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The Success of Social Media Influencers in Louis Vuitton’s Public Relations Efforts

Claire Spitz

Department of Communications, Grand Valley State University

CAP 115 03: Research Basics of Advertising and Public Relations

Professor Snedeker

October 30, 2022

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Abstract

One of the oldest luxury brands, Louis Vuitton has remained a key player in the luxury goods

market. This constant success may be partly due to its high quality products, consistent brand

image, or loyalty to its consumers. However, these attributes are not its sole reason for

popularity. Louis Vuitton continues to push boundaries taking advantage of the rising use of

technology and branding. Unlike some of its competitors, the brand has begun capitalizing on the

rise of social media superstars: influencers. These young adults have built empires based on their

personality and connection to viewers. This is exactly what makes them perfect ambassadors for

this age old brand. One of their most recent campaigns, the Pre-Fall 2021 Footwear Campaign

with highly popular influencers Emma Chamberlain and Charli D’Amelio is the perfect example

of the success that these faces can bring. Research on social media marketing and influencer

centered public relations efforts will create confidence for the brand to continue branching out

into this new space or defer them to using more traditional methods that have brought the brand

to where it is today. The research questions will answer: Is the movement towards utilizing these

influencer’s platforms Louis Vuitton’s new secret weapon or if tried and true public relations

methods should remain the standard for this luxury brand?

Keywords: Louis Vuitton, influencers, social media marketing, influencer campaigns,

brand, Gen-Z
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The Success of Social Media Influencers in Louis Vuitton’s Public Relations Efforts

Louis Vuitton is a luxury fashion brand established in 1854 (Louis Vuitton, 2014) by

Louis Vuitton himself. From its early beginnings, Louis Vuitton has always produced high

quality products with high end price tags. However, the brand does not only market to the rich

and famous in contrast to other luxury brands. With additions to their brand such as perfumes,

key chains, and small wallets they remain on the border of being accessible to the upper-middle

class while still maintaining their high end image. The popularity of this brand still remains at an

all time high in comparison to competitors such as Gucci (Industries, 2021). Being the number

one luxury brand in the world is not only due to their premium leather goods. Louis Vuitton’s

public relations efforts have kept them on top year after year. This paper will discuss Louis

Vuitton’s past and current public relations campaigns using influencers, specifically the Pre-Fall

2021 Footwear Campaign, compared to traditional methods to further analyze exactly where the

great popularity and attraction from a diverse audience comes from.

Methodology

In order to understand why Louis Vuitton continues to gain their edge on its competitors,

utilizing secondary research is necessary in order to compile existing data to paint the larger

picture. Qualitative and quantitative research gathering provides the information needed to

comprehend the vast opportunities Louis Vuittton has capitalized on in addition to predicting

future public relations campaign movements in the industry. To confidently move forward in

utilizing influencers a variety of data helps to answer these questions. Internal quantitative

secondary data gives a clear view of sales statistics, social media engagement, and the number of

audiences reached. External qualitative data provides information on the public's response, where
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competitors stand, and how younger audiences feel toward the brand. Resources utilized were

sourced from GVSU Library through databases such as Mergent Online, Business Source

Ultimate, WINMO, scholarly journals, trade publications, and more. Common themes signaled

the need for the research question: Is the movement towards utilizing these influencer’s

platforms Louis Vuitton’s new secret weapon or if tried and true public relations methods should

remain the standard for this luxury brand? In order for Louis Vuitton to keep its popularity in

comparison to its competitors, it must remain versatile and innovative. The future market of

Louis Vuitton is within the hands of Gen-Z. Thus, Louis Vuitton must begin catering to this age

range by capitalizing on their easily accessible role models: influencers. However, brand

ambassadors, influencer marketing, and social media public relations campaigns are still very

new in the business world. Traditional methods have given Louis Vuitton its status. However,

this research is needed to understand whether or not this opportunity holds more rewards than

risks.

Results

Investigating the changing landscape of consumer attitudes, public relations efforts, and

brand campaigns fueled the findings of this research. Many sources all pointed towards the same

thing: utilizing influencer’s platforms is the new age of successful branding and sales.

Influencers and social media engagement deepens the relationship between Louis Vuitton and its

audiences on a level that traditional public relations schemes cannot. The interpersonal

relationships that influencers hold with their own followers transfers over to Louis Vuitton’s

giving them an extremely high return on investment (Franciso J., 2020). In addition, the use of
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social media to portray the brand’s identity through the use of storytelling visuals (Hemantha,

2020). Key findings to support the use of social media and influencers are listed below.

● “Apparently recognizing that SM's (social media) "democratizing" nature, which enables

unlimited consumer interactivity, may diminish their elite status, luxury brands were late

adopters of SM for customer engagement (Dauriz, Remy, and Sandri [21]). However, at

present, almost all luxury brands practice social media marketing… This

conceptualization stems from the brand involvement construct (Zaichkowsky [79]),

reflecting consumer interest in and perceived self-relevance of the brand, consistently

linked to such important outcomes as brand loyalty and customer satisfaction,” (Pentina,

2018).

● “With the emergence of the brand builder versus sales converter distinction, many brands

want to work with a top influencer… Sometimes it's less about the sales or other metrics

and more that a brand just wants to associate with a particular influencer,” (Strugatz,

2018).

● “Luxury marketers can preserve their unique positioning in social media by offering

top-quality visual content reinforcing the desired brand associations to (a) generate active

and creative behaviors by influentials and (b) promote low-effort, high-virality behaviors

by consumers motivated by less complex needs,” (Pentina 2018).

● “The study finds that these luxury brands have showcased their brand philosophy and

heritage which reflects the brand journey by formulating principles of storytelling and

creative advertising campaign along with social media events displaying celebrities and

virtual collections,” (Hemantha, 2020).

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● In the past two years, LVMH’s media spend has increased in the digital realm. In 2020

the reported media spend was 4.27%, while in 2021 it rose to 4.60% (WINMO).

● The revenue of LVMH has increased from 2020 to 2021. The data states that the total

revenue in 2020 was $54,800,000 and rose to $72,683,000 in 2021 (Mergent Online).

● “Consumers view SMIs as more accessible and credible than mainstream celebrities (De

Veirman et al., [93]), and thus, a message an SMI communicates is considered more

authentic and trustworthy than a similar message a celebrity communicates… the average

consumer finds that endorsements made in the context of SMIs' personal lives make

brands more relevant,” (Ki, 2019).

● “SMI partnerships have been found to have tangible effects. For example, Mavrck's

recent study showed that SMI‐generated content is 6.9 times more effective than

studio‐shot content. Moreover, Influencer Marketing Hub ([47]) reported that businesses

are receiving $5.20 on average for each $1 spent on influencer marketing, and 92% of

marketers judge influencer marketing to be effective, while 63% of marketers intend to

increase their influencer marketing budgets in the coming year,” (Ki, 2019).

● “First, consumers use social platforms extensively to help in their buying-decision

processes (Arora et al., [ 3]; De Veirman & Hudders, [23]). Second, they consume more

and more content generated by influencers, and they are more reticent about content

provided by brands (Fink et al., [33]; Müller & Christandl, [61]); the adolescent segment

is where the greatest confidence in social network influencers is to be found; it is

expected that this trend among teenagers will continue into adulthood for future
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purchases, and will also influence their comments and recommendations on products and

services”, (Martínez-López, 2020).

● “If it is considered that influencer marketing leads to a brand getting better engagement

results and doubling its ROI – it is 11 times higher than that obtained through other

digital formats – (Tapinfluence, [83]), it makes sense to pursue influencer marketing as

the customer acquisition strategy, which is growing the most in the online context,”

(Martínez-López, 2020).

● “These individuals (influencers) seem more approachable compared to traditional

celebrities, as they provide insight into their daily lives making it easier to identify with

them. Brands, in turn, can collaborate with the right influencers to create positive

associations in the minds of consumers… Thus authenticity plays a crucial role for both

parties, and for this reason it is crucial how the product and the influencer itself is

indicated in the advertised content,” (Ketrin, 2020).

● “A significant finding of this study is that the informational value of influencers' content

is essential in building trust with SNS (social networking sites) users and influencing

their purchase behavior. Our research findings contribute to the literature on social media

marketing and advertising value (Lou & yuan [71]). In addition, our results show that

informational value positively impacts followers' UTB (urge-to-buy), which is consistent

with the findings of Van-Tien Dao et al. ([102]) and Lou and Yuan ([70]),” (Shamim,

2022).

● “A total of 350 youth participants in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) completed an

online survey evaluating influencers' characteristics, promotional videos, types of youth

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interaction with their content, and their impacts on purchasing intentions. The findings

show that youth in UAE consider that influencers have positive personal appeals, traits,

and information support to attract their followers and encourage them to purchase.

Furthermore, the results reveal that influencers push youth to search for more information

about the products and visit marketers' websites. Influencers' social media activities also

affect youth's interests, desires, and purchase intentions by helping them assess the

products,” (Radwan, 2021).

● “Luxury brands are keen to embrace influencer marketing as part of their

communications strategies. According to a study from McKinsey, a recommendation

from a trusted source is 50 percent more likely to lead to a conversion. Another study,

from Variety, found that teens identify more with famous YouTubers than celebrities. For

some brands, including fashion, influencers are especially impactful,” (Adegeest, 2019).

● “Social media superstar Emma Chamberlain and TikTok influencer Charli D’Amelio

were recently featured for Louis Vuitton’s new footwear campaign. The brand has

partnered with many influencers for past sponsorships including Chamberlain a couple of

times in the past, and Youtubers Ethan and Grayson Dolan,” (Fashinnovation, 2021).

● “According to Dalcolmo “I feel like Louis Vuitton is trying to create this desire because

they know that these [young] people cannot buy. But in a few years when they are stable

with their lives, they will be like. “Yes! I want to buy LV”. They are playing the long

game.” With this type of exposure to TikTok, where most of its users are younger,

Dalcolmo states, “​​I 100% think they [younger users] will change their perspective on the

buying based off what their favorite creators are promoting”. Influencers are highly
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counted on for online marketing by brands in this day and age. By featuring Chamberlin

and D’Amelio in a Louis Vuitton ad campaign, their younger audiences will remember

the brand,” (Fashinnovation, 2021).

● “In this environment, established brands need to refocus on extreme value creation. They

must become relevant storytellers that intrigue their audiences, become part of their lives,

and entertain them with magical experiences. To attract Generation Z, it becomes even

more critical to anticipate their needs and wants, to build brand equity in such a way that

brands become “must haves”, and to inspire a discerning, highly connected audience that

has a choice,” (Langer, 2021).

● “Attracting Gen Z is not a matter of cheaper offers or more promotion. In fact, lowering

prices is the fastest way to destroy brands. Gen Zers want the best; they desire brands that

provide them with experiences other brands can’t provide. And to those brands they will

be loyal – as long as these brands continue to excite them,” (Langer, 2021).

● “This week, Louis Vuitton unveiled the new LV SQUAD sneaker and LV SUNSET mule

with a campaign featuring internet sensations Charli D’Amelio and Emma Chamberlain.

Nicolas Ghesquière, Artistic Director of Women’s Collections, sets the tone for the

Pre-Fall 2021 collection by designing shoes that are destined to become the new

must-haves in the Vuitton shoe collection. Designed with a contemporary, easy-to-wear

style, the shoes embody the effortlessly cool yet incredibly chic vibe of both D’Amelio

and Chamberlain,” (Faurote, 2021).

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Discussion

The results show that the use of influencers and social media campaigns have not only

become popular with mainstream companies but also with high end luxury brands. The sources

explain that the use of influencers create a space that combines Louis Vuitton’s audience with the

influencer’s making the combo a quite successful one. The increase in revenue shows that the

recent use of adding in these internet celebrities to their public relations efforts have created a

higher conversion rate for the products. In addition, the increase of digital media spend may be

due to the payments towards these influencers. This shows that Louis Vuitton may be moving

towards more digital marketing compared to the traditional methods of luxury brands utilizing

print marketing at a much higher percentage compared to non-luxury brands. Although social

media marketing may be new to the scene the benefits shown through the research may give the

brand a confidence boost when looking for their next ambassador. Further, speaking the language

of the Gen-Z population through these new methods broadens their target audience. This ensures

that while Louis Vuitton stays true to their branding and loyal customers they simultaneously

create their next generation of buyers. The Pre-Fall 2021 Footwear Campaign with Emma

Chamberlain and Charli D'Amelio was successful for Louis Vuitton in attracting their fan-base

straight into the hands of the brand. This method solidifies their current and future popularity and

success as a luxury brand. This fresh way to connect to younger audiences has proven to come

with its benefits.

Conclusion

Through the research and discussion, the findings of the proposed research question (Is

the movement towards utilizing these influencer’s platforms Louis Vuitton’s new secret weapon
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or if tried and true public relations methods should remain the standard for this luxury brand?)

provides Louis Vuitton security in continuing the use of adding in influencers to their public

relations strategy. Being such a successful luxury brand does not come from guesswork. Louis

Vuitton has been, and remains, at the forefront of popularity in the luxury world due to its ability

to take risks. However, it is calculated risks that set Louis Vuitton apart from its competitors. The

past success of Louis Vuitton’s Pre-Fall 2021 footwear campaign with influencers Emma

Chamberlain and Charli D’Amelio as the faces seems to be more beneficial compared to

traditional public relations methods. Internal and External data from secondary research

explained past successes with sales, brand identity, and audience engagement. The research

efforts to gauge the public opinion on Louis Vuitton, the potential rise of influencers, and how

target audiences feel towards them representing the brand and its products has given Louis

Vuitton a fresh way to connect to younger audiences. This not only broadens their target

audience but creates their future buyers simultaneously. Louis Vuitton took the opportunity to

use influencers as brand ambassadors in order to grow its audiences and relate to them in new

ways making the brand even more wildly successful.

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