Our sixth annual Luxury Interactive show wrapped yesterday, after two and a half packed days of sessions led by some of the most respected luxury brands out there who are doing things with digital that many of us are truly inspired by. Lots of articles arose summing up the best presentations, and here, we bring you a few of our favorite industry articles, which will enlighten those of you who missed the show, and refresh those of you who were there and need a few reminders of the most important bits.

Luxury Daily: Tourneau exec – 25pc of traffic comes from iPad
NEW YORK – A Tourneau executive at the Luxury Interactive 2012 conference said that mobile, and particularly Apple’s iPad, is an ideal medium to reach its affluent consumers and engage them throughout the in-store experience.

During the “Creating a Dynamic Digital Ecommerce Organization to Increase Sales for Your Luxury Business” opening keynote, the executive addressed how mobile helps the luxury watch retailer continue its storytelling mission to drive new and existing loyal consumers in-store. Over the past year, Tourneau has been ramping up its mobile efforts with iPhone and iPad applications, and the company will also implement QR codes into its strategy for the upcoming holiday season.

“Twenty percent of our traffic is coming from an iPad and this talks to the affluency of our demographic to selling these timepieces,” said Don McNichol, senior vice president of direct marketing at Tourneau.

“We wanted to make sure the storytelling desire was kept whole via the tablet,” he said.
Read the entire article here.

Women’s Wear Daily: Survey Finds Execs Boosting Social-Media Spend
SOCIAL SET: Almost four out of five luxury-brand marketing executives boosted their 2012 social-media spend over prior-year levels, and nearly three-quarters expect to amp up social media further next year. And whatever difficulties Facebook might have in attracting advertisers, these executives designated it as their top social-media outlet by a wide margin.

In a survey of about 60 luxury brands conducted by the Luxury Interactive unit of Worldwide Business Research, 78 percent of digital marketing executives working for luxury brands increased their social-media marketing spending in 2012, and 73 percent said they would do so in 2013. An even larger share, 81 percent, said their overall digital-marketing spend was above 2011 levels.

Among other findings of the preliminary study: 83 percent said they would choose Facebook if they were forced to choose only one social-media venue; 53 percent of luxury marketers reserve 20 to 60 percent of their overall media spending for the digital channel, and 75 percent said they are using video to engage fans and followers.
Read the entire article here.

Luxury Daily: Donna Karan exec – Brand evangelism trumps ROI as social media goal
NEW YORK – A Donna Karan executive at the Luxury Interactive 2012 conference said that social media engagement peaks when the brand provides consistent and transparent content that is tailored to the needs of its social audience.

Since the brand began its social efforts in 2009, transparency has been a theme across Donna Karan’s Facebook and Twitter platforms and has helped position the brand as a go-to source for not just brand news, but New York lifestyle updates. Most importantly, Donna Karan uses its social content to target brand evangelists, which translates into ROI.

“It is called social media and we say that all the time, but a lot of people do not keep the social in media,” said Aliza Licht, senior vice president of global communications at Donna Karan International, New York.

“Every brand, luxury or mass, has to examine what is right for it,” she said. “This is very specific to our brand.
Read the entire article here.