American Marketer

Events / Causes

Burberry fetes Regent Street boutique through first music event in store

February 4, 2013

 

British apparel and accessories label Burberry invited consumers to the first music event held at its Regent Street boutique in London that was a part of its ongoing music initiative Burberry Acoustic.

British singer/songwriter Jake Bugg performed live Jan. 31 at the Burberry’s boutique at 121 Regent Street, London. The event likely strengthened the brand’s presence in its city of origin through providing a lifestyle experience for local consumers.

“In-store events drive traffic and sales,” said Chris Ramey, president of Affluent Insights, Miami, FL. “This particular event was hugely successful because it further cemented Burberry’s DNA.

“In-store should be an integral part of every retailer’s tool box,” he said.

Mr. Ramey is not affiliated with Burberry, but agreed to comment as an industry expert.

Burberry declined comment.

Act one

Burberry recently opened its most technologically-advanced property in September.

The London flagship store was designed to increase customer engagement and in-store sales through a digital and tactile experience that shows off the brand heritage.

Key features of the store include 100 screens, the tallest indoor retail screen in the world and 500 speakers.

Burberry announced at the time of the store opening that it would host established and emerging talent in music, film, theater and art (see story).

The first performance took place last week at the flagship store to bring awareness to the property’s retail theater space.

Performance

Mr. Bugg performed songs from his debut album that released October 2012. It has reached No. 1 on the British Album Chart.

More than 800 influencers and consumers attended the event including British models Cara Delevingne, Amber Le Bon, Zara Martin and Rob Pryor; British actors Jack Whitehall, Harry Treadaway, Bonnie Wright, Alexandra Roach and Gemma Chan; and British musicians One Night Only, Kill it Kid, Life in Film, Southern, Rory Cottam, Joe Dempsey and Rae Morris.

Performance

Burberry posted a video of the performance on its Web site and social channels Feb. 1 so that consumers around the world could watch the show from the night before.

Performance video

The Burberry Acoustic program launched in June 2010 to leverage the brand’s heritage of founding, developing and supporting emerging British talent, per Burberry. Artists are selected by chief creative officer Christopher Bailey.

Music to my ears

Burberry often includes British musicians in its efforts.

For instance, the label celebrated the opening of its Chicago flagship store with a physically- and digitally-immersive event that showcased weather and city residents.

During the event, music was provided by British musician Carl Barat from the Libertines and DJ Matt Roan. Other performers were there to mimic the sound of rain throughout the store (see story).

In addition, Burberry used hometown London as inspiration for its autumn/winter 2012 campaign starring Roo Panes and Gabriella Wilde.

Mr. Panes, a musician and Ms. Wilde, a rising actress, are part of Burberry’s traditional campaign strategy of rising British talent.

In fact, Mr. Panes wrote and recorded “Indigo Home” for release June 1 as the official campaign soundtrack (see story).

“Burberry considers itself a media company,” Mr. Ramey said. “This is consistent with their corporate strategy.”

Final Take
Tricia Carr, editorial assistant on Luxury Daily, New York