British luxury fashion hourse Burberry and its unique tartan pattern has become one of the world’s most iconic fashion brands.  Burberry, invented by Thomas Burberry in 1856, has branded stores and franchises around the world.

According to the Burberry Group, the brand is defined by:

-       Britishness

-       Authentic outerwear heritage

-       Historic icons: the trench coat, trademark check and Prorsum knight logo

-       Democratic luxury positioning

-       Innovation and intuition

And the business is driven by:

-       Design, marketing and retail-led strategies

-       Digital focus and integration

-       Channel diversity: retail, digital commerce, wholesale and licensing

-       Multi-category competency: non-apparel, womenswear, menswear and childrenswear

-       Global reach and balance: across core regions and emerging markets

Since the 1970s, Burberry re-branded itself through several advertising campaigns that included famous top models and actresses such as Kate Moss, Agyness Deyn, Jourdan Dunn, Emma Watson, and most recently Rosie Huntington-Whitely.

Burberry Body Campaign – An Integrated Lesson for all Brands

British supermodel Rosie Huntington-Whitely was unveiled as the face of Burberry’s newest fragrance, Burberry Body, in July 2011.  A fully integrated marketing campaign immediately followed whereby the brand utilized television, print, outdoor and digital cohesively to tell the Burberry Body story.

“Burberry Body is the most exciting launch that we have ever created and captures the iconic spirit of the brand today in a striking and sensual way. Rosie’s effortless style and her staggering beauty made her the natural choice as the first Burberry Body.” – Christopher Bailey, Chief Creative Officer at Burberry

Television Commercial – Short Film:

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Digital Component

Burberry create a Facebook campaign offering free samples of the fragrance to its 8 million + fans. The initiative has created an instant buzz and has resulted in 245,000 sample requests in one week. The offer was available to all countries, not just the UK, a smart move for the company. A brilliant colleague of mine and digital guru, Annie Robert, ordered the sample to assess the rapidity at which she would receive the sample and the consumer friendly ordering process. After a short one week wait, she not only received her sample, but also a luxuriously embossed thank you for being a Facebook fan card.

A YouTube masthead also ran for one day, featuring the Burberry Body short film.

Burberry Body was also introduced on Twitter and followers were redirected to Facebook in order to redeem their samples.

This is what I call a fully integrated campaign! Burberry definitely has the right Marketing mix in mind, leveraging television, print and outdoor to tell a brand story and social media to engage with consumers by offering them an irresistible fragrance sample that not only appeals to one of our 6 senses, but also is delivered with express rapidity and with a side of pampering. That my friends, is Customer Relationship Management at its best.

I’m off to shop for a fall Burberry scarf!

~ J.