Social Networks, such as MySpace, are not just for freeloaders and bands anymore. Eric Pfanner of the New York Times reported today that Cartier, the luxury jeweler, has established a MySpace page and is seeking to accrue as many friendships as it can (currently it stands at around 3,800). Pfanner finds it interesting, and rightly so, that a luxury brand name such as Cartier has chosen to take this avenue to marketing its product. Corinne Delattre, Cartier’s director of communications, didn’t seem nearly as nonplussed, explaining that they “work with people moving fast. They use technology. They are ahead in their way of life.”
Pfanner also quoted Ben Hourahine, Leo Burnett futures editor, who observed that using social networks to advertise is “appropriate at a time when consumer attitudes about luxury [are] changing.” Pfanner whips out a shocking statistic: these days, only 7 percent of American consumers perceived “luxury” to mean “being part of an exclusive club” (according to a 07.25.08 survey by Leo Burnett).
At a high level, bystanders might realize an important change is happening – one more significant than a luxury brand claiming its swath of online territory in a social networking neighborhood. The luxury brands that we grew up with boasted an aura of unattainability. They didn’t come to you; you came to them – if they accepted you. Now Cartier, for example, has come sniffing, looking for a place to find us when (and where) we least expect them. This, of course, begs the question: to friend or not to friend?
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> Pfanner, Eric. “A Jeweler Joins Its Friends on MySpace.” The New York Times. 07.31.08.