Fashion Brands Winning at Snapchat
From Burberry to Sophia Webster, discover five brands mastering Snapchat.
In just three years, Snapchat has attracted 150 million users (that’s more than Twitter). More and more brands are beginning to take notice, incorporating the messaging app into their marketing strategy in increasingly creative ways.
© Snapchat & Burberry
And Snapchat is keen to get brands on board – not least because they’re targeting a massive $350 million in revenue this year. The ‘Discover’ section on the app’s main page is currently home to 19 brands, including Buzzfeed, The Daily Mail and Cosmopolitan, with each sponsored feed providing users with daily news stories, videos and memes.
But there’s a much cheaper way for brands to get noticed – organic, engaging content. We spotlight the brands doing it best.
Burberry
Username: Burberry
Ahead of Burberry’s SS16 Fashion Show in London, the brand broadcast its first-ever 24-hour fashion campaign via Snapchat. The story displayed a live photoshoot by renowned photographer Mario Testino and an exclusive glimpse of Burberry’s new collection. The ‘miss it and miss out’ culture that surrounded Burberry’s story was a key element of its success and as good a reason as any for users to religiously check their iPhones. Speaking to The New York Times about his decision to broadcast live in the build-up to the show, Christopher Bailey, Burberry’s chief executive and creative director said, “I love the philosophy of Snapchat and the idea of capturing a moment that then immediately disappears”.
Sophia Webster
Username - sophiawebster
The British shoe brand creates Snap stories as fun as its shoes. The company’s Snapchat debuts up-and-coming collections, announces new product launches, reveals a behind-the-scenes look at office life, and even has a tongue-in-cheek agony aunt segment. Both personal and well-curated, the stories come complete with hand-held title cards and team participation. Speaking about her love of Snapchat to Footwear News, Webster said: “Snapchat is refreshing because it’s so authentic, it feels like a snippet of real life.”
Estée Lauder
Username – esteesnaps
Estée Lauder enlisted the help of Kendall Jenner to launch the brand on Snapchat, hosting a takeover to give fans a behind-the-scenes look at the new campaign. Throughout the day, Jenner promoted her favourite Estée Lauder products and shared her top make-up tips. Jenner’s Estée Lauder social takeover came just weeks after the cosmetics giant announced it planned to shift its marketing to digital platforms in a bid to focus on millennial consumers.
Louis Vuitton
Username – lvlive
Much like Burberry, French fashion label Louis Vuitton is using Snapchat to garner attention from a younger audience. The account promises a behind-the-scenes look at LV HQ, an exclusive glimpse at campaign shoots, and all of the exciting events leading up to major fashion shows. One of Louis Vuitton’s greatest Snapchat triumphs was the coverage of its Resort 2015 Show; celebrities like Selena Gomez and Miranda Kerr dominated the brand’s story as they spoke about their excitement for the show and love of the new collection. If watching all of LV’s latest designs as they hit the runway for the first time wasn’t incentive enough to tune in, the event’s A-List line-up certainly got fingers tapping.
Balmain x HM
Username – balmainoffical
Olivier Rousteing’s #BalmainArmy took product placement to a whole new level when it came to promoting the hugely successful collaboration with high-street giant H&M. While Balmain took to Snapchat to tease its followers with catwalk previews and behind-the-scenes selfies, it was models, bloggers and celebrities that kicked the brand’s marketing strategy into overdrive. The campaign’s social media success was mainly owed to high-profile digital influencers like Kylie Jenner and co, who inundated Snapchat with images of themselves wearing signature Balmain x HM pieces. This is a prime example of how brands are using product placement on Snapchat to reach a more targeted and engaged audience.
Words by Dan Flay