I chose to use luxury brand Burberry as the focus of this assignment, I was required to examine the brands marketing communications focusing on USP, competitors, methods of marketing, diffusion ranges etc. I then had to identify a gap in the market to warrant a new diffusion range providing an outline of the target audience and product range and developing a PR campaign and materials for a named PR activity or event.

1. BURBERRY

2. Marketing communications are the mar-
keting activities associated with pro-
motion. Whenever marketing promo-
tion is used, it is always done for the
purpose of communicating with another
business or customer for a particular reason.
If promotional activity fails to connect with
a targeted business or consumer, effort, time
and, more importantly, money will have been
wasted. It is therefore important for fash-
ion marketers to understand the key stag-
es of effective marketing communications.
A brand is a name, sign, symbol, sounds,
colour or design (or combination of these)
that is distinctively identifiable, that rep-
resents a company or product and that
has meaning to a customer. Consum-
ers wear some brands as a badge in or-
der to make a statement about themselves
to others. (Jackson and Shaw, 2009: 326)
Burberry is a traditionally British luxury brand estab-
lished in 1856. The brand has modernized and adapt-
ed massively over the years to appeal and adapt to
changes in its target consumer and changes in the mar-
ket/industry as a whole. Initially outerwear was the
prime sector of Burberrys product range, with the
brands staple trench coat still hugely popular today;
in fact the trench coat plays a large part in the brands
USP of high quality, quintessentially British tailoring.
DEFINED
BURBERRY
The
Brand
1.

3. urberrys target consumer was
initially of an older age range,
typically attracted by the tradi
tional high quality reputation at-
tached to the brand. Today the brands tar-
getmarketismuchwider,whilstpricesare
still reflective of Burberrys luxury status,
the brands product range is much wider
including an accessories range made up of
shoes, scarves, purses and phone accesso-
ries etc. to a range of fragrances and cos-
metics, accompanied by Burberrys core
clothing collection, with emphasis still
on the trench coat; all of this combined
solidifying the brands status as ‘luxury
lifestyle’. “The brand has also attracted a
younger audience through the launch of
more contemporary sub-labels such as
Burberry Brit and a digital push that has
made it the most successful luxury brand
on social media.” (Goldfingle, G. 2012)
BURBERRY
The brand recently revolutionised the
shopping experience for its consum-
er, “Burberry has unveiled one of the
most technologically advanced stores in
the UK. Burberry Regent Street in Lon-
don blurs the physical and digital world
to create ‘Burberry World Live’, which
claims to offer customers the physical
expression of the brand’s most innova-
tive digital launches in recent times…
The store’s features include a 22ft-high
screen, 500 hidden speakers and a hy-
draulic stage. It also showcases RFID
microchips – radio-frequency identifica-
tion – in some of its clothes. This means
that when a customer wears the micro-
chipped clothing, they can look into a
mirror that transforms into a screen,
which shows how the garment would look
on a catwalk. There will also be a digitally
enabled gallery and events space. (Batten, N.
2012) This suggests that Burberry is aiming
to appeal to the technology focused, which
is stereotypically the younger generation.
Burberry also has a strong presence on social
media an increasingly strong channel of com-
munication within the fashion industry today.
In fact Burberry again finished the year as
the most followed luxury brand on Facebook
with over 17 million fans. Its Twitter following
grew to nearly three million and Instagram to
almost 1.4 million. (Burberryplc.com, 2014)
The brand produces seasonal marketing cam-
paigns promoting its traditionally British ap-
peal worldwide, “We are selling Britishness
around the world,” said Ahrendts (former
CEO) recently. “All the music we use is British,
all the models are British, the design team is
80% from British design schools like St Mar-
tins.” (Wood,Z.2014)Campaignsoftenfeatur-
ing ‘the models of the moment’ including Kate
Moss, Cara Delevigne, Suki Waterhouse and
most recently 12 year old Romeo Beckham,
who is actually the face of the brands Christ-
mas campaign. Inclusion of such big names
in the industry attracts a lot of media atten-
tion and a social buzz surrounding the brand.
“Most successful
luxury brand on
social media.”
B
2.

4. BURBERRY
3.

5. Burberry has a diversified product offering across apparel, accessories and
Beauty and by gender. For 2013/14, accessories represented 36% of retail/
wholesale revenue, womens 30%, mens 23%, childrens 4% and Beauty 7%.
This shows the retail/wholesale revenue by product division (Burberryplc.com, 2014)
product mix
4.

6. The word Prorsum is actually Latin for ‘forward’ suggesting this is the most fashion
forward of Burberrys collections; in fact Prorsum could be seen as the baseline
for all other Burberry collections. This is the couture line and therefore the most expen-
sive, its pieces are more suitable for the runway rather than the street. The collections
premium pricing is reflective of the finest quality fabrics and exclusive distri-
bution. In terms of marketing, it is this collection that stands out in terms of large mar-
keting campaigns featuring top supermodels with no expense spared; not forgetting
the highly anticipated presence of Burberry Prorsum at the likes of London Fashion Week.
This collection targets the upper class segment predominantly due to its pricing strategy.
BURBERRY
Brit is the most accessible of Burberrys collections, pricing is lower yet
still reflective of the brands luxury status. Brits style is much more casual and suitable
for everyday wear with wide distribution making this line popular with Burberrys
younger target consumer. The marketing of Burberry Brit has a slightly more urban,
youthful feel, likely to appeal to its younger target market. Previous campaigns have
featured the likes of actors Jamie Campbell Bower and Douglas Booth, so not your typical
supermodels but figures that may be more instantly recognisable to a wider target audi-
ence rather than just the fashion focused. Burberry Brit is targeted at the younger middle
class consumer based on its more accessible pricing and the essence of it product lines.
Burberry London could be seen as a bridge line between Prorsum and Brit,both
pricingandqualityareaverageincomparisontotheothertwocollections.Londonisthemore
conservativeofthecollections,itspiecesarecleancutandsophisticatedandislikelytobe
worn as work/business wear. The marketing of this collection is of a much smaller scale than
Prorsum,likethelineitselfmarketingcampaignsaremuchmoreminimalisticyetstillevoke
the premium luxury status of the brand and all of its collections. Its marketing campaigns
are very much reflective of the sophisticated style of the product lines and their
intended use. This collection is likely to appeal to both middle and upper class consumers.
Prorsum
london
brit
5.

7. High fashion. Italian style. Traditional craftsmanship. Gucci em-
bodies all these characteristics, producing exquisitely crafted luxury
goods with a thoroughly modern sensibility. (Gucci.com, 2014) This
puts Gucci in competition with
Burberry whose brand depicts
a similar message of tradition-
ally British high fashion. Gucci
also provides similar product
ranges to Burberry, from wom-
ens, mens and childrens wear to
beauty and a range of accessories
including bags, scarves, jewellery
and shoes. Not forgetting the fact
that Gucci has its signature GG
print, a print instantly recogniz-
able to the brand, similar to the
Burberry check. Gucci provides
multiple collections includ-
ing the bamboo, soho and flora
collections however these are
only related to their accessories
ranges. With accessories being
their core collection in terms of
targeting the largest consum-
er segment. Gucci similar to
Burberry also produces large
seasonal marketing campaigns
from their Gucci Cruise ads to
beauty and fragrance and fall/
winter, spring/summer etc. As a
brand Gucci is known for ‘giv-
ing back’, it is associated with the
likes of chime for change, Unicef
and the green carpet challenge
in which Gucci introduced a new line of signature handbags; the
world’s first bags certified as zero deforestation from Amazon leath-
er, the Florentine House furthers its commitment towards eco-
logical consciousness. This conveys Gucci’s mission to interpret
the modern desire for sustainable products in a responsible way.
gucci
6.

8. As a brand Armani has multiple diffusion
ranges, these stem from Giorgio Armani
to Emporio Armani, Armani Colezioni,
Giorgio Armani Privé, EA7 and Arma-
ni Exchange. Not only this but the brand
also acquires its own hotels, restaurants,
florists and chocolatiers as well as beauty
and home décor ranges. This shows that
Armani takes the idea of being a luxury
lifestyle brand to the extreme as they cover
almost every aspect of consumer lifestyle.
Giorgio Armani is the flagship label of the
company and the base for its other collec-
tions, thus reflective of Burberrys Pror-
sum; whilst Emporio Armani is most sim-
ilar to Burberry London and Armani Jeans
similar to Burberry Brit. This shows direct
competition in terms of pricing and prod-
uct range between the two luxury brands.
In terms of marketing the definition be-
tween the marketing strategies of each
diffusion range at Armani is fairly mini-
mal, it seems to be a case of allowing the
styling to convey the desired message.
Marketing campaigns are very high fash-
ion, editorial, and depict a minimalist feel.
Armani is another luxury brand with high-
ly anticipated Fashion Week Shows, with
GiorgioArmanihimselfunofficiallynamed
the headmaster of Milan Fashion week.
armani
7.

9. BURBERRY
BURBERRY
1856
rue premium sports wear is
something not widely viable
today, this creates the oppor-
tunity to diffuse both fashion and sport
to create a high quality diffusion range
that takes Burberry back to its roots. The
brand was founded in 1856 (the origin of
the name of this diffusion range) and at
this time outerwear was the prime sec-
tor of Burberrys product range. Thomas
Its product range will be made up of products
specific to both skiing and horse riding, these
both stereotyp-
ically hobbies
for the middle
to upper class
c o n s u m e r ;
the key target
customer for
Burberry as a
luxury brand.
The diffusion
range provides
Burberry with
opportunities
in terms of
both market
and product
development in
the sense that
this range is
likely to appeal
a large segment
of the brands
current target
market with-
out detract-
ing custom
from the likes
of Prorsum,
London and
Brit as the products have completely dif-
ferent purposes; whilst Burberry 1856 is
also likely to appeal to a new target mar-
ket of the active, health focused individuals.
Much of the product range will take influ-
ence from Burberrys core products in terms
of style and fit to ensure the USP of high
quality, quintessentially British tailoring is
pursued, whilst adapting these designs so
that they are fit for purpose. Products will
Burberry provided outerwear for those par-
taking in the likes of Antarctic expeditions
in which clothing and tents were supplied by
the brand, to traditional ski suits, clothing for
aviation voyages as well as the uniforms for
the British women’s Olympic team in 1964.
Burberry 1856 will provide its consumer with
sportswear depicting the brands core USP of
high quality, quintessentially British tailoring.
T
vary from outerwear, to general clothing,
footwear and accessories specific to both
sports; with monogrammed
pieces available in order to fur-
ther the brands USP. This range
will put Burberry in a new com-
petitive position with both Arm-
ani and Gucci providing sports
related diffusion brands. (Arm-
ani with EA7 and Gucci with
its own equestrian range) there
is also the likes of Hermes and
Bogner providing competition
in this sector. Burberry however
has the competitive advantage
in the sense that this is where
the brand originated implying
this ought to be what the brand
should be able to do best.
8.

10. n traditional Burberry fashion the
brand will initially release a press re-
lease featured on the brands website
burberryplc.com, in order to inform
and educate the media about Burber-
rys new diffusion range Burberry 1856.
This will provide a brief background to
the range and discuss the exciting events
to come regarding the official launch.
This will create an initial buzz and get
the media talking about Burberry 1856.
I
Burberry 1856 will initially be
released in the flagship Regent
Street store which will host a
launch event, with attendees
including celebrities already
linked to the brand includ-
ing models such as Kate Moss,
Cara Delevigne etc. as well as
well-known professionals as-
sociated with the equestrian
and skiing worlds in order to
depict the idea that Burberry 1856 products are of top
quality in terms of both fashion and function. An area
of the flagship store will be allocated specifically for 1856
products and the 22ft-high screen
will be used to showcase behind
the scenes footage of the shooting
of the advertising campaigns, with
the highlight of the night being the
premier showing of a pre-record-
ed fashion show. This footage will
then go on to be premiered world-
wide via the Burberry website,
promoted by Burberrys massively
successful social media outlets.
storelaunch
9.

11. 1856 products will be exclusive to the Regent Street
store for the first week of trad-
ing, after this products will then
be available to purchase world-
wide via burberry.com; this cre-
ates a sense of anticipation for
the consumers to which Regent
Street is not viable. Burberry re-
cently launched personally mono-
grammed products to their current
ranges from scarves and ponchos
to perfume bottles; this design
aspect fits particularly well with
skiing and equestrian clothing
and will be available for free on
orders within the first week of on-
line trading as a promotional offer.
This not only promoting the dif-
fusion range but its USP of quintessentially British
tailoring, as the tailor made aspect is highlighted.
The regent street store event will be covered by magazines such as Vogue and
Elle resulting in coverage of the range in the form of articles regarding the event
and the inclusion of images from the advertising campaign, thus broadening the
reach of the brand further to the consumer who is not so technology focused.
Burberry
1856
Website launch
10.

12. text References
1. Batten, N. (2012) Marketing Magazine ‘Burberry Regent Street pilots interactive technology’ http://www.
marketingmagazine.co.uk/article/1149851/burberry-regent-street-pilots-interactive-technology accessed
(21/10/14)
2. Burberryplc.com, (2014). Group Overview. [online] Available at: http://www.burberryplc.com/about_burb-
erry/group-overview [Accessed 5 Nov. 2014].
3. Burberryplc.com, (2014). Leverage the Franchise. [online] Available at: http://www.burberryplc.com/
about_burberry/our_strategy/leverage-the-franchise?WT.ac=Our+Strategy [Accessed 5 Nov. 2014].
4. Goldfingle, G. (2012) Retail Week ‘Analysis: Burberry’s brand revitalisation continues in bid to attract new
customers’ http://www.retail-week.com/analysis-burberrys-brand-revitalisation-continues-in-bid-to-attract-
new-customers/5040531.article accessed (21/10/14)
5. Gucci.com, (2014). Gucci - about gucci. [online] Available at: http://www.gucci.com/uk/about/show [Ac-
cessed 4 Nov. 2014].
6. Jackson, T. and Shaw, D. (2009). Mastering fashion marketing. Basingstoke [England]: Palgrave Macmillan.
7. Wood, Z. (2011). Burberry hopes Brit brand can win over shoppers worldwide. [online] the Guardian.
Available at: http://www.theguardian.com/business/2011/may/13/burberry-bribrand-launch [Accessed 22
Oct. 2014].
Image references
1. 10 Magazine, (2013). HERMÈS SKI COLLECTION AUTUMN WINTER 2013 - 10 Magazine. [online]
Available at: http://www.10magazine.com.au/women/hermes-ski-collection-autumn-winter-2013/ [Accessed
26 Nov. 2014].
2. Alpinestyle56.com, (2014). Fashion | AlpineStyle56 | Page 2. [online] Available at: http://www.alpinestyle56.
com/category/fashion/page/2/ [Accessed 14 Nov. 2014].
3. Armani.com-Online Store, (2014). Brand - Armani.com Online Store. [online] Available at: http://www.
armani.com/gb/brandpage_section [Accessed 12 Nov. 2014].
4. Burberryplc.com, (2014). About Burberry. [online] Available at: http://www.burberryplc.com/about_burb-
erry [Accessed 28 Oct. 2014].
5. Burberryplc.com, (2014). Group Overview. [online] Available at: http://www.burberryplc.com/about_burb-
erry/group-overview?WT.ac=Group+Overview [Accessed 28 Oct. 2014].
6. Fashion, B. (2014). Heritage | Burberry. [online] Uk.burberry.com. Available at: http://uk.burberry.com/
heritage/#/heritage/heritage-1800-1 [Accessed 28 Oct. 2014].
7. Fashion, B. (2014). Women’s Clothing | Burberry. [online] Uk.burberry.com. Available at: http://uk.burber-
ry.com/womens-clothing/ [Accessed 28 Oct. 2014].
8. Globalfashionreport.com, (2014). Miranda Kerr Covers Harper’s Bazaar August ‘12. [online] Available at:
http://www.globalfashionreport.com/a383484-miranda-kerr-covers-harper-s-bazaar-august-12 [Accessed 10
Nov. 2014].
9. Gucci.com, (2014). Gucci - world of gucci. [online] Available at: http://www.gucci.com/us/worldofgucci/
mosaic/this_season/ad_campaigns [Accessed 12 Nov. 2014].
10. Men Style Fashion, (2013). Equestrian Fashion - David Gandy for Massimo Dutti - Men Style Fashion.
[online] Available at: http://www.menstylefashion.com/equestrian-fashion-david-gandy-massimo-dutti/
[Accessed 10 Nov. 2014].
11. Shop-us.bogner.com, (2014). Woman Luxury Wear | Women’s Outerwear, Sportswear for Women | Bogn-
er Woman. [online] Available at: http://shop-us.bogner.com/women/specials/woman-luxury-wear.html [Ac-
cessed 23 Nov. 2014]. 11.