The International Marketing Activities of Burberry and Diageo

2225 Words5 Pages

Compare and contrast the international marketing activities of

Burberry and Diageo.

Burberry is a distinctive luxury brand with international recognition

and broad appeal. The company designs, sources, manufactures and

distributes high-quality apparel and accessories. Founded in

Basingstoke, England, in 1856, Burberry has a unique heritage

associated with Great Britain and positions itself as the authentic

British lifestyle brand.

Since the arrival of a new management team commencing in 1997, it has

been repositioning the Burberry brand in line with its luxury

heritage. The brand was positioned to broaden its appeal to new

customers whilst aiming to retain its traditional clientele, building

on widely recognised icons, such as the signature trench coat,

trademark check and Prorsum Equestrian Knight.

Central to the repositioning of Burberry was the need for this new

management team to better control where and how the brand was

distributed within the UK and internationally. Furthermore, it was

vital that the repositioning of Burberry meant it still kept its title

as a prestige and exclusive brand. Consequently, all retailer stores

which were not making a profit were shut down and driven by the desire

to maximise control over foreign markets, the company bought back the

distribution rights within the Hong Kong, Singapore and Australian

markets in December 01 and within the Korean market in 02.

To help succeed at this time, Burberry introduced a business model

compromising of four inter related dimensions. The four dimensions

included products, manufacturing and sourcing, distribution channels

and marketing communications.

Products:

With a clear positioning as an authentic British lifestyle brand, the

company is to extend the current range of men’s, women’s and

children’s clothing and introduce ‘soft’ and ‘hard’ accessories.

‘Soft’ accessories include items such as scarves, shawls and ties

where as ‘hard’ accessories include items such as hand bags, small

leather goods, eye wear and time pieces.

Burberry also introduced a multi level brand strategy that is

comprised of six key brand levels. Burberry Prorsum is the high

fashion range that serves as the focus for fashion shows and editorial

coverage.

The Burberry London range is the company’s core, ready - wear clothing

which is presented in two collections fo...

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...society, as they

promote the need to understand sensible drinking. Voluntarily, Diageo

has recently strengthened the Diageo Marketing Code laying down very

strict principles on the marketing, packaging, naming and promotion of

its brands.

Today, Diageo is the world’s leading drinks business made up of

premium brands, a dynamic workforce, and strong sense of corporate

citizenship. Diageo’s vision and goal is to ensure its customers enjoy

its products everyday, everywhere responsibly. Diageo continues to be

famous for its portfolio of consumer driven brands which it takes

great care in marketing responsibly.

Comparing the two companies, it is clear both have been successful

with their international marketing plans. However, I would conclude

Diageo’s marketing strategy to be superior due to its accomplishment

in such a short time. It’s competing in over 200 markets around the

world generating around $19 billion in revenue and employing 26,000

people worldwide with a turnover of €1 billion and profits in the

region of €215 million. This highlights the success Diageo is enjoying

because of a strong international marketing plan which continues to

seek more success.

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