Hermès' Social Media Problem

Luxury goods firms are finally engaging in social media – some dive right in and experiment with lots of different tactics (LV), others are more cautious (Burberry), while others are just dipping their toe in the water. A couple weeks ago, Hermès launched a new perfume, Voyage d'Hermès, with splashy and expensive banner ads on some of the most trafficked websites, including the New York Times and Le Monde. The banners pointed to a site loaded with beautiful content that hit upon the Hermès' lofty brand theme of exotic travel. Customers can share their own dream travel-experiences… these varied from a candlelight picnic for two on the floor of Sistine Chapel to scaling mystical peaks in far off lands. A Facebook fan group was set up and viewers are encouraged to share the video with friends. It seemed all the key elements (content, networks and engagement) were set for a social media hit.

Two weeks and millions of dollars later, only 40 dreams have been shared on the site and the Facebook page boasts a whopping 70 fans. The video has views numbering in the tens of thousands on You Tube, a resounding flop by Web 2.0 standards. What went wrong? I have my theories:

• The online community has never interacted with Hermès before. Hermès (the parent brand) has never engaged in social media, so there's no core audience with whom it can share the launch and drive traffic.
  
• The level of customer engagement (thinking of a story, writing and editing it) is far higher and more complex than it should be. It also doesn't help that this area of site started with zero examples of content, making it socially risky for the first users to engage. Burberry's Art of the Trench requires only a photo and began with a stable of professional examples to which amateurs could add.
  
• Perfume, especially a new one, isn't a product that lends itself well to digital fandom… the reason is obvious: you can't smell a perfume online. The strategy might work well-established scents, like Chanel No. 5, for which we have sensory memory to reference. It's far easier to become a fan of more tangible Hermès products such as scarves or leather goods.
  

What do you think Hermès could do to improve their social media strategy?