Gucci Campaign Report: Msc Fashion Marketing Assignment

CREATED BY ASIA HEALEY

MSC INTERNATIONAL FASHION MARKETING 22592096

GUCCI CAMPAIGN REPORT APRIL 2023

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CONTENTS THE BRAND

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'EXQUISITE' CAMPAIGN

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CAMPAIGN STRENGTHS

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CAMPAIGN WEAKNESSES

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MARKETING STRATEGY

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MARKETING CHANNELS

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AIDA ANAYLSIS

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GUCCI ANALYTICS

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PESTEL ANALYSIS

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CONSUMER DEMOGRAPHICS

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CONSUMER PROFILE

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COMPETITORS

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TRENDS & GUCCI

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HOW GUCCI COULD IMPLEMENT AI

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SUMMARY

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REFERENCES

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APPENDICES

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THE BRAND

Gucci is an Italian luxury brand that offers leather goods, accessories and ready-to-wear collections, the brand was established in 1921 and is owned by the Kering group. Gucci's success is largely due to its rebranding by Alexandre Michele, with the iconic logo being used more frequently and creativity becoming a key factor in strengthening the brand's image. Gucci challenges the notions of masculine and feminine, offering a classic, vintage geek chic aesthetic. The brand balances an assortment of 40% trend-oriented articles and 60% classic styles. (Lectra, 2021) Gucci is considered to be a cultural intermediary, through the use of high culture references and collaborations with visual artists, Gucci reflects both a lifestyle and a high degree of cultural knowledge. In turn, the customer views the product as a vehicle for the attainment of that level of cultural knowledge. (Cope & Huggard, 2020)

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'EXQUISITE' CAMPAIGN The ‘Exquisite’ campaign by Gucci released in August 2022, is a homage to Stanley Kubrick’s films, showcasing outfits with backdrops and models that are almost identical to the scenes and actors in Kubrick’s films. The video was rolled out on all of Gucci’s social media channels and can also be found on Gucci’s website.

The Exquisite collection is an exploration of the self and individuality as their core theme. The video was re-uploaded on Youtube again several months after its release, it is questionable whether this is due to low engagement or Michele departing as creative director in November 2022.

6+ MILLION TOTAL YOUTUBE VIEWS IN AUGUST 2022 (Socialblade)

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STRENGTHS

Gucci manages to stay consistent with its brand identity and voice in this campaign, by associating with an iconic figure that will have a place in history, the brand also establishes the idea that it is timeless and unforgettable. Alessandro Michele seamlessly demonstrates the ways in which Gucci, much like a film, remains a constant throughout life and history. (Wonderland, 2022) Gucci uses storytelling frequently in their campaigns, storytelling is an effective marketing strategy as neuroscience research has shown that stories activate sensory processing areas of the brain over facts, consumers are highly likely to remember (Gains, 2015) Storytelling also generates positive feelings and increases brand trust (Kaufman, 2003) The campaign uses visuals that reflect characters, narratives and myths in popular culture, in the hopes of becoming part of the social order and cultural context (Hancock, J.H et al. 2013) A study by Fraculj and Lekaj (2021) revealed that using pop culture has a significant positive effect in marketing communications, 61.2% of respondents felt that pop culture plays a fundamental role in forming their identity. Therefore, brands that associate with cultural references make themselves more relatable to the consumer. Even those who haven’t watched Kubrick’s films could identify some of the references used as they are widely circulated on the internet. The Exquisite campaign appeals to the emotions and senses of the viewer through sounds, bold colours and memorable images associated with the films. The campaign has nostalgic elements and entertainment such as music and film can trigger nostalgia when used in marketing (Holak and Havlena, 1992) Evidence shows that nostalgia encourages purchase behaviours (Schindler and Holbrook, 2003).

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WEAKNESSES

However, the length of the video could be too long to hold the viewer's attention due to decreasing attention span of users, to maintain the attention of viewers in communication through digital channels, content producers have begun to create short-form videos that are 30 seconds or less to promote the circulation of product information and consumer purchase (Liu et al., 2018) Having the campaign be rolled out over a period of time, separating the films rather than showcasing all of Kubrick's films in one video, would keep consumers engaged and anticipating which film is going to be referenced next. To expand the campaign to even further channels such as an event or exhibition at one of the brand's physical stores, this could be showcasing Kubrick’s films or an exhibition of the Exquisite video and collection using sounds and imagery to create a sensory brand experience that would immerse the consumers even more. A survey by Nest One (2021) indicates that 75% of all customers still desire physical brand experiences. As luxury is more about the emotional experience (von Wallpach et al., 2020), Consumers rely on the product's emotional and experiential attraction to motivate their purchasing decisions (Dhaliwal et al., 2020) Therefore, providing a physical sensory experience in the luxury market would greatly increase sales and make the brand even more desirable. To further improve the campaign, Gucci could have encouraged online users to participate with hash-tagged content wearing Exquisite products, and consumers could create their own tribute to Kubrick. Following this, Gucci could have included incentives for individuals who participate, such as having the chance to be featured on their socials. User-generated content is considered to be the modern-day word of mouth, 80% of consumers state that they are affected by UGC when making buying decisions (Hootsuite, 2022)

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MARKETING STRATEGY Gucci uses an omnichannel strategy using both online and offline methods of marketing. The brand uses multiple social media platforms to market its campaigns such as Instagram, TikTok, Twitter, Facebook etc.

Their campaigns are rolled out on all the brand's social media platforms, as this improves the chances of reaching the customer. Gucci also utilizes traditional methods such as print advertising, catwalks and events. The success of its marketing efforts comes from the brand's ability to be creative, its awareness of trends and its collaborations with celebrities, artists and influencers.

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MARKETING CHANNELS Gucci distributes its campaigns through multiple channels, digital and traditional, The brand is renowned so it receives plenty of earned media and consumers will actively search for the brand online.

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Fig 1. Similarweb Marketing Channel Distribution

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ATTENTION T h e b r a n d c a p t u r e s c u s t o m e r s ’ a tte n ti o n th r o u g h s o c i a l m ed i a m a r k e t i n g , a r t i s t c o l l a b o r a t i o n s , a n d c e l e b r i ty a s s o c i a ti o n s .

C e l e b r i t i e s s u c h a s H a r r y S t y l e s , L a d y G a g a a n d J a r e d L et o h a ve become the face of the brand.

INTEREST G u c c i c r e a t e s a n e x c i t i n g b r a n d e x p e r i e n c e , o ffe r i n g m o r e t h a n j u s t p r o d u c t s , s u c h a s t h e ' G u c c i G a r d e n ' w h i c h i s a c a f e, b o o k s t o r e a n d a e s t h e t i c s p a c e w h e r e th e y s h o w c a s e th ei r p r o d u c t s . T h i s i s a l s o v i e w a b l e o n l i n e s o c u s to m e r s c a n h a ve a c c e s s t o t h i s e x p e r i e n c e w i th o u t n e e d i n g to b e th e r e p h y s i ca l l y

DESIRE G u c c i s p r o d u c t s h a v e a l o g o th a t h a s s y m b o l i c v a l u e a n d a ct s a s a s t a t u s s y m b o l f o r p u r c h a s e r s . T h e i r p r o d u c ts n e v e r g o o n s a l e s o t h i s m a k e s t h e m h a v e h i g h e r v a l u e a n d a p p e a l to th o s e s eek i n g originality.

ACTION C u s t o m e r s s e e t h e p r o d u c t s o n s o c i a l m e d i a a n d v i e w t h ei r u s er f r i e n d l y w e b s i t e , c u s t o m e r s c a n p u r c h a s e o n l i n e a n d p i ck - u p i n s t o r e . G u c c i o f f e r s a m o n t h l y p a y m e n t s y s te m to fu r th e r encourage a purchase.

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GUCCI ANALYTICS FOLLOWERS: INSTAGRAM: 51.4M FACEBOOK: 20.8M TIKTOK: 3M TWITTER: 7.1M YOUTUBE: 954K

10% INSTAGRAM ENGAGEMENT

Fig 2. Socialblade Gucci SM Analytics

9.7M WEBSITE VIEWS IN MARCH 2023

Fig 3. Similarweb Gucci Website Traffic

The figures reveal that Gucci has a strong engagement throughout most of its main SM platforms, receiving an A to A- rating. However, there is room to improve their TikTok and Youtube, which are currently at a B and Baccording to Socialblade.

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POLITICAL

SOCIAL

Taxes and regulations make Gucci more expensive depending on the country.

Gucci supports organisations that are committed to diversity and inclusion Has faced controversy in the past for using 'blackface' in its campaign

Consumers are becoming more frugal because of inflation Gucci is considered a ‘cultural intermediary’ influencing culture and being influenced by the culture itself. (Cope & Huggard, 2020)

ECONOMICAL

TECHNOLOGICAL

Covid-19 resulted in Gucci closing down 50% of its stores in China resulting in a redesign of their supply chain Gucci reached a revenue of 10.5 billion euros in 2022.

(Statista)

ENVIORNMENTAL -Gucci has ‘It's a start’ rating on goodonyou when it comes to sustainability Luxury brands have a reputation for destroying unsold products and are not as open about their sustainable efforts as mass fashion brands (Lee et al, 2018)

The brand has been keeping up with technological advancements, adding chatbots, virtual try-on options and offering digital clothing in Roblox.

Marketers are being to use more data-driven strategies

LEGAL Counterfeit and fake goods are a challenge for luxury brands Recent data rules are causing marketing methods to shift according to recent BoF research.

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CONSUMER DEMOGRAPHICS

USA 36.5%

Men 40.03

Others 42.9%

Women 59.97

Italy 4.1%

Fig 4. Similarweb Gender Distrubtion

Japan 4.7%

Korea 5.6%

UK 6.2%

Fig 5. Similarweb Geographics

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CONSUMER PROFILE

25-35 years old, female Based in USA, in an affluential urban area High income: 200-500k Digital savvy Socialite: has a significant online presence or connections to celebs Enjoys art, fashion and pop culture Often attends fashion shows or VIP events Loves shopping and expensive holidays Buys luxury products to maintain their image Classic and modern aesthetic Embraces both feminine and masculine styles

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COMPETITORS PRESTIGE PRICE

MASS MARKET

EXCLUSIVITY

AFFORDABILITY

Fig 7. BrandDirectory Valuable Luxury Brands Annual Report Ranking

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TRENDS & GUCCI

SUSTAINABILITY Consumers are putting brands under pressure when it comes to sustainability.

Luxury brands have a reputation for not being as open about their sustainable efforts than mass fashion brands (Lee et al, 2018) Gucci is one of the few luxury fashion brands that are moving towards sustainable practices, the brand has its own ‘Gucci Equilibrium’ specifically for this purpose.

POP CULTURE Gucci is known for massively utilising this trend in its marketing and also has an impact on pop culture, they are often referred to in songs and the term ‘I’m feeling Gucci’ has become prevalent, revealing that the brand has become iconic and is synonymous with feeling luxurious.

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TRENDS & GUCCI

DIVERSITY & INCLUSION Consumers are putting brands under pressure when it comes to sustainability.

Luxury brands have a reputation for not being as open about their sustainable efforts than mass fashion brands (Lee et al, 2018)

'PHYGITAL' SHOPPING Customers now want their physical shopping experience to be more enhanced and digital, Gucci offers this through a variety of tech in their stores. Mckinsey research reveals that six out of ten consumers in the USA have been ‘Phygital’ retailing through the use of numerous channels when they have decided to purchase (Briedis et al., 2019)

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HOW GUCCI COULD IMPLEMENT AI

Research by Accenture (2017) shows that AI has the potential to increase rates of profitability by an average of 38% by 2035 and could boost economic growth by 1.7% across 16 industries. Brands should use AI to help analyse important data that provide better marketing performance in a variety of ways. A Forbes study discovered that AI allows marketers to boost sales (52%), increase customer retention (51%), and succeed at new product launches (49%). As Gucci heavily relies on creativity in their campaigns and trends are constantly changing, using AI is a necessary marketing tool. Data mining could be implemented to identify trends and patterns which can then be used to improve decision-making for future campaigns (Turban et al. 2008). IBM Watson is an AI assistant that helps to shape ad campaigns around audiences’ interests by selecting relevant creative content. AI can help in optimising existing campaigns in ways that allow brands to achieve goals against key performance indicators (KPIs), such as e-commerce revenue results. (Ammerman, 2019) Gucci should focus on creating a more personalised experience for customers. With machine learning, the brand can analyse customer engagement, purchasing habits and records. This low-cost data-driven consumer engagement results in an increase in conversion rates. (Kaiser et al., 2020).

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SUMMARY The luxury brand's success is largely due to its ability to challenge the status quo, capitalise off trends and take a creative, experiential approach to its marketing. The brand understands the emotional desires of its consumer and touches on that within its communication strategy.

Michele has created a ‘Gucciverse’ in which the customer is motivated by a personal affiliation, a social connection, an aspiration, or a new experience (Silverstein and Fiske 2003). It is evident that Gucci has a solid engagement on social media and a strong brand presence. Creativity, artist collaborations and celebrity associations are the key ingredients to the success of Gucci’s marketing communications. The ‘Exquisite’ campaign stays consistent with the creative style of its previous marketing campaigns, although the drawback of the campaign is that since the re-upload on Youtube, they have only received 19k views which is a low engagement for the brand. The challenge for Gucci is staying on top of trends and the online landscape that is ever-changing, with the departure of a creative director that is largely responsible for the brand's growth, the brand needs to stay consistent in its ability to stay exciting and innovative. Therefore, utilising AI to track trends and determine which creative concept would be most effective in deciding their next campaign would be beneficial. Gucci needs to expand its reach to the Gen Z and Millennial market in China as they make up a significant amount of luxury purchases, as well as push further in its sustainability efforts.

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REFERENCES Amed, I. and Berg, A. (2022). The State of Fashion 2023: Resilience in the Face of Uncertainty. [online] The Business of Fashion. Available at: https://www.businessoffashion.com/reports/news-analysis/the-state-of-fashion2023-industry-report-bof-mckinsey/.

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New York: McGraw-Hill Beveridge, C. (2022) What is User-Generated Content? And Why is it Important? Hootsuite. Available at: https://blog.hootsuite.com/user-generated-content-ugc/ (Accessed: April 1, 2023) Briedis, H. et al. (2019) Ready to 'Where': Getting Sharp on Apparel Omnichannel Excellence, McKinsey & Company.

Available at: https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/retail/our-insights/ready-to-where-getting-sharp-on-apparelomnichannel-excellence (Accessed: April 17, 2023) Columbus, L. (2019) 10 Charts That Will Change Your Perspective of AI in Marketing, Forbes. Forbes Magazine.

Available at: https://www.forbes.com/sites/louiscolumbus/2019/07/07/10-charts-that-will-change-your-perspectiveof-ai-in-marketing/?sh=73fb9c42d037 (Accessed: April 1, 2023) Dhaliwal, A., Singh, D., & Paul, J. (2020). The Consumer Behaviour of Luxury Goods. A Review and Research Agenda.

Journal of Strategic Marketing, 1– 27. https://doi.org/10.1080/0965254X.2020.1758198 Fraculj, M. and Lekaj, L. (2021) The Usage of Pop Culture Elements in Marketing Communications, International Journal of Multidisciplinary in Business and Science, Vol. 7, No. 12. Available at: https://hrcak.srce.hr/file/397777 (Accessed: April 1, 2023) Gains, N. (2015) Brand EsSense: Using Sense, Symbol and Story to Design Brand Identity. London: KoganPage Haigh, Richard. (2022) “Luxury & Premium 50 Top Brand Values 2019 Ranking Table | Brandirectory.”

Brandirectory.com, Available at: brandirectory.com/rankings/luxury-and-premium/table. (Accessed: April 17, 2023) H a n c o c k , J . H . , J o h n s o n - W o o d s , T . a n d K a r a m i n a s , V . ( 2 0 1 3 ) F a s h i o n i n P o p u l a r C u l t u r e L i t e r a t u r e, M e d i a a n d Contemporary Studies. Bristol: Intellect.

Havlena, William and Susan Holak. 1991. "‘The Good Old Days’: Observations on Nostalgia and Its Role in Consumer Behavior.” Advances in Consumer Research 18(1):323–29 Holbrook M. B., Schindler R. M. 2003. “Nostalgic Bonding: Exploring the Role of Nostalgia in the Consumption E x p e r i e n c e .” J o u r n a l o f C o n s u m e r B e h a v i o u r 3 ( 2 ) : 1 0 7 - 2 7 .

H u g g a r d , E . a n d C o p e , J . ( 2 0 2 0 ) C o m m u n i c a t i n g F a s h i o n B r a n d s : T h e o r e t i c a l a n d P r a c t i c a l P e r s p e c t i v e s. L o n d o n : Routledge IBM Watson, IBM. Available at: https://www.ibm.com/watson (Accessed: April 1, 2023) J ü r g s , F . a n d M a r i n o v i c , S . ( 2 0 2 1 ) “W h y P h y s i c a l B r a n d E x p e r i e n c e s A r e E s s e n t i a l i n t h e D i g i t a l A g e. ” N E S T O N E , CDXE. Available at: https://www.cdxe.de/en/blog/experience-architecture (Accessed: April 1, 2023) Kaiser, C., Ahuvia, A., Rauschnabel, P.A. and Wimble, M. (2020), “Social Media Monitoring: What Can Marketers L e a r n F r o m F a c e b o o k B r a n d P h o t o s ? ”, J o u r n a l o f B u s i n e s s R e s e a r c h , V o l . 1 1 7 , p p . 7 0 7 - 7 1 7 , d o i : 10.1016/j.jbusres.2019.09.017.

K a u f m a n , B . ( 2 0 0 3 ) . S t o r i e s T h a t S e l l , S t o r i e s T h a t T e l l. J o u r n a l o f B u s i n e s s S t r a t e g y , 2 4 ( 2 ) , 1 1 - 1 5 .

McKinsey & Company. (2022) The Rise of the Inclusive Consumer. Available at: https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/retail/our-insights/the-rise-of-the-inclusive-consumer#/ (Accessed: April 16, 2023)

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Lectra (2021) Gucci's Strategy: What Does It Take to be #1 Hottest Brand? Lectra. Available at: https://www.lectra.com/en/library/guccis-strategy-what-does-it-take-to-be-1-hottest-brand (Accessed: April 4, 2023) L i u X . , S h i S . W . , T e i x e i r a T . , W e d e l M . ( 2 0 1 8 ) . V i d e o C o n t e n t M a r k e t i n g : t h e M a k i n g o f C l i p s . J . M a r k e t. 8 2 8 6 – 1 0 1 .

10.1509/jm.16.0048 Purdy, M. and Daugherty, P. (2017) Accenture, How AI Boosts Industry Profits and Innovation. Available at: https://www.accenture.com/fr-fr/_acnmedia/36dc7f76eab444cab6a7f44017cc3997.pdf (Accessed: April 2, 2023) Rauturier, S. (2021). How Ethical Is Gucci? [online] Good On You. Available at: https://goodonyou.eco/how-ethical-isgucci/.

Silverstein, Michael and Neil Fiske. 2003. “Luxury for the Masses.” Harvard Business Review 81: 48–57, 121.

Similarweb. (2023). gucci.com Overview Available at: https://www.similarweb.com/website/gucci.com/#overview [Accessed 23 Apr. 2023].

Similarweb. (2023). gucci.com Traffic and Engagement Analysis. Available at: https://www.similarweb.com/website/gucci.com/#ranking [Accessed 23 Apr. 2023].

S i m i l a r w e b . ( 2 0 2 3 ) . g u c c i . c o m T o p M a r k e t i n g C h a n n e l s. A v a i l a b l e a t : https://www.similarweb.com/website/gucci.com/#traffic-sources [Accessed 23 Apr. 2023].

Staff, W. (2022) Introducing Gucci's New Haunting Campaign: The Exquisite Gucci, Wonderland. Available at: https://www.wonderlandmagazine.com/2022/08/31/exquisite-gucci-campaign/ (Accessed: April 4, 2023) Statista (2012). Global Revenue of the Kering Group by Brand 2012-2018 | Statistic. [online] Statista. Available at: https://www.statista.com/statistics/267476/global-revenue-of-the-kering-group-by-brand/. socialblade.com. (2023). GUCCI’s TikTok Stats (Summary Profile) - Social Blade Stats. [online] Available at: https://socialblade.com/tiktok/user/gucci socialblade.com. (2023). GUCCI’s Instagram Stats (Summary Profile) - Social Blade Stats. [online] Available at: https://socialblade.com/instagram/user/gucci socialblade.com. (2023). GUCCI’s Facebook Stats (Summary Profile) - Social Blade Stats. [online] Available at: https://socialblade.com/facebook/page/gucci socialblade.com. (2023). GUCCI’s YouTube Stats (Summary Profile) - Social Blade Stats. [online] Available at: https://socialblade.com/youtube/c/gucci.

Turban, E., Sharda, R., Aronson, J. E., & King, D. (2008). Business intelligence: A Managerial Approach (pp. 58– 59).

Pearson Prentice Hall.

Von Wallpach, S. et al. (2020). Moments of Luxury– A Qualitative Account of the Experiential Essence of Luxury.

Journal of Business Research, 116, 491– 502.

Zheng, R. (2020) Bain: Chinese Consumers Will Make Up Half of Global Luxury Purchases by 2025, Jing Daily.

Available at: https://jingdaily.com/bain-company-chinese-consumers-will-make-up-half-of-global-luxury-purchasesby-2025/ (Accessed: April 4, 2023)

IMAGES Essah, J. (2019). Woman in Black Coat and Black Gucci Belt. [Online image] Unsplash. Available at: https://unsplash.com/photos/UeRbO61FMGo [Accessed 23 Apr. 2023].

Gucci.com. (2022). In the Exquisite Gucci campaign, Alessandro Michele expands upon his Kaleidoscopic Aesthetics using the ‘Cross-Genre’ Grammar of Film Director Stanley Kubrick. [Online image] Available at: https://www.gucci.com/uk/en_gb/st/stories/article/exquisite-gucci-campaign.

Gucci (2020). A$AP Rocky, Iggy Pop and Tyler, the Creator Star in Gucci’s New Men’s Tailoring Campaign. [Online image] GQ Magazine. Available at: https://www.gq-magazine.co.uk/fashion/article/gucci-campaign-tyler-creator-iggypop-asap-rocky.

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APPENDICES 1. A I D A M o d e l : A I D A s t a n d s f o r A t t e n t i o n , I n t e r e s t , D e s i r e , a n d A c t i o n . I t r e p r e s e n t s t h e c u s t o m e r ' s c o g n i t i v e customer journey.

2. P E S T E L M o d e l : P E S T E L i s a n a c r o n y m f o r P o l i t i c a l , E c o n o m i c , S o c i a l , T e c h n o l o g i c a l , L e g a l , a n d E n v i r o n m e n t . I t analyses the brand's current position and the external factors influencing it.

3. M a r k e t M a p : M c C a i n d e f i n e s M a r k e t m a p p i n g a s a m e t h o d t h a t i s u s e d t o d e g r e e t h e a g g r e s s i v e p a n o r a m a surrounding your product or company. You can map numerous marketplace aspects, which include products, competitors, and your audience. These statistics are treasured in growing enterprise techniques & concentrated on marketplace gaps. ( McCain,2022)