Understanding Ladurée: A Qualitative Study of Brand Perception
The team of authors at La Bonne Pâtisserie created a research method to understand how consumers perceive brands within the French Luxury Pastry segment through interviews. The interviews contained the following questions:
- Which words do you associate with Ladurée?
- Why do you choose this brand?
- How did you learn about the brand?
- Do you consider Ladurée as affordable? How do you perceive the price-quality ratio?
- Is it part of your routine, or is it more of a special experience for you?
Conducting interviews with 12 individuals across various Ladurée locations throughout Paris, I aimed to explore perceptions across nationalities, age groups, and purposes. The responses revealed significant touchpoints, illustrating the brand’s key positioning factors.
Initially, understanding the words immediately associated with Ladurée was crucial. The brand was mainly linked with words like Macarons (12), Elegance (10), Delicacies (7), and Luxury (10). However, some unexpected responses emerged, such as Tradition (4), Pastel shades (6), Sophistication (5), Uniqueness (3), Craftsmanship (3), Eiffel Tower (3), Romanticism (4), French chic (2), and Heritage (1), which, although not prominently featured in the word cloud, revealed insights aligning with the brand’s strategic communication.
The choice of the brand largely depended on individuals’ goals while in Paris. Tourists or short-term visitors desired iconic places, underscoring Ladurée’s significance in French history. Native Parisians and some French tourists expressed their enduring love for the brand, paying tribute to its long-standing patisserie heritage. A French elderly gentleman shared that the place held special significance for him and his wife, as it was their first date spot, a memory they cherished together.
Regarding how individuals discovered Ladurée, many found it challenging to say. Ladurée’s identity as a French landmark seemed rooted in the memory of most. Even young guests mentioned knowing about Ladurée’s famous macarons and dreaming of trying them. This signifies the brand’s strong presence across different parts of cultural memory.
Clients pointed out that the brand is indeed expensive. Responses varied based on the social group surveyed. For instance, an Italian tourist family highlighted the expense of visiting the café as a whole. However, all acknowledged that a visit to the patisserie for Ladurée’s legendary macarons was worth it. Surprisingly, what affected me was the focus on these desserts among foreigners. In contrast, many native French people mentioned that Ladurée also offered delicious and reasonably priced desserts worth trying.
Except for the elderly couple, no one claimed that Ladurée was part of their routine. Instead, most visited for exploration or on special occasions. Yet, many expressed a desire to frequent the place more often, especially for breakfasts or symbolic meetups. A Korean student mentioned it as an ideal dating spot due to its romantic ambiance, mirroring the sentiment shared by many guests.
Analyzing Ladurée’s Social Media Presence
As I delved into the world of social media listening, I discovered 609 texts to the Ladurée brand across 387 unique authors in November. Employing social media listening techniques, my analysis began with an exploration of word clouds, unveiling the comprehensive perceptions of the brand across various platforms. While expecting to find associations with luxury, elegance, and Paris, intriguingly, Ladurée in Moscow emerged as a notable reference, potentially linked to a trending Russian song on TikTok and the growing allure of Russian chic. Further exploration will reveal the extent of this connection in subsequent analysis. The word cloud prominently featured Ladurée’s foundational elements, such as macarons and craftsmanship. Notable mentions included personalities possibly involved in recent discussions alongside the brand and the Ladurée advent calendar, Christmas, and collaborative brand mentions. This analysis highlighted the preservation of Ladurée’s unique brand elements on social media, intertwined with discussions on emerging trends, produced either by the brand’s visual appeal or current events.
My exploration expanded to analyzing the volume of mentions across diverse social media platforms and identifying waves in activity. In early November, several peaks in reviews surfaced on the OpenTable platform. Most were linked to customers’ admiration for Ladurée’s breakfast offerings in Soho, New York. This surge may arise from references to this location as an influencer or reactions to a review. Although no specific news related to this event was found, it conclusively indicated that visitors associate Ladurée with perfect breakfasts, fostering aspirations to experience them firsthand. This opens another aspect of brand perception, positioning Ladurée not only as a luxury confectionery but also as an aspirational breakfast café. Considering this, should the brand focus more on developing this segment to emerge as a leader in this niche?
Additional peaks in mentions arose on X (ex-Twitter), known for its notably assertive communication style. On November 19, a discussion in a negative context regarding an incorrect image of life in Paris by a blogger triggered a surge in references to Ladurée as an example of an inaccurate depiction of Parisian style.
Another important wave in mentions on X was attributed to the launch of the advent calendar, praised as one of the best in its category. Users actively commented on Ladurée’s decision to release such a calendar, and engagements soared after TheTaste announced a Ladurée advent calendar giveaway. This product proved to be a trigger for increased brand attention, serving as a successful marketing strategy both on social media and in the Christmas market. The calendar exuded authentic French luxury and elegance, embodying Ladurée’s essence.
However, the frequent references to Ladurée in the context of Moscow remained intriguing. Notably, on November 20, a surge in Ladurée’s popularity on Tumblr was observed. It was revealed that a photo of the brand’s café décor went viral on the platform, sparking widespread reposts. This emphasizes that Ladurée’s aesthetic is so rich and timeless that it can inspire sharing regardless of the café’s location.
Concluding my social media listening journey, sentiment analysis revealed a direct correlation between emotions expressed in online discussions and the overall sentiment of content.
While some peaks of delight were anticipated based on content mood analysis, a slight upsurge in melancholy on November 9 caught my attention. It was traced back to a viral image of a kitten with a Ladurée box in X. Such content could serve as a source of inspiration for creating popular social media content, enabling sustained engagement with the audience.
Final word
The analysis of the perception of the Ladurée brand across various consumer groups and interaction channels delivered fascinating insights. While I hoped to disclose something groundbreaking, Ladurée’s brand positioning has been so strong that it is universally perceived as synonymous with French luxury. Ladurée stands as a perfect model of a brand that crafts history and remains engraved in people’s consciousness indefinitely.
References
The author’s research
