Receive the latest articles for free. Click here to get the Luxury Daily newsletters.

Burberry takes third place: Luxury Marketer of the Year

December 9, 2010

Burberry excelled in both traditional and new media in 2010

Burberry has taken third place in the 2010 Luxury Marketer of the Year awards based on the strength of its innovative digital marketing strategy and continued excellence in traditional media.

The designer, perhaps most famous for the tartan-plaid pattern adorning its apparel and accessories, took the economic downturn as an opportunity to re-imagine its marketing strategy from the ground up. The result has been a slew of inventive and eye-catching campaigns.

“Burberry is one of the few old-world luxury brands that has made a smart transition to the 21st century with its attention to product, marketing, channels and consumers,” said Mickey Alam Khan, editor in chief of Luxury Daily, New York.

“Be it print, Web, mobile, in-store or mail, Burberry knows how to convey the romance of the brand and entice consumers to join the narrative – that’s marketing at its best,” he said.

Branding, customer acquisition and retention
Burberry garnered a significant amount of attention in November 2009 with the launch of a crowd-sourcing Web site called “The Art of the Trench,” which encouraged visitors to upload images featuring the brand’s trench coats and display submissions in a sprawling interactive viewer.

Anyone expecting that the company would rest in its laurels was mistaken, as it jumped out of the gates in 2010.

Burberry has focused considerable energy on drawing in new consumers through as many channels as possible.

Burberry’s 82,000-plus Twitter followers are impressive, but its Facebook following is actually record-breaking: The brand generated headlines in November when it crossed the 3-million-fan mark on Nov. 19, a first for any fashion brand.

Burberry’s Facebook Fan page

Burberry entertains its 3.4-million Facebook fans by populating its page with multiple posts per week featuring content ranging from product images to songs from artists signed-on to the brand’s new music initiative, Burberry Accoustic, to interactive videos using the same perspective-altering technique as the Autumn Winter 2011 catalog.

The brand also launched an interactive catalog for its Autumn/Winter 2010 collection on its Web site that lets consumers drag on certain visuals with their cursors to shift their perspective of various items.

Interactive catalog from Burberry

In February, Burberry streamed its Autumn/Winter fashion show live to select locations in 3D.

Even in the nascent mobile space, Burberry has made its mark. While the brand has not yet released a mobile application widely available to consumers, it did integrate handheld technology into its in-store experience for New York Fashion Week in September.

Burberry flagship stores were equipped with iPads that let consumers stream the fashion show via an applicaiton called “Retail Theater” (see story).

Burberry Retail Theater ad

Consumers could order items they saw in the show immediately through the application.

Perhaps most impressive, the order process was streamlined so that items ordered from the fashion show would arrive in a few weeks, as compared to the four-to-six months that such orders used to take.

Burberry’s interactive are a pitch-perfect example of how new media technology can dovetail into tradititional marketing and sales strategies.

Traditional efforts
None of this is to say that Burberry has slouched in the realm of traditional media either.

For example, the beginning of the year saw a new print media campaign starring actress and spokeswoman Emma Watson for the brand’s spring collection.

Burberry spring collection ad

Another notable campaign saw Burberry promoting its new children’s collection.

Two-page spread for Burberry Children line

Burberry also made strides in the field of cause marketing through its philanthropic organization, the Burberry Foundation, which donated more than a $1 million to several different charities around the world.

The British company also expanded its commercial operations, adding dozens of new stores and renovating even more, while claiming to improve the in-store experience through efforts such as its Burberry Experience sales and service program.

Return on innovation
All the eye-catching efforts would be for naught if they did not move the needle. However, Burberry has prospered.

The brand claims its Web site saw an increase of nearly 60-percent between Jan. 1 and mid-November, according to L2 Think Tank.

Likewise, the company boasts a 50 percent jump in digital sales over that period.

Overall, Burberry company reported 18 percent year-over-year growth through the first six months of 2010, drawing in more than $1 billion in revenue.

Through its devotion to leading-edge digital efforts to its continued focus on maintaining and improving consumer touchpoints across all channels, Burberry has earned its place amongst the best luxury marketers of the year.

Final Take
Peter Finocchiaro, editorial assistant at Luxury Daily, New York