Burberry Kisses

I have followed Burberry’s digital activity for a while now. In fact, I pretty much based my university dissertation on the brands digital marketing strategies back in 2011. In my eyes, Burberry are the leading fashion brand for digital innovation and social presence, constantly reinventing their approach to luxury digital marketing.

Late last year, I was sitting at my desk at work and received an email from one of my best friends, a Burberry employee. I opened it to find it was a Burberry Kiss. A nice little gesture that sees the brand partner with Google, and allows users to send interactive postcards, sealed with a digital kiss. Once sealed, users can see the card being delivered across the world to its destination through Google Maps.

Amazingly, the brand uses clever facial recognition technology to detect the users real lip shape using a webcam. Users are then able to choose the colour of the lipstick for the kiss from the Burberry make up range, a subtle way to promote their relatively new make up line. Once chosen, users are asked if you would like to sign up for regular Burberry updates, (data capture is key for any brand after all), and can then share on their multiple social media platforms. Being able to share content on users social media platforms is one of the strongest and most effective outcomes of a campaign like this one, as it generates free word of mouth, and can potentially reach and engage hundreds of people. Once the kiss is delivered, the recipient is faced with a beautifully produced short video which sees the personalised postcard flying across the globe. A track by Misty Miller, a Burberry Acoustic artist accompanies the song, combining yet another element of the ever-expanding Burberry brand.

Projects like this are an incredibly important part of a brands overall marketing strategy, especially for a global brand like Burberry. It keeps the brand in the forefront of the consumers mind, and is a subtle yet effective form of advertising that doesn’t scare consumers away or make them feel like they are having products forced upon them. This initiative humanises what can be seen as cold technology, giving it a warm, personal touch that users can share with their loved ones. I like.  

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