Brand Report
B U R B E R RY Cara Connolly
Executive Summary
This is a report about Burberry, what products it offers to a generational market and their main target consumer. Burberry has a significant social media footprint that connects the brand with the consumer; using marketing strategies and platforms to advertise. This report was written using first hand primary research which can be referred to in the report and allowed subsequent secondary research to be collated.
Secondary research was taken from reliable sources including websites, articles and blogs. The information from the report includes the history of the brand, how we recognise the brand, the brand’s market consumers, the brand’s position in the market and how the brand communicates with consumers.
Chosen Brand
A creative management report that surrounds the fashion company of Burberry; an iconic British luxury brand. The company was established in 1856 by Thomas Burberry and opened its first retail store in Winchester Square, Basingstoke that same year. Located 48 miles southwest of Burberry headquarters’ destination, London and has been home to Burberry since 1891. “Authentic British Heritage rooted in outerwear with a broad appeal across genders and generations” (Burberry, Factsheet, 2016)
In 1879, Thomas Burberry invented Garbadine, a waterproof, lightweight and breathable type of fabric which changed the dynamics of outerwear fabric and remains iconic today. Burberry served with the military but in a different way to most. Tielocken, familiarly known to us as the trench coat, was made from Garbadine acting as protection to the soldiers in harsh weather conditions in WW1. A video interpretation was created and released November 1st 2016 about Burberry’s brand shaping achievements.
Burberry’s trench coat is present in retail stores (refer to sketchbook) and online offering durability, comfort and luxury to men/women/ children/infants and supplying distinctive fashion, accessories and beauty products. “Burberry is committed to the creation of authentic and distinctive products and continuous innovation in design and manufacturing.” (Group overview, Burberry, 2016)
Annual reports show Burberry operates in Asia Pacific; 63 Burberry stores, 8 franchises, 14 outlets and 143 concessions. (Europe, Middle East, India, Africa) have 75 stores, 47 franchises, 24 outlets and 9 concessions. America has 77 stores, 20 outlets, 7 franchise stores and 9 concessions. Burberry’s place in the current Market are based upon £2, 515m Revenue, 69.9p adjusted diluted EPS, 37.0p Dividend per share, £421m Adjusted profit before tax, £660m Net Cash and £138m Capital Expenditure, calculated annually.
Brand Identity Brand Identity is the way the consumer views the brand and what the brand is communicating.
Burberry has a very symbolic brand identity. It is vital for a luxury brand to be individual and distinctive to stand out in the market. The name of the company represents Former Apprentice Draper Thomas Burberry guarding his company with his nationalistic surname and the statement of when the company was established following. 1901 saw the birth of the Equestrian Knight; an iconic logo which serves as Burberry’s emblem, “carrying a shield representing protection, equestrian is a symbol of pride purity and grandeur. Burberry wanted to protect the interests of his business and products”. The logo was designed when Burberry assembled attire for the military during WW1. “Sporting the Latin word “prorsum” meaning “forwards”. Thomas registered the logo in 1904”. The logo is black, a bold and strong colour of choice but represented “elegance, strength and durability of company products”. o (RESERVED RIGHTS, Famous logos, 2013)
The distinguished ‘check’ pattern trademarked in 1920 was registered by Thomas Burberry and first used as lining in Trench coats. This pattern is present today. The font is “refined yet simple, the logo utilizes the bold linotype Didot typeface”. The tone of the font co-operates with the logo with the powerful message and brand it constitutes. o (RESERVED RIGHTS, Famous logos, 2013)
Brand Consumers
Runway/ New Arrivals are targeted more towards the younger consumer group (aged 20-40) as this market are more fashion conscious in society but are also keen to experiment in confidence as its new and approved by fashion professionals and enthusiasts. Young Burberry models in adverts have a lasting impact on this age group.
“The brand maintains a broad appeal across dual gender audiences of ages of 18-55+. The Consumer has an income 55,000+” o (Anon, Essays, Market analysis for Burberry, 2015)
A Burberry strategy is to satisfy both genders and all generations ensuring brand fulfilment within a global target market. “The customer is central to the company’s activities. Burberry aims to be sector-leading in understanding engaging and serving its customers, both online and offline.” o (Burberry, Group Overview, 2016b)
‘Heritage’ clothing, appeal towards the mature consumer group who are attracted by conventional and clean British attire. Referring to my brand sketchbook, Burberry offers clothing, bags, scarves, accessories, shoes, gifts and beauty products for men, women, children, infants and newborns (both in store and online) “Burberry targets traditional individuals as well as the new fashion conscious consumer” o (Anon, Essays, Market analysis for Burberry, 2015)
Brand Positioning
Brand positioning is how the brand is strategically positioned in the market. Burberry has proved to be sustainable as strengths have outweighed the few weaknesses its dealt with in the market. Its position is ‘functional luxury’
USP: Appealing to both genders and age groups, “it is a brand with distinctive British sensibility, strong International recognition differentiating brand values”
“showcasing quality, style and elegance where beautiful craftsmanship is contrasted with form and function”
An apparent strength is the heritage of the brand. Founded in 1856, it automatically has an advantage on 21st century establishments; such as Coach Inc. Other strengths included
and proves to be very appealing for a variety of the population.
“a huge network of retail, wholesale and licensing channels globally. Good advertising and brand presence in Europe. It also has associations with celebrities”.
o (UK Essays, Market analysis for Burberry, 2015)
o (Zigu, Burberry, SWOT Analysis, 2008)
o (UK Essays, Market analysis for Burberry, 2015)
However, Burberry is located on the high street. (refer to sketchbook) This can be positive, as it is convenient to consumers, but it also blends in with common retailers losing its luxury element. Consumers are also conscious about disposable income spending. With an ambitious global market comes competitors. Gucci, Armani, Coach Inc, and Polo are all contestants.
“Market positioning for Polo and Armani is ‘Apparel’
In top 10 luxury goods, Polo were positioned 2nd and Armani placed 8th, Gucci was also included but Coach was not. However, Coach’s “primary positioning in the market is handbags and had 6% shares in accessories. With 12% shares in accessories Gucci’s luxury marketing position is also accessories. o (laurenmjacobson, Burberry case study, 2008)
Burberry differentiates as it holds many lines within the brand including affordable high end goods to the general population Where other brands are recognised by their emblem, we recognise Burberry by the trademark check print. Burberry, despite few weaknesses, remains sustainable in a driven market. Burberry also differentiates as it has a prolific digital impact.
Communication Mix ‘Burberry Acoustic’- Celebrating upcoming and established British artists with live performances and special collaborations”
Advertising Burberry advertises through models, actors, celebrities and icons featured in launched advert campaigns and short films.
o (Burberry Store, Burberry acoustic, 2016)
Burberry Acoustic was a unique approach offside of previous Burberry campaigns. Promoting potential verified artists and their music. Available on YouTube and Apple Music at Burberry.com. This was to enable young creative individuals in music to engage with Burberry and the possibility to have their music featured at Burberry Runway collections.
Starring Domhall Gleeson and Sienna Miller, a short Christmas film was launched by Burberry titled “The Tale of Thomas Burberry.” This was an emotional production through the highlights that shaped Burberry today. Receiving 3,314,971 views on YouTube. Steve McQueen, ‘(World’s Most Influential People- 2014’) Directed fashion advertisement for “Mr. Burberry” fragrance. CEO Christopher Bailey described it as ‘traditional and elegant, without being pristine.” Intext citations:
“Music remained central to the expression of the brand. In September, Burberry became the first global luxury brand to launch a dedicated channel on Apple Music” (Burberry plc, Inspire with the brand, 2015)
o (Coffee.P, Adweek, 2016)
2015, celebrating British film Billy Elliot’s 15th Birthday. Inspired Burberry’s Christmas ad campaign featuing Romeo Beckham, James Corden, Naomi Campbell, Michelle Dockery, Elton John, and Julie Walters -an all British cast. The age range of the cast reflects Burberry’s generational market. ‘Art of the Trench’ is an Interactive scheme set up to encourage customers to upload photos of their statement Burberry Trench coats to burberry.com. Engaging customers allowing them to explore photos on Burberry’s Tumblr, taken in the street or taken by fashion photographers. A strategy that is very intimate between the brand and customer. o “Since
its launch in 2010, the Art of Trench platform has been viewed over 28 million times globally” (Burberry plc, Inspire with the brand, 2015)
Partnered with NOVA, creating an “interactive marketing campaign featuring 3D visualisation technology” On the “largest digital screen in Piccadilly Circus, Burberry provided audiences to personalise and engage with generated versions of its Heritage Scarf”
Celebrity endorsement is a strategic way for a luxury brand to sell. Along with media, it captures the audience’s attention of the brand. In 2015, Burberry released a fragrance campaign entitled ‘My Burberry’, promoted by Cara Delevigne and 90’s supermodel Kate Moss who are both sporting Burberry trench coats. The well-known models advertise ‘My Burberry Eau De Toilette’ from contrasting decades. This campaign represented the heritage of the brand but recognised the development taking place today. Emma Watson, 2009- Modelling a trench coat and holding a check modelled an ad campaign for Burberry. The British teen was an interesting choice for the brand but Watson modelling was as exemplary as the actress that the globe knows her as.
Public Relations The Burberry Foundation is a charitable foundation set up in 2008. Motivating Burberry employee’s knowledge within the brand to branch out helping young people develop and go forward in their creativity. It funds organisations in cities across the world. “Employees take part in community projects during working hours, strengthening teams, enhancing workplace teams and contributing to motivation and fulfilment. Career inspiration events, employability workshops are activities that take place. Donations ranged from oneoff gifts of non-trademarked fabric to assist young people on enrolled creative courses. Supporting over 1,000 people from 2,300 employees in 74 cities.” o (Burberry, Build our culture, strategy, 2016)
(Burberry plc, Inspire with the brand, 2015b)
Personal Selling Burberry offers a ‘monogramming’ service enabling customers to personalise clothing and gifts such as perfumes and heritage scarfs. This can be done in selected stores or online, offering the customer a one-of-a-kind product. With Burberry working globally, connections between employees is important. In response, Burberry “uses technology to connect different areas of the business and engage employees, Broadcasts featuring Christopher Bailey (CEO) and the Senior Leadership team take place each month, with 50,000 views, the interactive question and answer broadcasts increased connectivity and engagement around the brand. Communications with retail teams, a weekly global retail update to streamline and consolidate key information.” (Burberry plc, Build Our Culture, 2016b)
Sales Promotion In 2015/2016 Burberry introduced new ways of promoting sales. A big hit was the introduction of the ‘Scarf Bar’ in stores, allowing customers to choose from a variety of coloured cashmere scarves. Referring to sketchbook, Burberry stores are aesthetically pleasing to the eye, adopting a patriotic theme but also head starting on Christmas advertising; gifts specifically. ‘Scarf Bar’ was present throughout stores and in store videography were displayed with the launch of Burberry’s Christmas Film and ‘New Arrivals’.
Social Media “Burberry understands that interactive and engaging social media is vital to enable them to appear relevant to their target audience.” (WordPress, Posted, How Burberry reclaimed its brand, 2013)
Burberry has a large social platform including 7.2m Twitter Followers, 17,147,808 Facebook fans, 2799, 880 YouTube subscribers and 7.9 Instagram followers. Snapchat enabled Burberry to shoot and publish an advertising campaign in October. Behind the scenes footage was shared to the population. Mario Testino had the honour to shoot the live campaign. #THISISBRIT- Live streamed photoshoot on Snapchat and Instagram for Burberry’s ‘This is Brit’ fragrance campaign shot by Brooklyn Beckham at just 17 years old, His first photoshoot as a lover of photography taken place in the streets of London. Direct Marketing Burberry and Google launched ‘Burberry Booth’. A Christmas campaign allowing the public to star in a film featuring cast members. It included fun high-tech video interactions, permitting the customer to add their own touch to the ‘Burberry Festive Film’ which could be accessed through email and other popular media platforms.
“At the time of the announcement and Snapchat teaser, Mr. Beckham shared his excitement with a post on his personal Instagram, which boasts nearly 7.7 million followers, As of press time, each of the shared clips, has garnered nearly 95,000 views each.” (reports.S, Luxury Daily, 2016)
The footage from the shoot was also shared on Twitter, Facebook and Google+. Burberry and Apple TV also partnered up and launched a live fashion show, that took place in January. Again, it was the first brand ever to do this. Burberry gained millions of views on snapchat when live footage was released to the public prior the womenswear show in September. It captured backstage preparation before making its way down the runway. Burberry continues to develop, improve and invest online through social media and advertising.
Bibliography Chosen Brand •BURBERRY PLC (2016) Burberry Factsheet. Available at: http://www.burberryplc.com/documents/factsheet/factsheet_july_2016.pdf (Accessed: 4 November 2016). •BURBERRY PLC (2016) Group overview - Burberry group plc. Available at: http://www.burberryplc.com/about_burberry/group_overview (Accessed: 4 November 2016). Brand identity •RESERVED, A. rights (2013) Famous logos. Available at: http://famouslogos.net/burberry-logo/ (Accessed: 4 November 2016). Brand consumer •BURBERRY PLC (2016) Group overview - Burberry group plc. Available at: http://www.burberryplc.com/about_burberry/group_overview (Accessed: 4 November 2016). •UK ESSAYS (2015) Market analysis for Burberry. Available at: https://www.ukessays.com/essays/marketing/market-analysis-for-burberry-marketingessay.php#ftn2 (Accessed: 6 November 2016). Brand positioning •laurenmjacobson (2008) Burberry case study. Available at: https://laurenmjacobson.wordpress.com/case-studies/burberry-case-study/ (Accessed: 6 November 2016). •UK ESSAYS (2015) Market analysis for Burberry. Available at: https://www.ukessays.com/essays/marketing/market-analysis-for-burberry-marketingessay.php#ftn2 (Accessed: 6 November 2016). •ZIGU, MB.C. (2008) Burberry | SWOT analysis | USP & competitors | BrandGuide | MBA Skool-Study.Learn.Share. Available at: http://www.mbaskool. com/brandguide/lifestyle-and-retail/2658-burberry.html (Accessed: 6 November 2016). Communication Mix •BURBERRY PLC (2015) Inspire with the brand - Burberry group plc. Available at: http://www.burberryplc.com/about_burberry/our_strategy/inspire_ with_the_brand (Accessed: 7 November 2016). •BURBERRY PLC (2015b) Inspire with the brand - Burberry group plc. Available at: http://www.burberryplc.com/about_burberry/our_strategy/inspire_ with_the_brand (Accessed: 7 November 2016). •BURBERRY PLC (2016) Build our culture - Burberry group plc. Available at: http://www.burberryplc.com/about_burberry/our_strategy/build_our_ culture (Accessed: 7 November 2016). •BURBERRY PLC (2016b) Build our culture - Burberry group plc. Available at: http://www.burberryplc.com/about_burberry/our_strategy/build_our_ culture?WT.ac=Build+Our+Culture (Accessed: 7 November 2016). •Coffee, P. (2016) Ad of the day: 12 years a slave director just made this erotic short film for Burberry. Available at: http://www.adweek.com/news/ advertising-branding/ad-day-12-years-slave-director-just-made-erotic-short-film-burberry-170624 (Accessed: 7 November 2016). •Fashion, B.S. (2016) Burberry acoustic. Available at: https://uk.burberry.com/acoustic/ (Accessed: 7 November 2016). •Posted, W. (2013) How Burberry reclaimed its brand. Available at: https://frontrowpr.wordpress.com/2013/03/27/how-burberry-reclaimed-its-brand/ (Accessed: 7 November 2016). •reports, S. (2016) Luxury daily. Available at: https://www.luxurydaily.com/burberry-brit-ethos-captured-by-brooklyn-beckham-in-upcoming-ads/ (Accessed: 7 November 2016).
Images •Hanelli, E. and Burberry (2015) - made in Britain -. Available at: https://uk.pinterest.com/pin/335658978458643458/ (Accessed: 12 November 2016). In-text citations: o(Hanelli, Pinterest, 2015) •Pinterest and Burberry (2016) The classic cashmere scarf in check camel. Available at: https://uk.pinterest.com/pin/322429654555244142/ (Accessed: 12 November 2016). In-text citations: o( Pinterest, Burberry , 2016) •wikipedia (2016c) ‘File: Burberry logo.png’, in Wikipedia. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Burberry_logo.png (Accessed: 12 November 2016). In-text citations: o(Wikipedia, Burberry logo, 2016c) •Pinterest and Burberry (2012) Childrens fashion. Available at: https://uk.pinterest.com/pin/75294624992251014/ (Accessed: 12 November 2016). In-text citations: o( Pinterest, Burberry, 2012) •Pinterest and Burberry (no date) Men’s coats & jackets. Available at: https://uk.pinterest.com/pin/18929260904143515/ (Accessed: 12 November 2016). In-text citations: o(Pinterest, Burberry, anon) •eatlovesavor (no date) Thomas Burberry. Available at: http://eatlovesavor.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/Thomas-Burberry-1835-1926.png (Accessed: 13 November 2016). In-text citations: o(eatlovesavor, Thomas burberry, anon) •Pinterest and Burberry (2016a) Burberry. Available at: https://uk.pinterest.com/pin/390405861427635444/ (Accessed: 13 November 2016). In-text citations: (Pinterest, Burberry, 2016a) •Pinterest (1996) My Burberry: When Kate Met Cara. Available at: https://uk.pinterest.com/pin/47428602301469818/ (Accessed: 13 November 2016). •In-text citations: (Pinterest, Burberry, 1996) •Pinterest and Burberry (2016b) The Burberry Trench. Available at: https://uk.pinterest.com/pin/217861700702638896/ (Accessed: 14 November 2016). In-text citations: (Pinterest, Burberry, 2016b) •Pinterest and Burberry (2015) Emma Watson photo: Burberry autumn/Winter Campaign ’09. Available at: https://uk.pinterest.com/ pin/246853623297603976/ (Accessed: 14 November 2016). In-text citations: (Pinterest, Burberry, 2015) •Pinterest and Burberry (no date) Burberry continues to dominate the Monogram game. Available at: https://uk.pinterest.com/ pin/431993789240602464/ (Accessed: 14 November 2016a). In-text citations: ( Pinterest, Burberry, no date) •Pinterest and Burberry (2016d) The tale of Thomas Burberry. Available at: https://uk.pinterest.com/burberry/the-tale-of-thomas-burberry/ (Accessed: 14 November 2016). In-text citations: ( Pinterest, Burberry, 2016d) •Pinterest and Burberry (2012b) The classic cashmere scarf in check camel. Available at: https://uk.pinterest.com/pin/138485757270407612/ (Accessed: 15 November 2016). In-text citations: o(Pinterest, Burberry, 2012b)