Level 6: The upgrade of e-game. Burberry’s Bounce. Dear Deer, jump up in the sky and then surf on the ocean.

What is the difference between “The Holiday Run” by Ralph Lauren and the e-game that Burberry presented in Nov 2019 “B Bounce”?

You might think that these gaming experiences are the same, but it is not. The one presented to you before, is part of a specific campaign, the Holiday one. And, despite it still being online, it has a specific goal for the Holiday season. B Bounce is not just one episode, to promote a specific collection, but it evolves according to the season and to the products to be promoted. Mark Morris, Burberry’s senior vice president of digital commerce, said in a statement for Fashion United in October 2019 [80] “ We have experimented with gaming in China, but B Bounce is our first playful extension into this format to entertain and connect with our new, younger consumers around the world. We know that they are living in an increasingly gamified environment both online and offline and we are excited that they can join the Burberry community – and explore our new puffer collection in this way”.

The goal is the same for everyone: to sell more products. How? By attracting new generations of customers, letting them have fun first. B Bounce was launched together with the new collection of Burberry down jackets and it was available on the brand’s website from Monday 21 October 2019. Not another app to download, but easily playable on mobile phones, desktop and laptop by accessing at:

http://www.burberry.com/B-Bounce

Unfortunately, the game is not available anymore, but it has evolved since the end of 2019: at the beginning of 2020, a new character was introduced: Ratberry. Built on the success of B Bounce, Ratberry was the central character in a world inspired by the limited-edition Thomas Burberry Monogram motif in honour of the Year of the Rat, according to the Lunar Year[81]. The third chapter of the “saga” was live in July 2020: this time we met the Surfing deer, to promote the luxury fashion brand’s TB monogram summer collection. “B Surf” was a game that let players dress up their characters in the brand’s outfits (as well as the previous two versions) before grabbing a surfboard and challenging friends or himself/herself to a race around a track. Gamers could “surf” on Burberry’s website[82], luxury shopping site Farfetch and messaging app WeChat. We are in the era of e- (electronic and entertainment) commerce.

Is this the only major investment of Burberry to get closer to the gamer’s culture? Of course not. Its latest push into the gaming industry is the launch of two exclusive skins for the game “Honor of Kings”[83], designed by its chief creative officer Riccardo Tisci. Honor of Kings is China’s biggest video game, and for those who are not familiar with it, might remember League of Legend. It is a popular multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) game developed by Tencent Games subsidiary TiMi Studios[84]. The ‘legendary’ skins designed by Mr Tisci are dedicated to the character of Yao, with the first featuring a classic cotton gabardine trench coat in Burberry’s signature check. Look at the YouTube video published by TiMi:

The second outfit, taken from Burberry’s spring/summer 2021 collection, features a royal blue trench coat and a crystal-embroidered vest. Each skin is available for players to buy online or in store in mainland China, as stated by Hypebeast in the article I suggest you read: https://hypebeast.com/2021/3/burberry-honor-of-kings-two-skins-yao-spirit-of-nature-gabardine

Discuss

-Do you think Burberry, or any luxury brand, could do anything else in the gaming arena to attract new customers and increase brand loyalty?

Share your response with your peers in the comments below.

References:
80. https://fashionunited.uk/news/fashion/burberry-launches-first-online-game-b-bounce/2019102245868
81. https://www.burberryplc.com/en/news/corporate/2020/burberry-launches-online-game-ratberry-to-celebrate-lunar-new-ye.html
82. Until April 2021, it is still possible to surf at this address: https://sg.burberry.com/bsurf/
83. https://www.bbc.com/news/business-40516125
84. https://playing4theplanet.org/timi-studios/