).

LVMH uses blogs to underline the importance of personnalization and creation but also uses youube as a means of advertising.

In conclusion, all top digital IQ brands have recognized and exploited the social media channel by luring followers into becoming buyers. It seems that the pool of followers was already there and the brands just needed to interact with them to turn them into active and interactive shoppers. Brands see social media almost as a way of personal selling.