Burberry: Art of The Trench
Groundbreaking social platform sparking luxury fashion's digital transformation
Summary
Made by Many created and launched "Art of The Trench" for Burberry, a groundbreaking digital platform that transformed the luxury brand's image, kickstarted their digital transformation journey, and drove an 85% YOY increase in global trench coat sales.
The challenge
Burberry needed to change its image and become the "first fully digital luxury company." The traditional luxury brand faced the challenge of adapting a print-centric culture to the demands of the new digital world while maintaining their premium positioning.
They needed something extraordinary that would differentiate them in the luxury market and establish digital leadership. The challenge was creating authentic digital engagement that honoured Burberry's heritage while attracting new audiences and driving commercial results.
What we did
We created the concept for 'Art of The Trench' (AOTT) in just nine weeks from a standing start, then launched it sixteen weeks later. We led every aspect from concept and proposition to design, build, scaling and handover - a complete end-to-end transformation.
AOTT was designed as a social platform leveraging Burberry trenchcoat wearers globally, combining content curation with crowd-sourcing. We introduced 'Buy', 'Love', and 'Share' functionality, blending content and commerce into a new editorial experience where product discovery and shopping were integrated within a trusted environment. We helped Burberry take first steps into blogging, user-generated content, and agile digital practices.
Impact
Monthly sales of trench coats increased 85% globally following launch. Within the first year, the site generated 7.5 million views from 150 countries, while Burberry's Facebook fanbase grew to over 1 million - the largest of any luxury brand at the time (although this was just the start for Burberry in social media). Conversion rates were significantly higher than other sources, and Burberry's share price hit a two-year high the day after launch.
The project kickstarted Burberry's digital transformation, establishing their domination of "next-gen" digital and retail experience. AOTT became the model for luxury brands using social media and was called the "first act in going fully digital" by Digiday. The platform continued evolving for years, integrating into their main ecommerce site and proving the lasting value of our foundational work.
Explore more
