Gucci Marketing

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1) The Gucci Story

2) Brand Identity

3) Who- The Gucci Consumer

4) Gucci’s Product Line

5) Gucci - Connecting with the Millennials

6) Recommendations

7)

References

THE GUCCI STORY

Gucci, the most famous fashion label in the world was founded in 1921 by Guccio Gucci and is one of the oldest Italian brands. The fashion label started out as a manufacturer and seller of luggage and equestrian equipment but later on expanded into the luxury travel goods segment primarily focusing on Italy’s wealthy upper-class costumers. The founder, Guccio Gucci was born in Florence in the year 1881. He worked in Paris as an immigrant worker and later in London. It was there that he was inspired by the affluent class and their luxurious baggage. Since Guccio’s father was a leather craftsmen, he decided to open his own store in 1920 because Florence was a place that was well known for its highquality materials.

Leather and luxury knitwear, silk, handbags and shoes were among the key goods that the brand produced. In 1933, Aldo Gucci, son of the fashion house’s founder, started with the company and designed its iconic “Double-G” monogram and the stripe which consists of two green stripes and one single red bar. The use of the two G’s is a reference to the initials of

Guccio Gucci. The logo artistically immortalised the founder. It is a classic creation and is the most recognizable fashion logo in the world. It is known for grandeur and authenticity across borders. In 1953, Guccio Gucci passed away leaving the business to his sons Aldo, Vasco and Rodolfo who continued the business successfully. In the 60s, The trio expanded the business by introducing luxury accessories such as eyewear, watches and jewellery to the product line. The 80s was a tough time for the brand because Rudolfo passed away and his son Maurizio struggled to keep Gucci’s success. Family disputes, tax evasion charges, assassinations and foreign investor sales were some of the major issues that the brand was facing then. The company was saved from financial by Tom Ford, who was hired as a designer in the 90s but got promoted to Creative Director within a short span of four years. He was the one who restored Gucci to its original glory. In 1994, when the Gucci family left the company and Tom Ford became the creative director, the brand identity changed tremendously. There was an increase in the sales by 90% in the following year and the designer gifted Guccí some of the most iconic fashion movements of the 90s. Ford turned Gucci into a sexy and sophisticated brand by using seduction as a way to sell and promote products. In the year 2004, Frida Giannini replaced him until 2015 when Alessandro Michele took over as creative director because there had been a perception that Frida’s work was stale and boring. Alessandro was hired by Ford in 2002 before which he had gained experience working alongside Fendi as well. In Gucci, before becoming the creative director, he had other executive roles such as being the brand’s Leather Goods Design Director, and then the Associate to Creative Director (Frida Giannini at the time). Under his leadership, the profits have increased by 49%. Younger customers are attracted to his distinctive style and enjoy his extravagant and opulent fashion sense. By taking a more gender less approach and using of bright, fun and streetwear elements to the collections, the company has transformed. Today, as a word, Gucci is used as a slang to describe something that is great, fancy, very fashionable or just in general to say that things are doing well. It is used a lot in pop culture like by singers of the likes of Kanye West and Cardi B in their raps. This shows how influential and popular the brand is. As of today, the company is owned by the French luxury group Kering, under the proprietor Francois Pinault who is also the owner of Yves Saint Laurent, Balenciaga and Alexander McQueen.

BRAND IDENTITY

Once a brand’s concept is established, the brand identity is what is developed next. It is the collection of all elements that a company creates to portray the right image to its consumer. All these elements and how they are perceived and interpreted by all those who come across the brand, together make up the brand identity. Gucci has a very strong brand identity which is communicated to the consumers clearly. They communicate a perception of high-quality craftsmanship along with innovative and bold design. The interlocking double G logo and the red and green stripe are recognised worldwide and form a huge part of the Gucci identity. When a person looks at the double G logo placed on any product, s/he instantly recognizes that the product is one from Gucci and associates it with grandeur and authenticity.

Taking pride in its high-quality craftsmanship and unparalleled, innovative design, the brand displays ‘Made in Italy’ tag all around, further accentuating its affluent Italian Heritage and ingraining the perception of exceptionally superior quality Italian craftsmanship of its products in the minds of the consumers. When one looks in the mirror and sees oneself wearing Gucci, the brand is reflected back in themselves, making one influential, innovative and progressive- much like the brand itself. By strategically appointing many celebrities as brand ambassadors, the brand has upheld and even accelerated its prestige stance. Gucci’s price range is top-end which brings out a Veblen effect that its products are desired for being over-priced. This is because of the belief that the more expensive an item is the higher will be its quality. These factors too contribute to the brand’s imagery. Gucci’s strong and clear identity creates a personal relationship with its consumers. People are encouraged customers to shop from Gucci since it is reliable and they know exactly what to expect from the brand. By well employing factors such as logo, symbols or pricing or promotion strategies, Gucci has successfully established its robust identity of being innovative, luxurious and prestigious.

WHO- THE GUCCI CONSUMER According to statistics, the typical Gucci consumer lies in the age group of 20 – 50 and belongs to the upper class with a starting salary of around 100k. In recent times, the brand has now become open to the middle-upper class market by selling products such as fragrance and t-shirts. The average Gucci consumer has a large disposable income which he/she likes to spend on clothing. While shopping, they look for premium quality products and they also tend to have an interest in fashion and the latest trends. We also know that a Gucci consumer lives in an urban area. Gucci’s target consumer is likely to use social media and will tend to have a relationship with brands who promote their products on these platforms especially Instagram. These type of consumers find it important for a brand to have a large social following showing him/her that the brand keeping up with today’s world. The consumer also enjoys social events and regularly eats out at restaurants.

Consumer segmentation: DEMOGRAPHICS The brand Gucci is segmented using sex and age as a criteria. The brand produces for male and female, children and adults respectively. The brand targets those males and females who are very wealthy, have a high social class and a high desire to impress others. They find prestige in owning expensive products. They are driven by the kind of lifestyle they live and the need to maintain that lifestyle. The brand does not consider the economy class or the middle class and thus, there is an inefficient utilization of the market population, as the majority of the market lies in this category of consumer. Gucci’s demographics have changed a lot in recent years. Since Alessandro Michele became creative director, Gucci's demographics have shifted more towards universal consumers. Every fashion conscious person wants to wear the latest Gucci product and even those who can't afford Gucci save up to buy at least a t shirt with the iconic logo. The age range is slipping to the 20-40 bracket and many Gucci campaigns show diversity with age and race.

GEOGRAPHICS Gucci is very conscious of the countries it locate its brands considering the fact that they are exclusive and of great quality. As of 2019, Gucci had a total of 487 stores in operation around the world. Gucci is one of the most iconic and valuable luxury personal goods brands in the world. Leather goods, shoes, ready-to-wear apparel, watches, and jewellery are the main product categories of Gucci, however they also sell other products such as fragrances and home décor.

Number of directly operated Gucci stores worldwide from 2013 to 2019, by region

PSYCHOGRAPHICS Gucci primarily focuses on this segmentation with strict concentration on lifestyle. Over the years, they have targeted the lifestyle of their customers who are mainly rich singers and musicians, movie stars, and aristocrats, whose buying decisions are influenced majorly by the group they belong to. The brand focuses on lifestyle as it satisfies them best and is the most profitable considering the fact that their products are premium quality and extremely expensive. The factors driving the psychological aspect of Gucci’s segmentation over the years are increasing disposable income, lower unemployment globally, increasing female employment, growing wealthy class in emerging countries and the desire to emulate the lifestyle of others and social influence to purchase luxury goods. People who buy from Gucci tend to be well educated, are well educated and updated with trends, and importantly have high incomes. Wearing Gucci makes them feel good about themselves.

GUCCI PRODUCT LINE Gucci started out as a leather goods manufacturer, dealing primarily in the sale of leather bags to people travelling on horseback. As modes of transportation developed, so did Gucci’s product line. The company first started producing luxury luggage and later on added ties, shoes, and handbags to its offering. Nowadays, many more products, such as eyewear, belts, furniture, and various other consumer goods are sold under the Gucci label. They can be seen as below:

Revenue share of Gucci worldwide in 2019, by product category

GUCCI- CONNECTING WITH THE MILLENIALS Leading the digital space In today’s world, Social Media has become an irreplaceable part of any major fashion brand’s marketing strategy. All leading fashion houses use social media to increase their reach and to engage with people worldwide. Gucci is one of the several brands of the Kering Group and is practically the definition of Luxury in the world of fashion. Apart from fashion shows and celebrity endorsements, the digital channel of marketing is being used a lot these days by luxury fashion brands. Gucci is also one of the luxury fashion brands that is using social media channels for engaging followers and to promote its products. This is how Gucci is leading the way: 1. Gucci Website Redesign and Relaunch Mostly all luxury brands are defined by the luxurious shopping experience they offer. It is an altogether different experience shopping in Gucci’s majestic stores. The challenge though is to recreate that experience online.

Gucci did a great job in recreating the experience. Its online store shows ready-to-wear collections that are curated just like they appear on the fashion runway. The brand’s website offers free returns, “find-in-store” option, product information and gift wrapping as well. Gucci has also placed customer services options on each product page, so that customers can easily get in touch with salespersons, making the shopping experience quite seamless.

2. Publishing of Image-Driven Content Projecting an aura of elitism and luxury as always, the imagery of Gucci is as rich as its products.

Gucci’s website showcases a plethora of visual content that features the brand’s collections and campaigns. The product pages and social media profiles are filled with high-quality images of Gucci products. The images (on the website) can be viewed in multiple angles and consumers can zoom in on the photos as well. Gucci’s high-quality images and attention to detail prove that it’s a luxury brand, that’s a cut above the rest. 3. Brand Visibility and Popular Culture A number of highly successful artists have worn Gucci attire in their most successful performances. For example, Lady Gaga wore glittery red Gucci suit pants and white and blue platforms, designed by Alessandro Michele while performing her rendition of the National Anthem at the 2016 Super Bowl. In her video famous video “Formation”, Beyonce wore Gucci attire. The video featured Beyonce with an array of female dancers wearing custom-made Gucci crop tops, leggings and high-waist booty shorts. In her ground-breaking album “Lemonade” too, she wore a Gold Gucci suit from tSpring 2016 collection.

These celebrity collaborations show Gucci’s dedication to be a part of popular culture. In 2019, Luxury Daily named Gucci as Luxury Marketer of the Year for its deft outreach to emerging generations of luxury buyers. This was primarily because Gucci’s marketing put a spotlight on subcultures and disrupted traditional gender divides. The focus was on inclusion and individuality, speaking to the Gen Z and millennial audience that craves tools for self-expression. Advertising campaigns included famous faces such as Gucci Mane, Sienna Miller, Iggy Pop, Lana Del Rey and Jared Leto in playful scenarios, from a personality-driven party to a twist on the everyday in LA.

The label also launched its first unisex fragrance, Mémoire d’Une Odeur, with a campaign featuring an ensemble cast led by Harry Styles. The scent is meant to reflect the shifting identities among younger consumers.

It also dominates fashion magazines around the world. By including the brand in popular culture, Gucci is able to expand its appeal beyond the industry’s fashionistas and into the world of the average consumer.

4. #GucciGram: collaboration with Instagram’s best visual artists The hashtag #GucciGram features a series of artworks inspired by Gucci’s house prints created by Instagram famous and up-and-coming Instagrammers. According to Gucci’s Alessandro Michele, “#GucciGram is a starting point to tell different stories, which are all united by a great freedom. Today creativity is often born and finds its voice in digital media, a vital source of visual culture.” The campaign resulted in an online platform where artists from around the world were able to creatively express their interpretations of Gucci’s patterns. By inviting Insta-famous visual artists to recreate Gucci’s patterns, and making it a part of their own campaign, Gucci is able to create tons of online hype. 5. Use of memes to sell wristwatches Memes—images or animated gifs paired with clever text—are always hot in social media. Millennials love to like and share them with their friends either because they’re witty or funny.

Gucci took advantage of this trend when they launched the new Le Marche des Merveilles collection of watches.  The brand commissioned a handful of famous Internet artists such as designer @williamcult (William Ndatila), documentarian @littlebrownmushroom (Alec Soth) and photography team @meatwreck to create a curated collection of memes that online consumers can relate to. The campaign, called—That Feeling When Gucci or #TFWGucci— was adapted from a popular meme.

“When he gets mad a at you for being 3 hours late but you’re too fire to deal with that kind of attitude,” reads one caption on a photo featuring the hands of a mysterious fashionista who carries a burning rose as she glances at her new Gucci wristwatch.“When the only face that that they’ll be looking at all night is on your watch.” reads a second, featuring an individual cloaked in a Gucci bag and wearing three Gucci wristwatches. These pieces are just a few of the photos released by Gucci in their irresistible online campaign.

RECOMMENDATIONS: Within the past year, Gucci has been successful both in terms of finance and also branding & communications. Among all Kering brands, Gucci gained the largest profit, and also grew in terms of financial performance compared to previous years much more than it had been predicted by critics. However, scope for improvement is always there. Based on the analysis of merchandise and marketing, I recommend the following to Gucci: 1. Further creative innovation:

Allesandro Michele adopted new themes and styles to the collections he created for Gucci, which reignited the consumers’ interest and made the fashion designer an influential figure. Since the business model is developed well enough to benefit from innovation, the company should further support innovative initiatives. It should not concentrate on its achievements and established styles but rather focus on further creative experiments as they prove to promote the brand.

2. Maintain and develop its reputation of a responsible business The brand should invest in maintaining and developing its reputation as a responsible business. It should focus on attracting new audiences. One way is to show that the company cares about its customers, society, and the environment. Within recent years, Gucci has been involved in different kinds of charity, as well as increasing environmental friendliness of their manufacturing. Such activities, as well as corporate social responsibility efforts, should not only gain loyalty in existing customers but also attract new ones.

3. Develop existing distribution channels and create new ones: Directly operated stores are one of Gucci’s key existing distribution channels but these are not flexible enough which has been proved further by the current pandemic. In the modern world, a business should pay attention to online purchasing opportunities. In every country where Gucci merchandise is distributed, online shopping avenues should be made available.

4. Tackling Counterfeiting: Counterfeiting is a very prominent issue faced by many luxury brands. Fake products are illegally sold online and in street markets. Gucci can collaborate with websites and other luxury brands to curb counterfeiting by taking appropriate measures against it. Educating consumers about how to identify an original Gucci product is one way to curb counterfeiting.

5. Staying true to its core: Gucci now has a very diverse product line; it is very different from when it started. However, it must stay true to its core strengths that is providing luxury leather goods such as handbags and footwear. Often brands can dilute their own identity and fall into the line extension trap by venturing into too many categories.

6. Maintaining Exclusivity: Making products too accessible to customers reduces the feeling of “exclusivity”, which is often endured by consumers consuming luxury products. Thus, Gucci should be very selective of where it distributes its offerings and must ensure that the feeling of exclusivity is maintained. Achieving these objectives will translate into higher sales and higher profit.

REFERENCES https://www.gucci.com/us/en/ https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbes-personal-shopper/2020/12/29/best-airpods-maxalternative/?sh=17fd4d9b65a2 https://www.8ways.ch/en/digital-news/5-branding-lessons-gucci https://www.retaildive.com/ex/mobilecommercedaily/gucci-boasts-strongest-digitalperformance-among-fashion-brands-l2 https://toughnickel.com/industries/Marketing-Insight-Brand-Audit-of-Gucci

https://www.luxurydaily.com/gucci-is-2019-luxury-marketer-of-the-year/