LOréal Paris has taken out the top spot in L2’s inaugural Digital IQ Index: Hair Care & Colour study. The survey ranked the digital competence of 53 global hair care and colour brands based on four key criteria; site, digital marketing, social media and mobile.
LOréal Paris is said to have won for its successful site relaunch, responsive multi-screen design and having the industry’s largest YouTube community. Aveda was ranked in second place, followed by Redken and Kérastase (both LOréal), Dove (Unilever) and Garnier (LOréal).
"The common thread among the success stories in Hair Care & Colour is a refusal to remain part of a suicide pact—relying on broadcast media and channels in structural decline,” said Maureen Mullen, Head of Research & Advisory, L2 Think Tank.
A key finding from the study include the growing influence of YouTube, which was found to send 1.6 times more traffic to professional brand sites and 4.4 times more traffic to consumer sites than Facebook. Vloggers were also found to have a growing influence, commanding a larger portion (47%) of first page search results for brand terms than brand videos (20%).