newmc ebook w2 highstreetvsdesigner

© 2013 salesforce.com, inc. All rights reserved. Proprietary and Confidential 0313

A review of tactics employed on and off the catwalk during London Fashion Week

High street vs. designer: Who ruled the social catwalk?

Presented with:

Presented in conjunction with Media Measurement © 2013 salesforce.com, inc. All rights reserved. Proprietary and Confidential http://www.salesforcemarketingcloud.com/ 2


Table of Contents

Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

Headline findings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Burberry knows how to get people talking; but Rihanna steals the show . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Burberry rivals Topshop for social innovations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Other high street brands showed little appetite to jump on the social media bandwagon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Volumes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

Conversation drivers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Celebrities, models, and designer names . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Competitions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

Purchasing and personalisation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

Social media & interactivity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

How did other retailers take advantage of LFW in social? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

Online retailers took better advantage of the opportunity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

Notes on methodology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17



IntroductionThis is the second of two papers investigating the high street’s impact at London Fashion Week (LFW) Autumn/Winter (AW) 2013 through the analysis of social media conversation .

This paper will look at how the high street performed in comparison to the designer brands and offer insights into what they could learn from each-others’ social media strategies during LFW .

We will also look at other high street brands not fortunate enough to have a catwalk presence at LFW . What efforts, if any, did these brands make to take advantage of the event to generate conversation and drive customers to their retail channels .



Headline findings

Burberry knows how to get people talking; but Rihanna steals the show

During London Fashion Week AW 2012 Burberry grabbed attention by making it rain on the catwalk during its show . This year, once again Burberry produced one of the most talked about and iconic moments of the week, with a surprise performance by man of the moment, and critics’ choice award winner at the Brit Awards, Tom O’Dell . Despite this showpiece event, Burberry was eclipsed by coverage surrounding the launch of Rihanna’s line for River Island .

Burberry rivals Topshop for social innovations

Both Topshop and Burberry used innovative social strategies to encourage engagement with their shows and collections . Topshop Unique’s partnership with Google+ and YouTube to live stream its show opened LFW to a wider audience . It also offered fans the chance to experience the catwalk from a new perspective via a ‘model’s eye view’ camera . Burberry matched Topshop step-for-step by streaming its show live across the world and to its Regent Street flagship store . Both companies utilised backstage footage, as well as using techniques to maximise impulse buying from the catwalk .

Other high street brands showed little appetite to jump on the social media bandwagon

There was little evidence of high street brands that were not taking part in LFW utilising the increased social media attention on the fashion world . Online retailers Net-a-porter and ASOS were the most prominent, with the latter using its ASOS Fashion Finder blog to drive trend lovers to its website . However, there was a surprising lack of conversation suggesting that no other high street brands were employing the same tactics .



Volumes By comparing the volume of social media conversation about a sample of designers in relation to London Fashion Week during the seven days from 14th February, it is evident that Burberry was leading the way for the designers . Live streaming of its show and heavy use of Instagram, as well as a surprise performance from up-and-coming musician Tom O’Dell provided some of the most talked-about moments of the week .

Between LFW AW 2012 and AW 2013 Burberry doubled its number of Twitter followers from just over 800,000 to more than 1 .6 million . The designer brand amassed a significant Twitter following largely through innovations, such as its ‘Tweetwalk’ last year . This did not, however, result in any great increase in coverage when comparing AW12 to AW13 . One might speculate that the new followers may be late-comers to social media and consequently less engaged and more passive users .

FIG. 2 – Burberry VS High Street Designers

Although both Burberry and Topshop employed similar social media tactics it is slightly surprising, given that Burberry has over three times the Twitter following of Topshop, that Burberry wasn’t mentioned in significantly more posts than Topshop . This indicates that it is not all about numbers, and Topshop’s strategy, such as hosting a Google+ hangout, and allowing users to take screenshots during the show to share with others via social media, may have acted to counter any imbalance in social following .

FIG. 1 – Total volume of posts mentioning top designers



Burberry’s impressive social media following was, however, nowhere near the size of Rihanna’s Twitter following, at over 28 million . The star power River Island bought into by collaborating with Rihanna turned out to be the key difference between the high street brand and its rivals .

River Island Topshop Burberry

Twitter Followers 116,447 532,974 1,638,139

Facebook Likes 1,494,541 3,221,202 14,845,341

FIG. 3 – Twitter and Facebook presence of the high street brands



Conversation drivers With the majority of posts for tracked brands appearing on the day of their shows, this indicates that while brands stand to gain by making their shows as social and shareable as possible, they should also embrace celebrity and pop culture to generate as much attention as possible in this narrow window . By using the very best models and filling their front rows with celebrities, some of the brands were able to gain social media traffic .

FIG. 4 – Daily volume of highstreet brands

Celebrities, models, and designer names

The use of top celebrities and models of the moment was discussed in detail in our first whitepaper . However, there was no getting away from their influence in the LFW coverage so it is worth repeating . Rihanna’s Twitter following of over 28 million meant that anything she posted had the potential for mass retweeting and phenomenal exposure . As a result the vast majority of posts for River Island included a reference to the fact that Rihanna was collaborating with the brand for a collection .

FIG. 6: Top River Island messages

Topshop also benefited from having celebrities associated with its show, One Direction’s Louis Tomlinson, and his partner Eleanor Calder, attracted significant coverage when they attended its show .

FIG. 5 – Daily volume of top designer brands



Although this could be seen to detract from the collections themselves, the majority of coverage for each of the tracked brands and designers occurred during their shows, meaning that this coverage had added to relevant general discussions and mentions .

FIG. 7 – Topshop messages

Cara Delevingne, the model dubbed ‘the next Kate Moss’ appeared in seven shows at LFW, including Burberry and Topshop . @caradelevinge was one of the most frequently referenced Twitter usernames, featuring over 1,000 times during the week; these mentions were often coupled with a photograph .

Show scheduling can also make a difference to volume of coverage . Zoe Jordan and Bora Aksu both benefitted from opening proceedings, whilst Burberry may have benefited from sharing Day 4 with other top designers such as Christopher Kane and Tom Ford (FIG .9) .

FIG. 8 – @caradelevinge mention



Burberry also had the advantage of having a much-revered chief creative officer, described by @Grazia_Live as the ‘man of the hour .’ Christopher Bailey attracted a lot of praise and was seen as somewhat visionary for master-minding Burberry’s show .

FIG. 10 – Praise for Christopher Bailey

FIG. 9 – Day 4 excitement



Competitions On 20th February, River Island ran a very popular competition to win a Rihanna LFW goodie bag, with one lucky winner getting to meet Rihanna . The competition was largely responsible for over 4,500 posts on this day, which significantly boosted River Island’s share of voice .

This tactic was also duplicated by designers . Zoe Jordan teamed up with make-up designer Bourjois who Tweeted, “You can win all make-up used to create the catwalk look at #LFW Zoe Jordan show . RT & follow to win 1 of 3 sets!” This can be seen as an effective way to ensure your brand stays in the memory long after your clothes have left the runway; Zoe Jordan maintained her coverage for several days after her show . This approach also encouraged low-value Tweeting which adds little to brands reputation, or in-depth engagement with consumers . For example, @_Naomik_ entered the Bourjois competition a total of 52 times . However, this does help to increase visibility of brands and increase the likelihood of them ‘trending’ on Twitter .



Purchasing and personalisation Burberry’s show incorporated ‘Runway Made to Order’ for the first time, offering its global audience the chance to purchase coats and bags off the catwalk and have them personalised with an engraved nameplate . The ‘Made to Order’ clothes and accessories were also embedded with radio-frequency identification (RFID) chips that unlock bespoke content when connected with customers’ smartphones and tablets, including videos about the personalisation process .

This innovative step from Burberry attracted the attention of the fashion media, with British Vogue, Elle UK, Lorraine Candy (Elle’s Editor-in-Chief) and @FashionUnited_UK all Tweeting about ‘Runway made to order’, and Olivia Palermo mentioning the personalisation on her blog . @kindredsole tweeted, ‘@Burberry has launched a new made-to-order catwalk service available until 4 March . Is there no end to their genius-ness?!’

Topshop Unique customers who ordered pieces from the show were told that they would receive their purchases three months before they are available in stores . This sort of tactic could help to increase the desirability and exclusivity of a more mass-market collection .

INSIGHT: While high streets inclusion in LFW has made the event more mainstream, innovators such as Burberry with its ‘Runway made to order’ personalised range ensure that those with purchasing power still get a unique experience.

FIG. 11 – Widely Retweeted item about innovations at Burberry



Social media & interactivity During AW 2013 the use of live streaming, Instagram, and behind-the-scenes footage opened LFW up to new audiences . With increased interest brought on by Rihanna’s collaboration with River Island, combined with increasing social media use, LFW was more accessible than ever .

Topshop and Burberry were two of the most innovative companies during LFW . By using intelligent social media tactics to generate buzz and attention in social media, both brands successfully elevated themselves above other brands . This section explores what those tactics were, and highlights the opportunity for other brands to follow suit .

During LFW Spring/Summer 2012 Burberry pioneered a “tweetwalk” (FIG .12) a live stream which previewed the catwalk designs days before its LFW show . This event caused both “#Burberry” and “Christopher Bailey” to trend worldwide on Twitter . This opened up Burberry to new markets and may have gone some way to increasing its social media following during this time .

This year Burberry streamed its London Fashion Week show live across the world and to its Regent Street flagship store, allowing global consumers to become part of the experience . Similarly Topshop partnered with Google and YouTube to live stream its show to a wider audience . Fans of Unique were also able to experience the catwalk from a new perspective via a ‘model’s eye view’ camera which proved very popular . It also went the extra mile by hosting a Google+ hangout, and allowing people to take screenshots during the show to share with others via social media .

Topshop and Burberry both took different approaches to live streams and photo placements which highlighted their respective ends of the market; Burberry was streaming its coverage directly to its Regent Street store and consequently its coverage focused on the brand and its collections . Topshop was able to use YouTube and Google+ to post more entertaining backstage footage and utilised social trends such as the Harlem Shake to ensure it could appeal to the mass market .

FIG. 12 – 2011 Tweetwalk first aired during SS12

FIG. 13 – Topshop models doing the Harlem Shake



The brands differing social strategies may in part reflect their target demographics; Topshop’s younger consumer profile and mass market appeal may mean that it has a broader range of strategies options to consider .

Matthew Williamson also used digital innovation to expose its collection to the wider community . Matthew Williamson exclusively shot the collection using Vine, in 6-second video clips which magnified in from the full look to the minute detail .

INSIGHT: Whilst the opportunity to actually attend LFW still eludes many would-be fashionistas, the use of social media can make fans feel like they are part of the event, create loyal communities and perhaps more importantly, open up new markets. The fashion world is seemingly becoming less elitist and brands could benefit by connecting to these new markets.

How did other retailers take advantage of LFW in social?

There was little evidence of other high street brands, which weren’t part of LFW utilising social media to drive consumers to their stores . With so many new trends being displayed at LFW it is almost unthinkable that high street brands would not be doing their upmost to draw attention to their own collections; however, that appears to be the case .

Online retailers took better advantage of the opportunity

FIG. 15 – Volume of LFW posts mentioning other highstreet brands

FIG. 14 – #MatthewMagnified



Net-a-porter and ASOS both attracted more LFW-related social media coverage than any other high street retailers . Net-a-porter utilised its #NETaLFW hashtag when commenting on shows . This ensured it maintained a presence at LFW . It also worked hard to retweet key designers such as Matthew Williamson and Burberry .

Net-a-porter’s founder Natalie Massenet’s role as Chairman of the British Fashion Council ensured significant exposure for the retail site . Ms Massenet also sat on the Woolmark Prize judging panel with Victoria Beckham and Donatella Versace . This also helped to raise the profile .

ASOS used its ASOS Fashion Finder blogs to ensure that budding fashionistas could keep up with and, more importantly, purchase goods immediately .

Debenhams was the most prominent of the traditional bricks-and-mortar brand (excluding those participating in LFW) . As well as blogging from the front row, it used LFW to remind its followers of the many designer labels it now stocks including Matthew Williamson, Jasper Conran, Julien Macdonald and Henry Holland .

FIG. 17 – ASOS Fashion Finder

FIG. 16 – #NETaLFW in use at LFW



FIG. 18 – Example of Debenhams supporting its designers.

The Debenhams blog also worked hard to remind its customers of its designer range, and highlighted some key trends from LFW that were available exclusively at Debenhams . However, despite an obvious marketing opportunity Debenhams failed to provide a direct link to its website, or offer any incentives to maximise its sales .

FIG. 19 – A Missed opportunity for Debenhams

INSIGHT: While many high street brands did not feature on the runways at LFW, the event could have been used as a springboard to reach out to communities who clearly had fashion on the brain. Even brands who do not stock the collections of designers appearing at LFW could take the opportunity such events offer to engage with the fashion conscious and drive consumers to the checkout.



Summary River Island and Topshop took LFW by storm, dominating social media conversation due to a blend of clever marketing and social strategies . Of the designer brands, only Burberry could compete thanks to its carefully cultivated social following .

Rihanna’s inclusion provided elevated exposure for River Island, and exposed LFW to a new audience . However, the innovative approach of Topshop and Burberry to make LFW more social and accessible attracted many admirers and their social media tactics have the potential for greater long-term impact .

Topshop and Burberry’s share of conversation indicates that is worthwhile investing in events such as LFW . What’s clear is that there is not a one-size-fits-all approach to social media . High street brands need to have a broader appeal and be accessible to the mass market . Designer brands don’t necessarily have this requirement, but should consider what social media tactics would enable them to better engage with their target audiences . It could be that it is in the interest of top designers to keep their products niche . With that in mind, finding and targeting the right online influencers and communities becomes more important than ever .

Other retailers, not just those at LFW can take advantage of high profile event such as LFW to drive conversation and direct customers to its retail channels . By failing to link the trends on the catwalk to the collections available in-store and online, retailers could be missing out on opportunities to engage with consumers and potentially increase sales .

Presented in conjuntion with:



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Notes on methodologySalesforce Marketing Cloud social listening technology was used the monitor social media conversation about a sample of designer brands alongside Topshop, River Island, as well as other retailers like Net-a-porter, ASOS and Debenhams . Boolean searches were used to find posts mentioning one of the designers or tracked brands in association with London Fashion Week . LFW took place from 15th to 19th February 2013; this report includes posts from the seven day period from 14th to 20th February . The report is restricted to posts from the UK, in English language . The scope does not include all social media sites; notable exclusions include Google+, Pinterest and Instagram .

The sample of designers was chosen, firstly, using desk research, into most eagerly anticipated shows . We then used Radian6 message tracking to seek out brands that received the highest volume of coverage and added these to our sample list .

Please note, the charts in FIGS . 1, 2, 4, 5 AND 15 were made using infogr .am .

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newmc ebook w2 highstreetvsdesigner

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