hnnhcronin High fashion and high-tech are becoming increasingly intertwined, and Burberry is leading the pack of luxury brands who embrace the tech revolution through interactive digital marketing and through technology incorporated into the clothing. The 2013 “Burberry Kisses” ad campaign with Google allowed individuals to virtually send a kiss to their Google+ friends wearing different shades of Burberry lipstick. This method of advertising is new and interactive; major fashion brands have devoted more time and money into digital campaigns that allow the younger consumer to feel more directly connected to the brand. Burberry has especially capitalized upon the direction of fashion in the digital age, unveiling several other interactive campaigns and making effective use of social media platforms such as Snapchat.
Another example of Burberry’s expert interaction with customers is its Art of the Trench Ad Campaign, which enables consumers to take pictures in their favorite Burberry trench coats, which Burberry then features on their website. The display of real, everyday people on the website emphasizes fashion embracing a more grassroots approach to marketing. The rise of social media and this new approach to marketing has had quite the democratizing effect on the fashion industry. Brands now aim to connect with the attitudes of the public rather than displaying an image of unattainability.
Burberry’s easily navigable website gives shoppers the opportunity to customize scarves, trench coats, and perfumes. Burberry Bespoke perfumes can be purchased in custom bottles, monogrammed with initials and tied with one of sixteen bows to choose from. In a similar manner, scarves and trench coats can be personalized by color, cut, style, and monograms.
Aside from Burberry’s marketing campaigns, the brand was one of the first to make use of social media channels. Burberry joined Instagram, Snapchat, and Twitter shortly after each platform was developed. All of Burberry’s social media pages display an aura of old-England sophistication while remaining inviting to the consumer. Burberry has used Burberry.com and social media platforms to live stream its fashion shows, giving individual’s a virtual front row seat. This allows for the new designs to reach a larger market than those with the connections and money to attend the show. In fact, for the September 2016 show, Burberry utilized Facebook chatbots to create a unique user experience. Bots revealed designs that had yet to be displayed on the runway by inviting the users to navigate through a virtual maze that taught them about the collection.
In contrast to the days where it could take months to get your hands on a recently unveiled design, Burberry’s recent adoption of the “see-now buy-now” technology allows interested shoppers to purchase items online and in-stores immediately following the collection debut. This see-now by now model was put into place by Burberry and by other retailers in order to counteract the effects of fast fashion retailers, such as H&M, who can quickly replicate the trends seen on the runway and make available for purchase more quickly than designer brands. This model has served Burberry’s sales well (cite some numbers sales increasd by x% for example) and has increased millennial interest in the brand.
If Burberry continues to stay on top with technological innovation the company will maintain its relevance to the desirable young consumers.. Despite Burberry’s successful navigation within digital, the initiative was largely the product of former CEO Christopher Bailey. Burberry continued creativity in digital could be at risk. Nevertheless, high fashion brands are coming to terms with the need to more directly engage with their customers rather than creating an air of aspirational fashion. Much of Burberry’s recent comeback has come from their embrace of social media and interactive marketing.
