Deployed Digital Marketing Instruments
The RACE goals, which stand for reach, act, convert, and engage, are actively employed by the Gucci brand to attract more young clients. Indeed, to reach more millennial and generation Z consumers, the company carefully plans the design of the apparel and cautiously chooses ambassadors to make clothing attractive for the youth (G & Co, 2020). Furthermore, Gucci acts through digital advertising and Instagram influencers to evoke an interest in the brand (G & Co, 2020). The next stage in the RACE model requires converting online and offline users into paying customers. Gucci has a team of young consultants who help predict their purchasing behavior (Zhang, 2021). Lastly, engaging people in placing orders for the firm’s products is essential.
Examples of Instruments
Among the existing luxury brands, many continue to target only a small cohort of clients, but it is undoubtedly not about Gucci. This fashion brand decided to invest heavily in the digitalization of their company to attract more young consumers (Zhang, 2021). In fact, even though millennials and generation Z are generally challenging to reach by luxury brands, Gucci turned them into the main cohort of clients. The firm decided to focus on these two groups because they help promote the brand on social media by posting pictures of its apparel and accessories (Zhang, 2021). Another digital marketing instrument that Gucci implemented was an efficient app for purchasing that provides customers with a pleasant shopping experience (Zhang, 2021). In addition, the company realized that no potential customer online should be left without the attention and influence of the brand advertisement (Zhang, 2021). Therefore, promotional ads run on various gaming and blogging platforms where young individuals are the primary users.
Gucci indeed advanced in its techniques to become an attractive brand for young customers. For example, Figures 1 and 2 represent the digital try-on tool that allows online shoppers to see how an item will look in reality.
Decision Journey
Customer decision-making is often an arduous journey since they ideally need to assess various factors before buying a product. Firstly, the prepurchase stage requires individuals to become aware of a brand, consider its different aspects, and intend to purchase an item from that store (Murch, 2022). Secondly, buying apparel from Gucci means that the firm will deliver the desired product within the specified period. Lastly, the post-purchase phase includes consumer feedback and advocacy (Murch, 2022). In fact, influencers who take pictures in Gucci garments and post these photographs on social media are essential contributors and brand advocates.
Pre-Purchase
Although purchasing and post-purchasing phases are equally crucial when considering the work with potential customers, the first stage of pre-purchasing seems to be prioritized by Gucci. It was inferred from the fact that the company places enormous investments and effort into developing digital marketing campaigns. Furthermore, the firm puts many ads on popular gaming websites, indicating its desire to recruit a broad audience that will purchase some low-priced items, raising sales.
Affiliate
By implementing various digital marketing tools, Gucci was able to become not only popular among larger audiences but also established essential affiliations. For example, Figure 3 shows the famous singer Harry Styles who became the brand’s collaborator (BluCactus, 2021). Furthermore, the firm is affiliated with the Shadow Millennium Committee, which is a group of young people who provide valuable feedback for Gucci (BluCactus, 2021). However, in case of any affiliation, the company should be aware of the potential dangers of damage to the brand image and reputation.
Location
Before a company decides on the marketing campaign, it should make crucial decisions about location and the associated questions. Specifically, the place of interest should be assessed for the availability of technologies like the Internet, Bluetooth, and GPS since these tools are essential for targeted messages with media files, locating stores, or purchasing online. Indeed, if many people in a particular region do not own smartphones or phones that can receive images and videos, marketing will fail in that place. On the other hand, a site where potential customers can easily access data online may be considered promising. Nevertheless, there are some downsides to this type of advertisement. First of all, it is probably no longer a secret that Google and social media collect user information for personalized ads, indicating that customer privacy is at risk. Secondly, frequent push messages may irritate people, especially if these notifications are persistent. Thus, it is critical to determine the right amount and time during the day to send these messages. Gucci’s stores are located worldwide, but it may sometimes be challenging to unite people and make them feel like part of this luxury brand. The strategy that the company acquired was using Instagram heavily and encouraging users to connect through hashtags such as #GucciGram, #24HourAce, and #TFWGucci.
Conclusion
In summary, Gucci is a famous clothing brand among various age groups. Although other brands do not place much emphasis on marketing strategies that focus on youth, Gucci specifically targets millennials and generation Z. The company believes young people can contribute by purchasing the apparel and promoting the brand on social media. Therefore, the firm introduced such novel tools as digital try-on on its advanced purchasing apps. Notably, all these strategies are primarily directed to improve the pre-purchasing and subsequently purchasing phases.
References
Gucci. (n.d.). Gucci tailoring at Villa Lante.
What is Gucci’s marketing strategy? (2021). BluCactus.
Gucci, digital advertising & strategy case study. (2020). G & Co.
Murch, A. (2022). Understanding pre- and post-purchase journey for your customers. Sptintpoint.
Zhang, Y. (2021). What can luxury brands learn from Gucci’s digital strategy? Haptic Media.