Michael Kors saw Snapchat's potential early on. Image credit: Michael Kors
While video has long been a hallmark of marketers’ toolkit, live video is growing at a significant rate with 78 percent of Facebook Live videos in June being paid for by a brand, according to a new report by L2.
The reason for the popularity in branded live video is the medium’s immediacy and ability to connect with consumers on a more personal and visceral level. This information comes from a new report from L2 on the significance of branded live video from Facebook, Snapchat, Periscope and elsewhere.
Live video
The advancement of technology, social media and mobile devices has ushered in many changes to society and the way brands interact with their customers.
One of these advances is the rise of live video, most commonly through the forms of Facebook Live, Instagram Stories, Snapchat and other dedicated live video platforms such as Twitter's Periscope.
Using these tools, brands have the ability to connect with their customers in a more unscripted way, giving them a closer personal connection with the campaign.
To find out exactly how popular live video is among marketers, L2 conducted a survey that found the vast majority of live video on Facebook is from brands.
The amount of live branded videos posted on Facebook in June 2017 was 5 percent of total branded video, up from 1 percent at the same time last year.
Luxury is the largest vertical for live video. Image credit: L2
Facebook has been slowly introducing many new services that seem to take direct inspiration from Snapchat, including Instagram Stories, since the photo-centric application is owned by Facebook.
This copycatting is working, as brand adoption of Instagram Stories surpassed adoption of Snapchat Stories in the second quarter of 2017.
Luxury is doing very well with live video, being the number one category in terms of overall share of live video with 22 percent, headed up by brands such as Louis Vuitton, which frequently promotes fashion shows and other events through live video content.
Facebook Live
Examples of live video success in the luxury industry are plentiful. In addition to branded efforts, live video has also been used to cover fashion events.
For example, Condé Nast-owned Vogue was on-site for the first Monday in May to provide its readership with live coverage of the annual Met Gala.
This year’s Met Gala: The Art of the In-Between was held on the evening of Monday, May 1 and was a celebration of Japanese designer Rei Kawakubo, founder of Comme des Garçons. Ms. Kawakubo is the first living designer as the subject of the exhibition since Yves Saint Laurent in 1983 (see story).
Live video is growing. Image credit: L2
Estée Lauder Cos.’ Crème de la Mer also turned to Facebook Live to decode summer beauty with one of its recently appointed brand ambassadors, Patrick Ta.
Mr. Ta, a self-taught beauty expert discovered on Instagram, along with Hollywood veteran Kayleen McAdams and Parisian makeup artist Violette, were chosen as La Mer’s first official brand ambassadors. Currently, La Mer only offers high-end skincare products, but a beauty line is on the way, hence linking with three beauty gurus ahead of the fall collection launch is a strategic move (see story).
Swiss watchmaker Tag Heuer debuted the Apollo Project, what CEO Jean-Christophe Babin is calling its “most radical, out-of-the-box, totally mind-blowing innovation to date, ” via a live press conference from BaselWorld on March 23.
The brand claims to have created a timepiece so spectacular that it will do for watchmaking what the first man walking on the moon did for space history. Tag Heuer debuted the product with a live-streaming Webcast via Facebook where consumers could participate and ask questions (see story).
These examples combined with the data provided from L2 show how the luxury industry’s healthy relationship with live video is continuing to grow.