As a young woman studying Cultural Sciences it isn´t that unpredictable that I also love fashion. So when I read the literature about social commerce my eye fell on the integration of it within the company of Burberry. Burberry has launched a user-generated ‘art of the trench’ gallery (Marsden, 2010). When I saw this I had to find out more of course. So going to the Burberry site I got a direct link to www.artofthetrench.com where the social platform is established. It freaked me out at first, because there is a music play list integrated into the website to set a sphere and predictably my volume was turned on (www.artofthetrench.com, 2012).
The website is platform where customers can share their iconic Burberry trench coat with others. You can see how they wear it, where they wear it and how they combine it with other items through personal photographs. Clicking on a photo gives you access to a set of options. You can share the particular photo with others by sending it to your e-mail, Facebook, Delicious or Twitter account. It is also possible to ‘like’ the picture and leave a comment. Further on, it is possible to buy a Burberry trench coat on the website (www.artofthetrench.com, 2012).
Burberry has created its own social network for its customers. The customers use this social platform and thereby voluntarily promote the brand. The social presence of Burberry is very high, because the company allows customers to show how the product is used in real life and that it is suitable for all different kinds of people. This is a bit of a risky project, because the company gives the control to the customer in the first place, but obviously the company will make sure the social presentation will not be affected negatively. Burberry will always have the desire to control its impression. Burberry implicates through the art of the trench that the company stands open for suggestions and wants to know what its clientele’s preferences are (Marsden, 2010; www.artofthetrench.com, 2012).
Burberry is a perfect example of social commerce. It has its own social platform where customers can share their information in relation to Burberry with other same minded people. This phenomenon connects them and makes them want to be part of the group who is wearing this iconic product. The purchase of a Burberry trench coat has become more accessible through the platform and that is the key point of social commerce (Marsden, 2010; www.artofthetrench.com, 2012).
Literature list:
Marsden, P. 2010. Social commerce: Monetizing social media. Syzygy Group. White Paper.
http://socialcommercetoday.com/documents/Syzygy_2010.pdf
Megan van der Staak
344104
