Which SMM practices hurt luxury brands the most? Empirical evidence from the cosmetics industry
(A2019-9971)

AUTHORS

Daniil Muravskii, Graduate School of Management, Saint-Petersburg State University; IBS-Moscow, RANEPA; Snezhana Muravskaia, Graduate School of Management, Saint-Petersburg State University; Daria Alexandrova, Norwegian School of Economics (NHH)

KEYWORDS

SMM; luxury brands; brand perception

ABSTRACT

Although social media is currently known as a powerful marketing communication channel, many luxury brands are still hesitant in fully embracing all the possibilities that such medium entails. There is a common belief that social media space is not suitable for creating an atmosphere of exclusivity and that this technology can significantly limit control over brands. In this work, we test how different attributes of SMM activities affect the components, which comprise the perceptions of luxuriousness for an established brand. By conducting a study of Lancôme online community members, we establish that allowed possibilities for brand-consumer and consumer-consumer interaction through social media actually hurt the luxury brand perception, while the creation and dissemination of entertaining, customized content on the opposite – strengthen it. Significant differences for different age groups have also been found, showing that for millennials the impact of social media marketing activities on luxury brand perception is stronger.