Prada Womenswear Fall/Winter 2011 Campaign

Writing just now about Miuccia Prada being honored, along with Elsa Schiaparelli, at next year’s 2012 Metropolitan Museum Costume Exhibit and spring gala, I remembered an earlier business and branding article One NYT Critic May Owe Prada.com An Apology, written Dec, 2009.

At the time, I was a bit miffed that Miuccia Prada’s website was called ‘stodgy’ because it didn’t have the same Internet buzz held by Burberry’s ArtoftheTrench.com.

My comments had nothing to do with Burberry, who has proven to be a master of digital networks marketing with 8,056,434 likes on Facebook, compared to Prada’s 791,206 and Chanel’s 4,425,147.

What is the quality of those FB likes? Are they devoted brand loyalists, or drive-by online fashionistas, collecting Likes to build their own FB portfolio and ‘I am my brands’ online image. A serious marketing person must dig beneath the surface of the numbers.

In analyzing AOC’s online performance, I am well aware that there are multiple types of readers. Give me quality over quantity any day.