Social Media Marketing in America: Millennial Generation? No: Influencer Generation

The rise of social media presents new challenges for the luxury world. Being present on all channels is now a must, requiring significant investments from brands. In the United States, marketing technologies are emerging that use big data to measure the return on online marketing campaigns.

We all followed, to some extent, the extravagant wedding between celebrity influencer Chiara Ferragni and rapper-producer Federico Lucia, known as Fedez. A wedding that will go down in history for the digital impact it provided to the fashion and cosmetics brands involved.

For those unfamiliar, wedding hashtags have become a staple of Millennial weddings in America (a sort of digital photo album for the celebrated couple and their guests, showcased on Instagram). Chiara Ferragni and Fedez were no exception—the digital entrepreneur, who has long split her time between the United States and Italy, is well-versed in all the trends of "Made in USA" social media marketing.

For the occasion, the couple dubbed themselves #TheFerragnez and documented the entire weekend celebration with images and videos shared with their followers: 14.9 million Instagram followers for the influencer, Italy's first globally recognized celebrity, and 6.7 million for the singer.

A Hollywood-style wedding where even the "I do" was somewhat American, exchanged in a garden at the beautiful Dimora delle Balze in Sicily, with the couple surrounded by flowers as they said their vows.

Measuring the Value of a Social Media Marketing Campaign in the United States - The MIV Indicator: Media Impact Value

Analyzing the social media buzz around the most talked-about wedding ever, analysts at Launchmetrics—a U.S.-based data analytics company specializing in the fashion/luxury sector—used their algorithm, Media Impact Value (MIV), to convert web content dissemination and user interactions into monetary value.

"The Media Impact Value (MIV) of the Ferragni-Fedez wedding reached $36 million, with over 67 million interactions," says Alison Bringé, Chief Marketing Officer at Launchmetrics, "comparable to none other than the royal wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle."

"For the Ferragnez, it wasn't just a wedding but a true fashion experience," states Bringé. "What drove the MIV to such astronomical numbers—with fun engagement reaching 1 billion (the total likes and comments on Instagram)—was the couple's ability to engage users. A digital audience of millions followed and commented on every moment of the Ferragnez wedding, fueled by the influencer friends of the couple, who in turn involved their vast audiences, boosting the MIV."

"We wanted the wedding to be very social, so there were no journalists among the guests. We wanted our friends and family to freely share every moment and emotion on Instagram," Ferragni explained via email while en route to New York Fashion Week.

The extraordinary digital impact also benefited the brands worn by the influencer on her wedding day. The two bespoke Dior haute couture dresses (designed by Maria Grazia Chiuri) generated over $5.2 million in Media Impact Value, while the jewelry brand Pomellato achieved an MIV of $1.6 million. Even the shoe brand Aquazzura gained an MIV of $1.2 million thanks to the bride's footwear.

The two bespoke Dior haute couture dresses (designed by Maria Grazia Chiuri) generated over $5.2 million in Media Impact Value and 5.6 million global engagements for Dior. Her pre-wedding Prada dress earned $1.8 million in MIV and 1.5 million interactions for the Italian luxury brand. Meanwhile, the Lancôme makeup worn on her wedding day garnered $700,000 in MIV. In addition to Prada, another Italian brand that leveraged the enormous wedding buzz was Alberta Ferretti, which dressed the six bridesmaids in matching dresses of the same model and color (another nod to typical U.S. weddings). This media exposure resulted in $354,000 in MIV for the brand.

Millennials now represent over 40% of luxury clients (and aspiring clients), and Ferragni herself is a Millennial with a vast following of Millennials, including many in America

Media Impact Value doesn’t necessarily translate into direct sales, but it does boost brand awareness, which can lead to sales. “The opportunity to be associated with a brand means the brand can benefit from its positioning with Chiara’s audience,” said Bringé. “It’s a significant investment for brands, but to try to reach that customer today, there’s no better way than through influencer marketing.” Ferragni is one of the most sought-after influencers to work with, especially now that the latest statistics from her wedding have been released.

The Role of Influencers in Social Media Campaigns in the United States

“Chiara Ferragni is a contract influencer, and the calculation we’ve been able to make compares her media impact capability to that of the Royal Wedding,” said Bringé. “The report we will publish has a real contractual value, which the influencer can include in her ‘resume’ to show potential brands the actual value she can bring to the company she works with.”

“The influencer phenomenon is crazy right now,” said Bringé. “Chiara had the right audience and the right topic. Looking at the content coverage, it was all about the experience. It was this story, both romantic and fashion-forward, of a modern Cinderella who, on her wedding day—which was actually a three-day event, starting the day before and ending the day after—kept users glued to their screens.”

We are sure there will be more collaborations with influencer brides and grooms in the future, as luxury brands continue to invest heavily in social media and trend-setting individuals to promote their products in this ecosystem.