Burberry takes the video game route to attract younger buyers

Following their first collaboration of a concept store earlier this year in July, British luxury house Burberry has made yet another collaboration announcement with Tenecent games, operator of the largest online game community in China and a global platform for game development, publishing and operation. The British retailer is joining hands with the tech giant to create Burberry skins for an unrevealed character, from their popular online game Honour of Kings that recently created a 100 million daily users record.

Vice President of Tencent Games Mars Hou said, “The project signals a unique joint point where the East and West cultures have found a way to merge and create together. I’m sure we will surprise everyone with something really different and looking forward to the day when you can see what we’ve created in 2021.”

Earlier in July, the companies had collaborated for the luxury retailer’s first social retail store in Shenzhen where Tencent powered WeChat, China’s equivalent for WhatsApp, enabled consumers to connect, explore and earn rewards through an amalgamation of online and offline programmes.

The fashion industry has been finding new ways of interacting with its consumers, be it through online fashion weeks or online auctions; the gaming world simply offers another platform for brands to creatively connect with their customers and for customers to interact with each other and share user experience. Research conducted by, both, Tencent and Burberry indicates that young Chinese consumers are strongly interested in online games as the line between their on-screen and off-screen lives continues to blur. This opens up an interesting window of opportunity for the luxury fashion label to explore the sale and promotion of virtual products through the medium of online games.

We have partnered with Tencent Games to create Burberry skins for a character in blockbuster online game Honour of Kings. Read more: https://t.co/cwx501F1Ka pic.twitter.com/0pAtaSKJ0h

— Burberry Corporate (@BurberryCorp) November 2, 2020