Sample Solution

Although using influencers, celebrities and social media to advertise a brand is very popular and highly used in the modern day, Burberry have received some criticism for who they have used and how they have chosen to do certain campaigns. In 2016 Burberry chose Brooklyn Beckham to photograph a campaign for one of their fragrances as he had shown an interest in taking photography seriously as a career in the future. This had a mixed review of opinions, which mainly started with people saying that he had been chosen to do this because of who his parents were and if he was just a regular, then 16-year-old, that he wouldn’t have received the chance in a million years. Other people also commented and said that it was insulting and disrespectful to anyone else who is in the artist community. Finally, people started to realise that it may have been his almost 6 million Instagram following that was the reason why Burberry decided to go with him as they knew the campaign would get a lot more attention if it was published all over his social media platforms. This highlights that brands have realised how important social media is for marketing and for the fashion industry in general in modern day and therefore must utilise all contacts they may have with huge followings. In an article from the BBC by Kate Hope (2016), it is made clear that “it is now the number of followers on Instagram, Pinterest, Facebook and Twitter rather than your experience that can secure you a top job”. It has become clear that there is a clear link between a social media campaign for a brand that has high levels of engagement securing more sales which is allowing their brand to grow and develop.

Overall, high-end brands have also realised the importance of connecting with influential people in order to relate to their audience in a personal way. The only difference is that high-end brands like Burberry use relatable celebrities rather than bloggers and social media influencers. I will now be comparing the use of social media with a high-end brand and a high-street brand, in this chapter, to see how they are similar or what differences there are.

CHAPTER 3: Pretty Little Thing.