As brands continue to embrace gaming, we shine the light on Burberry, as they show that gaming can be much more than brand sponsorships or in-game videos. The luxury brand shows how gaming can be part of in store experiences, campaign launches and encourage product interaction.
Gamifying shopping
Earlier last month, Burberry launched a luxury social retail store which blends the physical and digital worlds into an immersive experience. The store, which is located in Shenzhen China, was developed in partnership with Tencent, which owns WeChat and video game Fortnite takes in store gamification to the next level. As customers enter, they can start interacting with Burberry’s WeChat app and they get given an animal avatar. The more they interact with the store, they more the avatar grows and gives them rewards. The store is made up of a series of spaces, each is different and can be interacted with. Some other interactions include: items of clothing are marked with QR codes that unlock additional content, changing rooms can be booked with the app, and exclusive menu items from the in-store café.
Burberry’s senior vice president of digital commerce Mark Morris explains the decision for the new store - "We did quite a lot of customer journey analysis and found out they (customer base) are very social in the first part of the journey, they want to interact with you online, they want to discover you online, but still, they want the in-store experience, with the luxury and service, before going social online again,"
Source: Burberry
B Surf and the launch of TB Summer Monogram
To celebrate the launch of Burberry’s latest campaign and allow customers to discover and interact with the pieces, Burberry launched a game on their website called B Surf. This is the brand’s third video game released. The game, also allows you to play with friends in multi-player mode.
For the first two weeks of the launch, exclusive Burberry pieces were raffled to those playing including limited edition items like a surf board.
Similar to the digital store, the more they play the more digital rewards they can unlock, like an AR in-game character and an exclusive face filter.
Burberry are not the only luxury brand exploring gaming, Louis Vuitton has previously worked with League of Legends. Making digital items for players to buy in game with real money and then launching a League of Legends inspired collection.
Source: Burberry
Burberry joins Twitch
Twitch has been evolving from just a platform for gaming, to a platform that streams live entertainment. And Burberry has long been a brand of firsts – in 2010 they were the first fashion house to livestream their runway show globally. Last week, it was announced Burberry would be partnering Twitch to stream their Spring/Summer 2021 fashion show as no guests would be attending in person. And although brands have previously used social media to stream their shows, it is the first time Twitch would be used.
The Twitch platform will have the ability to show footage from various angles all on the one window, providing guests the ability to view the show from different perspectives.
Viewers will also be able to use the platform’s chat functionality during the show.
Source: Burberry Instagram
Sylvia Jahn
