Marketing strategy of Gucci and Versace

Gucci and Versace are two big names among the most influential and renowned luxury brands in the world. Both these companies originated in Italy and throughout the years both of them have achieved power and popularity in the fashion industry. Despite being in the same industry, Gucci and Versace are not similar in their marketing strategies and overall actions. Let’s discuss each company separately to get thorough insights into the secrets behind their success. 

Let’s start with the vision and mission statements of Gucci.

Vision Statement of Gucci: “Gucci is reinventing a wholly modern approach to fashion. Under the new vision of creative director Alessandro Michele, the House has redefined luxury for the 21st century, further reinforcing its position as one of the world’s most desirable fashion houses.”

We can see from the vision statement that Gucci is noticeably confident and aware of its influence and role in the fashion industry. The brand understands its power, but at the same time, it continuously works to maintain and improve its place and strength in the market among other fashion giants.  

Mission Statement: of Gucci “The company`s mission is to become the leader in the luxury market at a worldwide level.”

Gucci has optimistic and big plans for the future. It becomes clear from the mission statement of the company that it wants not only to be among the most influential names in the fashion industry but become the first one among them.

Now it’s time to understand what marketing strategies are used by Gucci.

For this matter, let’s explore the following post from the company’s Instagram page:

We can see a very bold and unique picture that quickly intrigues the viewer. It contains statement details that make you feel curious and engaged about the aim and message of the post. The horse is a special detail, and it makes everything about the most outstanding, exciting, and even shocking.

The combination and movement of the horse and the woman make you feel comforted and free. The overall picture gives you a sense of something new and different coming. In the post description, we can see a motivating and evoking message informing about a new campaign that comes to encourage freedom of expression. All the discussed details identify that Gucci belongs to the Outlaw brand archetype.

Now, let’s see what Outlaw brand archetype stands for.

Desire: revolution and vengeance

Aim: demolishing anything that doesn’t work (For the society or the Outlaw)

Strategy: demolish, break down, or shock

Let’s now go through the messaging levels of Outlaw archetype:

Level one: feeling helpless, irritated, treated badly, angry

Level two: staying away from society with conventional morals and behavior if felt like an outsider

Level tree: to behave subversively and shockingly 

Level four: to become a revolutionary or riot

The Outlaw archetype would be favorable and promising for your brand if:

• Its products preserve revolutionary or new attitudes or e values that are threatened by the predominant ones.
• Its products have the purpose to demolish something or do something revolutionary
• Its employees and customers are not happy with the society or with the widely accepted existing values in it 

Brand Archetypes. Why do we need them in practice?

All of us know that many companies have problems in presenting their key values and attitudes. Sometimes our messaging leads to misunderstanding or it does not represent what we aimed to say in reality. Here of course the importance of the brand archetypes is very crucial. How to create a good company culture? 

What are its values? Here are some questions that need to be answered properly. “8 steps to a complete archetypal branding” e-book tells us a lot.  We have written a book that goes deeper into these notions and reveals archetypes in specific ways. Just uncover the brand archetypes with “8 steps to a complete archetypal branding” e-book.

After identifying the archetype of Gucci, it’s time to look at the SWOT analysis of the company.

Strengths 

Brand Equity & Image: Gucci has very strong brand equity and brand image. The brand has been valued nearly 17.63billion US dollars as of 2020. 

International market occupation: Gucci’s presence in the international market is very influential and as of 2019, it had nearly 490 stores around the world.

Product portfolio and quality: Gucci’s portfolio of products is very diverse (apparel, cosmetics, accessories, etc.) and all of them have remarkably high quality. 

Weaknesses 

Counterfeit products: Over many years, Gucci has faced problems with trademark infringements, counterfeits in different countries. The problem of fake copies and counterfeits is still actual. 

Frequent updates: The brand needs to continuously change, not only create but also adapt to new trends to keep up with time. This requires flexibility and financial means which may be a problem. 

Opportunities

Increasing brand consciousness: The earning power of people is continuously growing, which makes them more conscious and demanding about premium products and brands like Gucci.

Emerging markets: There are several emerging markets where there is growth in demand for premium products. This can help Gucci to make its place in the market stronger.

The actuality of the industry: The fashion industry is not the one that would fade at some point. It is always very actual and continues to grow over the years.

Threats

Competition: The competition in the beauty and fashion industry is indeed severe. It is very hard for a brand like Gucci to maintain its power and place among other similar influential brands. 

Substitution: Customers have a big variety of products to choose from even in the premium market. They can easily find substitutes for Gucci’s products from other brands.

Now it’s time to understand what segmentation strategy Gucci chose to use.

To find out the target segment of Gucci, let’s watch the following commercial by the company.

The commercial features three famous and successful females. They look young, beautiful, confident, cheerful, and free. Throughout the video, they seem to enjoy each other’s company and are very relaxed and happy.

They are spending their time together and are doing spontaneous activities, and fully taking pleasure in every moment to its fullest. They jump into the lake dressed up and it seems like they don’t even care about the rain and are even delighted by it. 

After analyzing the commercial, it becomes obvious that Gucci has chosen the Hedonist segment as their main target market.

So, who are the Hedonists?

Lifestyle and Values: Hedonists are extremely outgoing people, who enjoy being accompanied by others. They are very spontaneous about their activities and try to have as much fun as possible. The life motto of Hedonists is “We only live once”. They like changing their occupation, environment, and people around them very often.

Family is not a priority for them, and above all Hedonists like to focus on themselves. Their appearance is particularly important for them and is doing everything to look properly. They like going to big clubs with loud music and full of people. They try to spend time with friends and get enjoyment as much as possible. 

Shopping Preferences: Representatives of the Hedonist target segment give preference to the mainstream brands. They think that brand labels are directly influencing a person’s image. Often, they put quantity over quality, and like wearing clothes that help them to stand out. Hedonists typically don’t make shopping lists and are impulse purchasers. They prefer the authenticity of the brands and like to keep up with the trends.

Interesting facts about the segment:

• They like playing video games, gambling machines, and lottery
• They rarely watch TV, and only watch it whenever they find something mainstream that can interest them
• They actively use the internet mainly to communicate, chat with their friends, and get information about parties, social events, etc.

16 Personalities (why do you need them in your business?)

You can find complete information about HEDONISTS in the e-book version of the “16 Personalities” creative workbook developed by THE SOCIAL GRABBER team, the image link of which is posted below. You may also have questions about how to attract Hedonists. What are the insights of their consumer behavior? To focus on them in our advertising campaigns or promotions. Let me tell you that there are detailed revelations in the book “16 Personalities”.

As the title of the book hints, HEDONISTS are virtually just one of 16 segments. I’m confident that  every business owner or marketing manager should study to find the right buyer persona to replicate Gucci’s success in its competition. Concentrating on your real buyer persona is very important. This is like love when your BRAND finds its significant other. Such a targeting strategy is doomed to success.

Reading the book will also give you quite new knowledge about sales, negotiations, and having the right relationship with customers!

Let’s begin from the vision and mission statements of Versace

Vision Statement: “To make women and men feel beautiful and empowered, the House of Versace is an established fashion force that continues to inspire both trends and people.”

Versace acknowledges its role in the industry. The company confirms that it has power in dictating and creating trends. It wants to inspire and motivate people with the help of fashion and make them feel great about themselves.

Mission Statement: “Versace will pursue its sales goals on national and international markets through the offer of fashion, luxury and high-quality products at competitive conditions and in compliance with laws designed to protect competition.”

The brand wants to stay focused on luxurious and fashionable products and ensure high quality for them. It wants to continuously grow and improve its position and influence in the fashion industry worldwide.

Now, it’s time to find out marketing strategies used by Versace.

To identify what strategies are used by the company, let’s look at the following post from the Instagram page of the company.

The post aims to introduce a piece from the new collection. The picture of the post is bright, interesting, and combines remarkably interesting details and colors. It seems like the brand mixed and matched fabrics in a way that is not usual or average. It identifies a distinctive vision and a different sense of fashion.

The model looks noticeably confident and feels great about his appearance in this character. We can see on the tie the name of the legendary Gianni Versace, who was the founder of this fashion house. This speaks about the legacy, history, and experience of the brand in this industry. All these details of the post clearly show that Versace belongs to the Magician brand archetype.

Now, let’s understand what Magician archetype stands for.

Desire: knowledge about the ways the universe and world work.

Aim: realize dreams

Strategy: Creating a vision and living it

Let’s go through the messaging levels of Magician archetype:

Level One: extrasensory, premonitions or synchronous experiences

Level Two: transformational experiences and magical moments

Level Tree: experiencing flow, rush

Level Four: a transition from vision to manifestation

The Magician archetype would be favorable and promising for your brand if:

• Its products are transformative and have a hidden promise of transforming the customer
• It contains psychological or spiritual elements
• Its products are novelty and trendy in the market and have medium to high price range

Brand Archetypes. Why do we need them in practice?

Being a leader in the industry also requires proper branding and messaging tactics. Here I want to mention the importance of the branding based on the archetypes. Nike says “Just do it”. What do they want to tell us? They just emphasize the inner heroes inside of us. Here it is, famous brands like Nike and their rivals Adidas have adopted branding tactics based on archetypes.

And it’s up to you to dive in and learn better the following directions. We have written a book “8 steps to a complete archetypal branding” that shows you clear ways to reach your target and conquer their hearts immediately.  Just try archetypal branding on any of the brands you are working on.

After discussing the archetype of Versace, let’s look at the SWOT analysis of the company.

Strengths

Global recognition: Versace is known all around the world and has high brand recognition. Its brand image and brand equity are strong, and the brand has more than 80 stores worldwide.

Celebrity endorsement: Throughout its history, Versace has been continuously doing celebrity endorsements. Lady Gaga, Jennifer Lopez, and Halle Berry are among the celebrities who were chosen to represent the brand.

Loyal customer: Versace is incredibly lucky with the customer base that it has. The majority of Versace’s customers are very loyal to the brand and would hardly substitute its products.

Weaknesses

Counterfeit products: Versace isn’t an exception when it comes to faked premium products. This brand also deals with trademark infringements and counterfeits that affect their brand image.

Frequent updates: Versace like other luxury brands in the industry needs to continuously change and evolve to stay trendy. This requires flexibility and money which can cause complications.

Opportunities

Novelties: Versace can come up with new designs and products that would be innovative and trendsetter in the market.

Online shopping: Due to increasing online retail it becomes possible for Versace and many similar brands to reach more people worldwide without physical presence and high costs.

Emerging economies: The demand for premium products is continuously growing in emerging markets which gives Versace place and opportunity to gain more power and influence.

Threats

Competition: There is severe competition in the fashion industry. Brands like Versace need to put lots of effort to keep their influence among other similar influential brands.

Substitution: Nowadays, the offering of products is truly diverse in the majority of industries which make all the products even in the luxe market substitutable.

Now, it’s time to go through the segmentation strategy of Versace.

To understand what segment Versace chose to target, let’s look at the following commercial of the company.

We can see a very dynamic and fast-developing video scenario featuring two attractive and young people. They are in love and their attraction with each other is obvious. Supposedly, they are separated, and their sadness is visible. There are a lot of different details through the dynamism of the commercial.

We can see that both characters of the video look neat and seems like their appearance is important to them. There is a part where we can see the women dressed in very trendy and beautiful Versace clothing. The video is accompanied by classical music and contains a variety of cultural pieces, statues. It seems like the commercial was shot in a museum.

After analyzing the commercial and all its details, we can say with confidence that the target customers of Versace are Carpe Diems.

So, who are Carpe Diems?

Lifestyle and Values:  Carpe Diems like to fill their lives with variety and dynamism. They are outgoing like to spend their time with friends and overall enjoy life. They understand the importance of having a good career very well. They want to earn their own money and be independent in any sense.

Their look is especially important to them and they always keep up with trends and look neat. Carpe Diems have a strong connection with culture, and like visiting cultural events, museums, and exhibitions.     

Shopping Preferences: Carpe Diems are brand oriented and usually tend to choose quality over quantity. They are very loyal to the brands which they initially choose. As a result, they rarely switch between brands and their shopping habits in general. With every purchase, they look for personal pleasure. They find the process of shopping and spending money very enjoyable and want to make sure that they got the best deal.

Interesting facts about the segment:

• They like reading and give preference to biographies and literary books.
• They don’t like watching TV, and if they do, then it is something mainstream like movies, sports, music, etc. 
• They use the internet all the time both for entertainment and for connecting with people. 

Summing up, analyzing both Gucci and Versace showed us how different and similar can two brands from the same industry be in their strategies and characteristics. Hopefully, this blog was an effective and engaging way to get to know these brands better. Check out the main page of our website for more posts like this.