Zenith Comment:
We can apply the same technology to any PUMA video content that we will be using or creating around Social. Viewers whom are interested in our brand would have higher purchasing desire and if PUMA can add product features tag on video, real-time online purchase is encouraged. (by Yen Yip)
We have contacted Clikthrough to discuss costs for this technology and once we receive a proposal back we can discuss whether this is something we could move forward with. I think this would be great for driving traffic to the Korea e-commerce site as well.
Gucci's cruise spring/summer 2012 shoppable video
Italian fashion empire Gucci released its second shoppable video this week, featuring items from its cruise spring/summer 2012 collection. The question is, why aren’t more luxury marketers looking to tap this ecommerce technology?
Luxury brands have been creating a flurry of videos in the past few months for everything from new campaigns to new fragrances, yet only a few brands make these videos shoppable. In fact, Gucci seems to be leading the way in terms of generating direct ROI from its video efforts.
“Luxury brands spend a lot of time producing quality videos for their sites,” said Jeff Beaman, CEO of Clikthrough, San Francisco. “Yet they often keep the videos on different sections that often don’t contain any information on the products featured in the videos. With luxury brands, it’s all about experience, they take pride in this from their designs all the way to their stores.”
Clikthrough worked with Gucci for its shoppable videos and has also worked with Hugo Boss, Armani Exchange and Alexander McQueen.
Eye for detail
Gucci released its first shoppable video for its pre-fall collection this past summer. The video featured the iconic double-G symbol floats across the screen to alert viewers as to which items were available for purchase. Upon clicking, the product page opened up in a new window, allowing the consumer to buy the products through the ecommerce store. The pre-fall video allowed viewers to shop nine Gucci handbags and accessories from the collection (see story).
However, the Italian brand has repeated the process and made some improvements.
For starters, consumers can now click-to-buy 12 items from the one-and-a-half minute video. Additionally, the video was launched in seven languages and in 20 countries, according to Clikthrough. The technology company has also decreased the load time for the video to about two seconds on high-speed Internet, claims Mr. Beaman. The shoppable video has also been formatted to play and function on mobile devices such as the iPhone and iPad.
In terms of content, Gucci’s cruise spring/summer 2012 video mainly focuses on the collection’s accessories.
Gucci's cruise Spring/summer 2012 video opening shot
A young couple strolls and sits along the edges of a large, outdoor pool and they appear to be ignoring each other. Their outfits and accessories are different each time the camera changes views.
Gucci is pushing the video across social media platforms, including Facebook and Twitter. Social media seems like a good way for Gucci to tap its already Web-savvy consumers, giving them a new way to enjoy the brand on the Web.
Gucci also included men's accessories
Shopping screen
By making the videos commerce-enabled, Gucci can increase its ecommerce sales and measure the success of the video more easily.
While other brands have to rely on YouTube views or the number of shares to help track the success of their videos, it is hard to translate these numbers over to measurable sales effect.
Luxury brands creating videos has become the norm in the past few months. For example, jewelers such Tiffany & Co. and Cartier both used video to help spark feelings of love and emotion during the holiday gift-giving season. In fact, both jewelers can be found in Luxury Daily’s Top 10 branded videos of 2011 (see story).
Unfortunately, most luxury brands are missing out on possible ecommerce sales when they do not make the videos shoppable. Busy affluent consumers may see a video but not have the time to track down a particular item in the brand’s ecommerce store.
Adding in the ecommerce technology is a suitable way for brands to help create a more seamless experience and is not all that hard to do. In fact, after the software player has been installed on a brand’s Web site, making videos shoppable can take as little as 24 hours, per Clikthrough.
Gucci's cruise spring/summer 2012 video
The benefits are already starting to prove themselves. For example, Gucci’s first shoppable video saw a click-through rate of 83 percent and the final click-through for “buy it now” was approximately 5.8 percent.
However, there are a few best-practice tips that brands can put in place when creating the video content.
“For fashion videos, the most important piece is to keep the products in focus long enough to allow people to see it and then react,” Mr. Beaman said. “It’s also good to show off multiple angles through small movement such as walking, spins and twists. These give viewers a chance to see how the products look from different angles and possibly different lighting, It gives more information than a picture or a description could give. We feel video should bring value and focus on giving fashion viewers sensory information they couldn’t get through other media.”
