A collection of my Favourite Products 

Most of my previous blogs touched on how various fashion and cosmetic brands have utilised the power of digital media to promote their products. With the research I carried out and comparing facts I would certainly declare that Burberry have had the most successful effects from the way the have utilised the digital facilities available to them. But instead of looking at how businesses are using media to their benefit, I have decided this time I would just write about brands and stuff that I like. In no particular order:-

Marks and Spencer 

No matter what anyone has said about M&S in the last few years I have never stopped loving this shop. I like a lot of their clothes. Its where most of us go for our pants and have done since we were kids. I rate their kids school wear higher than most other suppliers and the food hall is somewhere I visit a bit too often as well. Who doesn't love M&S food? 

Not the pants I personally buy but they are still by Marks and Spencer ;)

Yankee Candles

I love a scented candle and I keep going back to Yankee. They last ages and they actually fragrance your room unlike some I have tried. You can buy them in loads of places now but I have started buying from a shop in Prestwick called The Keekin Glass. Trying to do my bit to support the small local businesses. 

Primark shoes

Primark

Who doesn't love a trip into Primark. Fast fashion at cheap prices - whats not to love? You know there is a good chance your newly purchased T-shirt will probably fall apart after 2 washes but who cares? It only cost £4 so go back in and replace it with something else. I will champion their shoes. If I need a pair for a night out I almost always try here. Due to the limited nights out I have that require a heel, then a pair from here at under £15 cannot be argued with. 

I have never seen a Primark shop look so tidy!!!

LUSH 

I do love a bath bomb and Lush my favourite place to get them. The scents and quirky names totally appeal to me and the staff are always really friendly in-store too. Especially when I visited with my two boys once and they told the shop assistant their favourite bomb was the Dragon's Egg because of the golden nugget you find in the middle once is has fizzed. When we got to the checkout with our purchases she had went out the back, collected a pile of golden nuggets from broken bombs and gave them to the boys in a bag F.O.C. Three happy customers. 

 

Monsoon

I love shopping in Monsoon. There is hardly ever a time I go in and don't see something I want to buy. It can be a bit on the pricey side for some of it's products but it doesn't put me off. 

I'm signing off this blog for now. I could write forever about things I like. Hope you have enjoyed reading.

Rae x 

Dior Cosmetics

Dior Products I Like 

Dior AIRFLASH

The first Dior cosmetic product I ever purchased was Airflash foundation. It was, at the time, the most expensive cosmetic product I had ever bought and I loved it. Sadly I soon found out the cans didn't last me very long and it was turning into an expensive routine. It has been completely replaced by my beloved and slightly more cost effective Estee Lauder Double Wear. 

Dior LIPGLOW

I also love Dior Lipglow and use it daily. It's a lip balm which revives the natural colour of your lips and the shade will differ from person to person. 

Dior's Digital Campaigns

We will all have been familiar with the presence of The House of Dior for many years whether it be the clothing, fragrance, make up or the handbags. Launching in 1947 the company has evolved into a high end couture brand sought after by many. 

The company become one of the first couture brands to launch a social media marketing campaign with the Fall 2013 collection being headed in this way. Prospective audiences were targeted through the customary platforms like Facebook and YouTube.

Two filmed commercials titled "The Secret Garden" and "The Secret Garden II" displayed the collections in an abstract way. The filming had been carried out at Chateau de Versailles with a soundtrack set to Depeche Mode and both were launched through YouTube and Facebook. Additional behind the scenes footage could also be accessed via Facebook and on DiorMag. 

Following on from this, Dior used it's YouTube channel and social media pages to launch its Dior Addict Fluid Stick. It was tagged with the caption 'not lipstick'.   

Dior gave followers their first taste of its Fluid Stick with a brief Instagram video that shows the product being poured into tubes. Words flash telling consumers that this is not a lipstick. The video left viewers with the message “stay tuned.”

Fluidstick Promotional Shot

This was then followed by two more videos. The last showed a hand writing the name of the product using the applicator wand of the product. All of the posts included the hashtag #thisisnotalipstick to allow consumers to easily follow the conversation.

Links to the first Instagram post were tweeted by Dior after they had been up for a week, building a bridge to the other platform but keeping the content distinct.

Teasers continued until the final reveal of the product. 

The Backstage Makeup School

When launching new beauty products, Dior now uses its Backstage Makeup Mag as a central source of information for consumers but the brand’s Backstage Makeup School features a range of products to allow consumers to find more of what suits their personal style, while learning more about what the brand offers. Dior is letting enthusiasts become backstage pros by visiting its Backstage Makeup School to explore new products through content and tutorials. 

The video content can be accessed through the Dior website or via their YouTube channel. 

Not strictly a cosmetic but I love this fragrance.

Some of the latest products launched

Burberry and it's Digital Success

Burberry Eyewear Campaign

Burberry is a brand that has been established for over 150 years renowned for its iconic Nova check pattern. It sells clothing, fragrance, eyewear and cosmetics. 

Unfortunately for Burberry, the first thought many of us have when we hear the name won't be related to 'luxury' or 'quality' as the brand would hope. The first image will be of some chav wearing a knock off baseball cap with matching scarf and some chunky gold rings. The 90's were a decade where the 'designer knock off' became notorious with availability on every market stall throughout Britain with Burberry one of the forerunners. 

Pair of Chav's

To reduce the negative association, Burberry appointed CEO Angela Ahrendts and Chief Creative Officer Christopher Bailey. This also attributed to Burberry recognising how digital was vital to the future success of the business. A decision that would change their business forever.

Chav

The first and most important thing that Burberry did was to identify their vision of where they wanted to take the brand. Back in 2006, Ahrendts and Bailey clearly stated “the vision was to be the first company who is fully digital” and that they wanted “to build a social enterprise”. Ahrendts also mentioned to the Harvard Business Review that “The number one strategy that came (from our first meeting) was all centred around the brand. We needed to purify the brand message and how we were going to do that; by focusing on outerwear, by focusing on digital, by targeting a younger consumer”.

Ahrendts was a huge admirer of the branding Apple and Starbucks applied to their brands. The flawless design drew her attention. The customer experience is the same no matter if you visit a store in the United Kingdom or the United States. Burberry wanted to reposition themselves in the market as a luxury brand and not a product produced for the masses and the key was to enter the digital world.

"Technology is an intrinsic part of most people’s lives. All we’ve done is make sure to weave technology into the fabric of the company. This is how customers live, they wake up with a device in their hand and life begins" 

(Christopher Bailey 2014)

Whilst Burberry have placed their business across mainstream social media websites such as Facebook, Instagram and YouTube it is the Unique Digital Content on their website that has caught the attention of followers. 

Art Of The Trench

One of the early digital campaigns that Burberry launched was the excellent ‘Art of the Trench’ microsite. The microsite was essentially an independent social networking website that allowed Burberry lovers to take pictures out on the street of the iconic trench coat and share them. Users can drag around their mouse around the page and see hundreds of different people wearing the coat, whilst listening to a soundtrack of up and coming artists. There’s also an option to filter the style of trench by colour, style and gender.

Burberry Acoustic

Sat within the main Burberry website, Acoustic showcases brand new music talent from across the United Kingdom. The Acoustic section of the website features bands and artists performing tracks acoustically wearing items from the latest Burberry collection. It’s a great way to promote the brand to a key target audience and encourage consumer discussion with the brand.

Burberry Bespoke

Personalisation has become an important factor throughout Burberry’s digital strategy, across both products and communications. Burberry Bespoke allows visitors to customise and purchase their own trench coat. Similar to how Nike use their ID service, Burberry allow users to change the colour, sleeves, lining, buttons, and even add a personalised monogram. Visitors can then buy it online instantly, request an appointment, live chat with customer service, or share their design across social media.

Burberry.com

Burberry.com is one of the finest fashion websites on the internet. With a fantastic experience across all devices (especially on a 27” iMac!), clear user journeys, simple CTAs and gorgeous imagery, it’s a runaway success. The site itself has a navigation that links visitors to ecommerce, lookbooks, digital content such as Art of the Trench, Burberry Acoustic, and much more.

What’s really exciting about Burberry.com is how the brand have taken a similar experience and used it within their retail stores. Their flagship retail store on Regent Street in London is inspired by the site map of Burberry.com, with the layout and architecture mirroring that of the website. Floor space in the store is split between Bespoke, ‘ready-to-wear’, Acoustic and Experiences, similar to how they’re divided on Burberry.com. 

The brand has also started embedding digital chips into products, which activate short films telling the story of its creation, including sketches and runway clips. When a consumer moves around the store, these chips react with mirrors causing them to turn into digital screens that display further digital content.

The Results

Burberry’s continuing focus on digital has helped them to become one of the most popular and admired brands in the world. With an exceptional rise in sales, almost 14% higher than the rest of the luxury fashion market, consistent outperformance of competitors, and an incredible rise in stock value, Burberry is surpassing all targets. With their expansion into China including the flagship Shanghai store mirroring that of Regent Street, the future looks very bright for Burberry.