Case Study: Burberry & Digital Marketing
Our investment in flagship markets and digital technology has enabled our global teams to continue to drive customer engagement, enhance retail disciplines and improve operational effectiveness, further strengthening brand momentum.
Burberry’s social marketing strategy is undeniably successful with the allocation of 60% of its marketing budget on strictly digital channels proving to be a successful move, as proven by how Burberry continues to be one of the leading luxury brands in terms of growth, churning 21% more profits than it did in the past. They manage to capture the attention of social media demographics.
It took half a year to reach its first million ‘likes’ on Facebook and another subsequent year and a half to go past 10 million user ‘likes’, has more than 7000 Twitter followers and an excess of 10 million views on Youtube. Its digital campaign covers its main website along with Facebook, Twitter, Google+, YouTube, Instagram, Pinterest, and four Chinese social sites including popular microblogging site, Sina Weibo.
For Burberry, despite being a luxury brand, it has decided to embark on the use of social media which in itself appears to be a contradictory move as whilst luxury should create an exclusive experience based on associated images of prestige and wealth, social media makes the brand more accessible. However, the link between Burberry’s new image of cutting-edge innovation which undeniably revived the British brand and its heavy involvement in social media has become inextricable. It is unsurprising then that many attribute Burberry’s comeback as a brand that is stronger than ever to its success in digital marketing.
Their Facebook page’s main objective is to help keep the brand’s conversation going. Many of their posts are accompanied with some form of media like photos or videos to attract the audience’s attention. Samples of their perfume were also mailed to 250,000 of its 10 million ‘likers’ in return for customer details. Any comments or likes on the page were shared with users’ friends to spread the word that the perfume can be purchased in stores or through its website.
Lesson learned: Facebook can be used as a platform to integrate all forms of digital media in one place. It can also be inferred that digital marketing can be as successful or perhaps, even more successful than traditional marketing itself.
A notable strategy they employed was the personalized thank you messages for 3000 of their followers tweeted directly to them.
It is also used heavily in tandem with their Facebook, Youtube and Instagram posts to maximize their reach to their fans, with an emphasis on the convenience that comes with microblogging on Twitter.
Lesson learned: There is no better way to show appreciation to your fans than to do so personally. Make it a point to respond to comments and tweets as you would if the customers were speaking to you in person – this increases both their loyalty to your brand as well as their participation in your community. Also, capitalize on the platform’s capabilities to maximize the effectiveness of your overall digital marketing plans.
They set up an Instagram page to show its 173,000 followers behind-the-scenes pictures in order to humanize their brand, complete with scenary shots of Britain – especially of notable structures such as Big Ben – to further emphasise on how their brand’s image is quintessentially British.
Lesson learned: Use photos to build on the brand’s image. Try to show, rather than simply tell. Customers also respond well to a humanized brand as it will appear more far more personable, which explains the appeal of behind-the-scenes footage.
MICROSITE
In 2009, Burberry rode on the wave of street-style photography’s popularity and came up with Art Of The Trench. Users would submit photos of themselves wearing the iconic Burberry Trench Coat. The photos were then vetted by Burberry before being uploaded onto the microsite, which was also integrated with Facebook. The result: 170 countries were eventually represented (and if that is not testament enough to its wild success) and 5 million minutes have been spent on the website.
Lesson learned: An awareness of digital trends can provide great ideas for advertising campaigns. Integration and high usability is also essential in order for any campaign to be a success. Make sure it is clear that it is all about the consumer – there is nothing quite like engaging your consumers’ participation that can help cement your brand’s image.
Call 6364 8846 for more information. Click on the link to learn more about social media marketing.
From the desk of:
Marilyn Liew – Social Media Maven
