October 24, 2013
British label Burberry hosted Brit Rhythm music events in New York, London and Singapore to promote its men's fragrance collection and emboss the brand's associations with music.
The post-punk band White Lies and indie-rock quartet Peace alternated between the #THISISBRIT locations to lift the Brit Rhythm fragrance campaign to a crescendo after a multi-tiered campaign. Three videos that aim to capture the tone of each night have been released to captivate the many fans unable to attend the events.
"Burberry has been infusing live music into it's social media efforts, mostly on Instagram and Facebook, for some time now," said Marko Muellner, vice president at ShopIgniter, Seattle.
"This new series extends the campaign with rich and beautiful videos and photos of concerts and hipsters across the globe," he said.
"The videos are rich and emotional and feel more like TV commercials than 'viral videos' but it's not clear what they are for beyond 'the mood.'"
Mr. Muellner is not affiliated with Burberry, but agreed to comment as an industry expert.
Burberry did not respond by press deadline.
Riveted to sound
White Lies played in London and Singapore Oct. 16 and Oct. 18, while Peace played in New York Oct. 18.
The three videos share roughly the same aesthetic and narrative journey. The setting unanimously begins in a bustling, shadow-drenched city with youthful figures walking into the music venue.
#THISISBRIT - White Lies Live in London
The video shifts to scan the musicians getting ready under pulsing, muffled noise that is interspersed with scenes of pre-show chatter.
As the musicians climb to the stage, noise from the crowd grows loud and amplifiers are plugged in with exaggerated sounds.
#THISISBRIT - White Lies Live in Singapore
Finally, the bands play for a few moments as the camera switches between them and the shadow-striped, dancing crowd.
#THISISBRIT - Peace Live in NYC
All three acts were followed up by DJ performances.
"The entire Brit Rhythm campaign is 'inspired by the energy of live music,'" Mr. Muellner said, "thus the videos, imagery and global concert series.
"They've gone big on this one and it's a polished campaign but there's not much beyond the surface," he said.
"The videos don't really feature the bands, the music, the cities or even youth culture. They all have the same feel and after the second you don't need a third."
The brand has been promoting the shows on its social media pages.
Burberry Twitter page
In September, the brand launched a digital sign-up on its Web site for scented, temporary tattoos that gave winning fans access to one of the three shows.
Burberry had generated hype prior to the release of its latest fragrance through a social media approach that has a minimalist feel. Burberry used a social video, visual content, social media and its user database to support its new fragrance that launched in September (see story).
Inspired by soon-to-be CEO Christopher Bailey, the fashion label seems to be laying a strong foundation for future music projects. Mr Bailey's Music Mondays promotes music that he is currently listening to.
Burberry Tweet
Burberry Tweet
The brand recently released its Sound + Rhythm blog that showcases "inspiring British music" with Vice magazine's Noisey Music.
"A closer look at Facebook user's engagement with the videos shows that likes, comments and shares are a small fraction of product-focused posts and even of the concert photo posts," Mr. Muellner said.
"The videos just aren't driving amplification or engagement like other posts do," he said.
Music of the people
Luxury brands that create playlists and maintain a profile on Internet music provider Spotify can show off their identities and further engage with consumers through shared music interests.
Brands including Bergdorf Goodman, Pierre Balmain, Hugo Boss and Rebecca Minkoff have used Spotify to create and share playlists that embody the brand’s character. Through a program like Spotify, brands are able to connect with consumers through a more emotional form such as music (see story).
Other brands have made efforts to develop bonds with music groups.
For instance, Neiman Marcus introduced fashion and music-inspired activities Sept. 26-29 into its CUSP departments across the United States to boost and maintain the in-store presence of younger consumers.
The CUSP event revolved around the musicians ZZ Ward, Natalie Bergman of Wild Belle and Noelle Scaggs of Fitz and The Tantrums, who each starred in individual promotional campaigns for CUSP products (see story).
As a focus on music extends into the brand's many operations, Burberry will likely gain musical credibility on a global scale.
"Overall, it's a wide-reaching campaign for a fragrance and the Burberry team should be commended," Mr. Muellner said.
"But beyond the richness of the imagery, the campaign has no depth, no reason to engage or share or dive deeper into the execution," he said.
Final take
Joe McCarthy, editorial assistant on Luxury Daily, New York
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