the key ways in which Burberry engages in process of digital communication and storytelling strategies.
Digital communication is how a brand connects with its customer and shares information. It can be communicated with consumers across a range of social media platforms which are “a group of internet based applications that allow the creation and exchange of user-generated content” (Bendoni, 2017: 11) and there is a multitude of ways to communicate this story through images, video and audio. “The strategy of storytelling involves utilising social network tools to better engage with the brands community” (Bendoni, 2017: 170) it also promotes brand loyalty which is understood as “a customer’s willingness to stay with the brand when competitors come a knocking.” (Holt, 2004: 149). This storytelling element connects the customer with the brand as they feel a sharing of history and a sense of watching them grow.
This past year has led to many new and innovative solutions to digital communication as retail stores have been closed around the world and a brand’s online presence has become more valuable than ever. Around “80% of all luxury sales are influenced in some way by what consumers saw online” (Beauloye, 2019) so whilst sales used to follow a very linear purchase journey, consumers now expect to have touch points across digital and in-store channels creating a more complex journey, but also giving brands more chances to attract and interact with their customers.
Companies must use their platforms to really connect with their customers especially during a time when many are suffering from the drawbacks of coronavirus and as Generation Z “born between 1995 and 2012 are the most dependent and emotionally connected to digital devices and content”, (Bendoni, 2017: 120) starts to call for more transparency within brands and are looking to shop with ones which align with their personal values. It’s known that millennials and Generation Z have “twice more brand interactions with brands on mobile than via any other channel” (Beauloye, 2019). In numbers “millennials are making up more than 30% of all luxury spending and generated 85% of the global luxury growth in 2017” (Beauloye, 2019).
Heritage brands have had to work especially hard to develop their traditional ideals and aesthetic in a more technology driven century. Burberry has made great strides since the appointment of Riccardo Tisci as Chief Creative Officer. They have gone through a massive rebranding and a total overhaul of their digital strategies. I want to take a closer look at the many newer tactics they are using to engage with digital storytelling and communication.
https://luxe.digital/business/digital-luxury-reports/luxury-digital-storytelling-trends/
From the very beginning when it was established in 1856 by Thomas Burberry at just 21 years old, Burberry already used many marketing techniques we see today, especially in luxury retail. In 1888 Burberrys had patented Gabardine: invented by Thomas Burberry, it was a more breathable and weatherproof material replacing the previous fabric used which had typically been more heavy and uncomfortable. The patent created a sense of exclusivity that we recognise now as a signal of a brands value. They also used influencers (“individuals who have the ability to influence the opinions or buying decisions of your target audience”) (Bendoni, 2019: 119) often adventurers like “Roald Amundsen, the first man to reach the South Pole” (Broeke and Maoui, 2018) who shared the same values as Burberry for adventure and forward-thinking.
Fast forward to 1912, the Tielocken coat is designed and so begins the line of the Burberry trench coat which is still popular today. It encapsulates the sense of Britishness found throughout the Burberry brand, which is propelled by its legacy of manufacturing within the UK and Royal warrants “a mark of recognition to people or companies who have regularly supplied goods or services to HM The Queen, HRH The Duke of Edinburgh or HRH The Prince of Wales or their Households” (The Royal Family, 2016) as weather-proofers and outfitter.
https://www.gq-magazine.co.uk/article/how-burberry-became-britains-most-important-
https://skedsocial.com/blog/social-media-strategy-rebranding-heritage-at-burberry/
Since its establishment, Burberry has undergone renaming, logo changes and more recently in 2018 with the appointment of Riccardo Tisci, a total branding and marketing overhaul. Most of their marketing overhaul was about how they approach digital marketing. Burberry already had a stronger online presence than most with the likes of British Icons such as Naomi Campbell and Andy Murray as influencers and engaging content such as fashion films and makeup tutorials. But they are also innovators and under Tisci they took to Instagram and revealed their new logo and monogram. Inspired by recent buzz by brands like Gucci and Fendi, Burberry opted for a logo-mania type feel with an interlocking T and B in orange with white hues.
While many initially criticized the branding, Burberry was very clear with their reasoning, going on to release emails between Tisci and Peter Saville as they brainstormed. This transparency really engaged consumers with the process and showed that the brand still wants to resonate with their more traditional customers as they kept their heritage at the forefront of the branding. To really market this digitally, Burberry also made these emails into a video, filming the conversation being photocopied. This helped to really get viewers to pay attention.
Along with the launch, they introduced #ThomasBurberryMonogram and #BurberryHeritage. Releasing archival images alongside them that were the root of Tisci inspiration. Used across Instagram, Twitter and Pinterest, it allowed customers to share their own heritage pieces also.
To increase buzz around Tisci’s first show named Kingdom, Burberry released a sneak peek series on IGTV, “an app that can be used alone or in tandem with Instagram…designed for the mobile-optimized viewing of long-form videos.” (Digital Marketing Institute, 2018). It showed interviews with a range of Burberry staff leading up to the show. They gained over “64,000 views and it was then edited to release on Instagram story, YouTube and Twitter generating an additional 200,000 views.” (Ogweng, 2018). Alongside these videos, Burberry also added an element of customer interaction when promoting the fashion show (that was to be live-streamed across all channels) by sending out a tweet which, if you liked, would send you a personal invite/reminder of when the show was.
Tisci scrapped the see-now-buy-now format and introduced capsule collections for his first show. This lead to a continued product release on the 17th of every month named B series, “a limited edition collection of pieces created by Tisci” (Webby, 2019). This helped when adapting to a steady rhythm of products on both its shop floor and website, great for keeping customers engagement as they review new items every month. To lead this new format Burberry released a limited-edition collection featuring the Thomas Burberry Monogram. Selected products could be bought three days before Tisci’s first show and were sent to celebrities and influencers such as Lily James and Rhianna who then shared images of the product on social media to help attract attention.
They were only available to buy for 24 hours through Instagram, this meant the items had a sense of urgency around them to be bought and fed into the idea of Burberry being exclusive again after its stint of being linked to British chav culture and seemingly widely available. Burberry added to this urgency by uploading videos of the collection with a countdown clock utilising graphic features reminding consumers how long they had left to shop the items.
These types of ephemeral stories create content which is “typically rich media, primarily images and videos that are only available for a short period of time” (Beauloye, 2019). Burberry uses their Instagram stories to highlight consumer related features such as the recent #BurberryFestive which highlights a Christmas shopping list with swipe-up links to the products but also promotes content such as their B series collections. This is much more interactive and encapsulates the fear of missing out mentality that many consumers have now by making the sale of the products only available for 24 hours through their Instagram stories as well as LINE and Kakao platforms. It highlights Burberry’s ideals of producing a limited product for a limited time with limited distribution and was a clear next step as they develop their digital strategies. It was also a very innovative idea, at the time Instagram still hadn’t launched its integrated commerce yet so Burberry had to create their own social media shopping experience.
This sort of social media micro moment is great for millennials and Generation Z consumers. They are constantly content snacking on their mobile phone and Burberry have spent time trying to attract them. ViSenze found that “60% of millennial and generation Z consumers were likely to complete retail purchases via their mobile and nearly 80% discover products they liked via mobile while on the move” (Johnston, 2019). So when Burberry added a new chat feature to their mobile app, R World, it was clear who they were marketing. As well as building a better relationship with its VIP customers, it adds a personal element to the brand and a sense of authenticity which millennials and Generation Z really value. The chat app allows Burberry sales associates to contact clients and start a conversation to invite them for a store visit or show them new products. This helps bring the store experience online and is especially useful in a time when stores are closed.
https://www.launchmetrics.com/resources/blog/digital-evolution-luxury-fashion
It is believed that Burberry’s Art of the Trench was one of the first marketing strategies to use user generated content which is “text and images originating from consumers shared in blogs, wikis, discussion forums, posts” (Bendoni, 2017: 60) etc. According to a Stackla survey “60% of the respondents said that User Generated Content (UGC) is the most authentic form of content” (Beauloye, 2019). Launched in 2009 it was a simple idea where customers themselves load images of them wearing their Burberry trench coat onto Instagram, were they can be viewed by anyone and showed potential customers how others love and wear their trench coat. This trend still goes on today, it’s a timeless campaign for a timeless piece of Burberry’s heritage.
https://www.burberryplc.com/en/news/news/corporate/2020/burberry-launches-online-game-ratberry-to-celebrate-lunar-new-ye.html
Their more recent user-based campaign The Ratberry Game was a lot more innovative and was a huge success with their Chinese market helped by being part of their Lunar New Year campaign and follows from the success of their first game B Bounce in 2019. Alongside this Burberry released stickers to be used on WeChat. These were an integral part of their growing market of young Chinese consumers and is a great opportunity for Burberry to connect with customers and gets them talking about the brand creating user generated content.
Another way Burberry is expanding their Chinese based market is through the opening of their new social media retail store in Shenzhen in partnership with WeChat. By putting social media at the centre of their shopping experience they are offering a virtual experience both at home and in-store. They communicate with their customers through a mini-program which connects and rewards them as they explore the store and website. Customers can gain access to personalised and exclusive content online by using the WeChat app in store.
By moving their in-store customers to the digital app to collect these social media points, they are transferring people over to their digital market, increasing their online communication with them. To help consumers keep their in-store experience present online, Burberry assigns each customer with a cute animal avatar which evolves as the customer engages with the store, similar to how customers form relationships with sales assistants. You can also gain product knowledge and have virtual tours of the store. This collaboration with WeChat is critical during national lockdowns and logistic issues due to COVID-19.
As COVID regulations shut stores around the world Burberrys online presence was essential and only deepened their relationship with customers. It has called for innovative and new ideas from the brand to help connect and show that they are digital leaders in the luxury fashion section. In fact, “digital was the brand’s fastest-growing channel, up 22%” (Essential retail, 2020). Consumers could engage with Burberry in a number of ways online during the pandemic, however, live steam events seemed to be a big hit. One in particular saw Yvonne Ching, a Chinese influencer give a store tour of their Shanghai flagship store “which was watched by almost 1.4m viewers” (Rigby, 2020).
As we move forward especially out of the restraints of COVID-19, digital communication will continue to grow. Brands which already had a strong online presence such as Burberry and Gucci have seen how much this has benefitted them during this time. They understand the impact digital marketing can have and how much the new generations such as millennials and Generation Z utilise it. Brands who don’t have a strong online presence have now seen the benefits it has and will now try to capitalise on it. We cannot anticipate the impact digital communication will have on marketing but we can say it will be a huge part of our future consumerism, more than it already is.
https://www.creativereview.co.uk/burberry-social-media-retail/
https://internetretailing.net/strategy-and-innovation/strategy-and-innovation/how-burberry-is-using-digital-to-strengthen-customer-relationships-during-covid-19-21429