![ralph185 Ralph Lauren scored high for digital IQ this year](https://americanmarketer.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/ralph185.jpg)
Ralph Lauren, Louis Vuitton and premium brand Coach have the luxury sector’s highest digital IQs, in part because of their keen attention to social media and mobile engagement, according to L2 Think Tank. L2's 2010 Digital IQ Index found that luxury brands are finally taking to new media en masse after years of ignoring or underperforming in the digital space. The top seven brands – Coach, Ralph Lauren, Louis Vuitton, Gucci, Hugo Boss, Burberry and Dolce & Gabbana – all attained “Genius” status for their digital efforts in the past year. “[Our key finding] was the escalating pace of digital innovation in the industry,” said Scott Galloway, founder of L2, New York. “It’s surprising that the pace has picked up so dramatically. “There has been more innovation online in the past 12 months than in the previous five years combined.” L2’s Digital IQ index calculates scores based on brands’ efforts across their Web sites, digital marketing, social media and mobile efforts. Forty percent of each score gauged the effectiveness of a luxury brand’s Web site, 30 percent judged its digital marketing efforts, 20 percent appraised social media output and 10 percent of the score was based on mobile performance.
Social, mobile mavens Coach secured the top spot on the strength of its performance across all digital channels, according to L2. Second-ranked Louis Vuitton and Ralph Lauren each earned a score of 167, while Gucci (No. 4) fared nearly as well with an IQ of 166. No. 5 Hubo Boss was titled a “mobile superstar” for its iPhone application and garnered 157 points (see story). And, Burberry catapulted to the No. 6 spot, earning 46 more IQ points than last year. Giorgio Armani, Swarovski and Tiffany & Co. rounded out the top 10 list, the latter two leading the watches and jewelry category for digital IQ. Eleventh-ranked Chanel scored points for its iPad advertising (see story), but was criticized for a having a weak Web site. Diane von Furstenberg, which held the No. 13 spot, won accolades for offering a dress exclusively through its iPhone application. Likewise, Calvin Klein scored No. 15 on the strength of its use of mobile bar codes and iPad engagement (see story). Watch and jewelry brands such as Montblank (No. 34), Bulgari (No. 35) and Piaget (No. 39) were deemed merely average in terms of digital engagement. Meanwhile, Cartier (No. 44) and Rolex (No. 48) were labeled digitally challenged and earned scores of 89 and 87, respectively. The brands both scored significantly lower than on last year’s report.![cartier185-real12 cartier185-real12](https://americanmarketer.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/cartier185-real12.png)