“Tell the most interesting moments of our 160-year history in only a few minutes, using the art of a Hollywood film trailer to hint at a full film we haven’t made...yet.”

Keeping to the idea of a Hollywood film trailer to hint at our own story:

• Scriptwriter known for “Bridge of Spies”

• Director known for “Senna” and “Amy”

• Hollywood cast

• Release date announced in advance (October)

• Teased to database and on social platforms (end of October)

• Trailer released across all owned platforms, news sites & video networks simultaneously (1st November)

• Red carpet launch events with cast in key cities (November, New York, London, Seoul)

• Excerpts from film across programmatic channels, including Amazon Fire TV (November/December)

• Further storytelling on Burberry.com (November/December)

• Interviews with director, writer and cast released (December)

Reach:

Burberry record number of film views: 22m (+128% on previous year)

Burberry record level of coverage: 2,220 pieces globally (+33% on previous year)

Achievements:

Unique visitors to Burberry.com increased by 77% vs previous year

Average time spent on gift pages increased by 160% on previous year

Lower reliance on media budget in highest spending period of the year (-7% vs previous year).

Sales:

Uplift on previous year. (Results confidential)

Drive an awareness spike amongst core and aspiring luxury customers across social and online video platforms at the beginning of the period, in order to use programmatic and social data to ensure a seamless customer journey from the brand content to product messaging, and through to purchase.

Over the last few years, Burberry has become known for finding its own more modern takes on an already established tradition: that of brands trying to capture their audience’s imaginations during the all-important festive period.

Rather more known to today’s audiences for its youthful digital approach to the fashion world, whilst also celebrating its 160th birthday year, how could an old British institution tell a modern-day relevant story about its original founder, in a way that could hold viewers attention long enough for an entire history lesson, and simultaneously bring a unique touch of runway glamour to the season’s schmaltz?

The brief to ourselves became clear: produce a genuine piece of entertainment that could not just compete with other seasonal marketing campaigns, but that could instead proudly rub shoulders with the best stories that culture had to offer.