Burberry and Prada are two names synonymous with luxury and are expected to remain two of the most popular luxury brands in the fashion business throughout the year 2021. Luxury brands, which have been a part of the fashion industry for many years, have undergone several power shifts over the past few years and continue to appeal to an upscale consumer base. With a brand worth of around $3.9 billion, Burberry ranked as the ninth most valuable luxury brand in the world. Prada, with a $5.6 billion valuation, is the second-most valuable brand in the fashion and luxury industry. That ranks the house sixth on the list, just behind automobile giant Ferrari. This Burberry vs Prada post compares the two brands to ascertain which is better.
Burberry vs. Prada- An Overview
Burberry is a London-based luxury British brand. Since its inception, the company has been noted for its forward-thinking approach. When founder Thomas Burberry invented gabardine—the weatherproof cotton material from which the trench coats of Burberry are made—the company was born. These include ready-to-wear such as trench coats, eyewear, footwear, leather goods, fashion accessories, sunglasses, and colognes and cosmetics (for which it is maybe least well known). Checked prints have become a well-known hallmark of Burberry, which stays faithful to its British heritage while assuring its clients the true-blue English style. It is also a guarantee of consistent quality and longevity that the Burberry trademark provides to buyers. Burberry’s guiding principle since its founding in 1856: “Creativity Opens Spaces.” The fashion house creates outerwear that allows brave men and women to break the boundaries of human endeavor. According to Burberry’s website, the company’s goal is to unlock the power of imagination and provide new possibilities for its employees, customers, and communities. By the end of 2021, Burberry had a global brand worth of $3.9 billion, ranking ninth among the most valuable luxury brands.
Prada has often demonstrated their status as a powerful influence in the fashion business. Prada has been designing and selling handbags, shoes, garments, and fashion accessories for men, women, and children for over 100 years. These items are known for their exquisite craftsmanship and innovative designs. Fratelli Prada, the name by which the company was initially known, rose to prominence as an illustrious name in the fashion industry almost immediately after it was founded. Since its inception one hundred years ago, the brand has had a stellar reputation in the fashion sector worldwide. Prada is now practically synonymous with luxury goods, and the brand consistently exceeds customers’ expectations year after year. Prada is perceived as a luxurious brand, so its prices are typically comparable to those of other designer labels.
Burberry vs Prada History
The Burberry vs Prada comparison would not be complete without touching on their respective backstories.
Burberry History
Thomas Burberry, a 21-year-old draper, founded Burberry in 1856 after realizing the need for outerwear that could withstand the unpredictable climate in Britain. The young man’s initial focus was on outdoor wear, and soon this draper from Basingstoke was the go-to for prominent figures like Lords Baden Powell and Kitchener. Burberry’s fame grew much more in 1879 when he invented gabardine. For outdoor clothing, gabardine’s revolutionary weatherproof, durable, and breathable properties made it an instant classic. Burberry patented gabardine in 1888. Burberry founded its first store in London’s Haymarket in 1891, and it was an instant success. After nine years, the now-iconic “Equestrian Knight” emblem was adopted; it prominently featured the Latin word “Prorsum,” which means to march forward.
During World War I, Burberry continued to make history with British officers’ widespread use of their trench coats. The Tielocken was a type of trench coat that fastened at the waist and covered the wearer completely, from the neck down. Standard Tielockens has a buckle closure, a single shoulder strap, and a single button at the collar. In 1999, the company shortened its name to “Burberry.” And the checkered pattern quickly became a symbol of the label’s enduring style and sophistication. Despite the check’s legendary status as a trademark, not everything was rosy. So, when a new CEO came along in 2006, he sought to expand the Burberry brand by removing the signature check from nearly all of the company’s offerings and instead putting more emphasis on fragrances and cosmetics. This risky action helped restore Burberry’s popularity among current shoppers. In 2013, Burberry launched its “see now, buy now” campaign, which allowed shoppers to buy items from the runway online and by mobile immediately after the Spring and Summer 2014 show. This bold and original move helped the company achieve the attention it deserved in the second decade of the millennium.
In 2016, Burberry showed unprecedented effort by rebranding all of its sub-labels under a single name: Burberry. And this included the ready-to-wear Burberry Prorsum line, the more casual Burberry Brit line, and the accessory line Burberry London, which includes trench coats and Burberry watches accessible via trusted suppliers like LaxWatchCo. Burberry is now more innovative and confident than ever before, and it looks forward to the future with optimism and optimism. Inspired and designed by Thomas Burberry and Peter Saville, the new logo positions Burberry to continue its legacy as one of the most recognizable brands in British luxury goods.
Prada History
Mario Prada established Prada as a premium leather-goods company in Milan in 1913. However, the label didn’t significantly influence the fashion industry until granddaughter Miuccia Prada acquired control of the company in 1978. A black nylon bag with a silver triangle logo. Her designs for footwear and accessories quickly gained a devoted following among the globe’s most discerning shoppers in the Western Hemisphere and Japan. Miuccia Prada has tight supervision over the company with her husband and business associate Patrizio Bertelli. They later launched a ready-to-wear line in 1989. And this was followed by the younger, slightly more affordable Miu Miu brand in 1992 and then Prada Sport, whose signature red line is almost as well-known as Nike’s swoosh logo. Stores in Paris, France, San Francisco, and New York that were created in partnership with architect Rem Koolhaas have become overnight sensations. Later in the 1990s, Prada bought and sold shares in Fendi, Gucci, and other companies, and in 2000, it formed a collaboration with Azzedine Alaia.
In July 2016, e-commerce sites Net-a-Porter and Mytheresa began selling Prada garments. Sales at Prada increased in March 2018 for the first time since 2014, sending the company’s stock price soaring by 14%. Prada declared in 2019 that it would no longer use fur in any of its goods beginning in 2020, citing the need to abolish animal testing as a priority. Belgian designer Raf Simons was appointed co-creative director by Miuccia Prada and Patrizio Bertelli in February 2020. The luxury brand declared in August 2020 that it would stop using kangaroo leather. Promotion of the Prada Resort 21 collection was featured in the 2020 issue of Vanity Teen. Prada’s founder, Patrizio Bertelli, had always wanted to compete in America’s Cup, so in 1997, he formed Team Luna Rossa. Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron announced on September 28, 2017, that Prada would succeed Louis Vuitton as the host sponsor of the Challenger Selection Series for the 2021 America’s Cup. This sponsorship arrangement had previously been in place since 1983. America’s Cup Match, formerly known as the Louis Vuitton Cup, would from then be known as the Prada Cup. Prada would serve as the series’s title sponsor. To be held in January of 2021 in Auckland, New Zealand.
Burberry Marketing Strategy
Burberry has a content production strategy informed by digital marketing principles. The company understands the need to stand out in today’s era of abundant data, most notably from competing companies’ material. In doing so, they have found enormous success by establishing themselves in content marketing.
Iconosquare, an Instagram analytics tool, reported that Burberry had 7.9 million followers in 2016, making it the most popular fashion brand on Instagram. This company is at the very pinnacle of not just the list of top 10 fashion businesses but also the list of top 10 overall influencers. It ranked above illustrious names in fashion, such as Primark, Alexander McQueen, and Stella McCartney, and automotive industries like Jaguar, Bentley, and the BBC, which is widely recognized as a leader in its field. Burberry has a staggering 19.6 million Instagram followers as of August 2022. As a company that has invested much in digital marketing, Burberry’s dominance in this space is maybe not surprising. It was ahead of its time in adopting digital technologies, such as social media and the use of the internet for promotional purposes, as well as the use of electronic means of shopping for and making purchases from its merchandise. Snapchat has also been heavily utilized by the firm, particularly during peak shopping times like Chinese New Year, to announce new product lines and advertise company-wide initiatives.
Burberry and Pinterest
Since 2016, Burberry has aimed to offer its customers a more individualized experience via Pinterest. This goal continues to be active today, and they are also the first luxury brand ever to accomplish something like this. Every user who visits the Carlashes landing page for the company is presented with three questions and corresponding answers describing their typical approach to applying cosmetics. In addition, these pins, together with the user’s initials, are incorporated into creating a Pinterest board. Everything would be handled in an automated and individualized fashion. The collaboration between Burberry and Pinterest to produce a new brand of mascara is being marketed as part of a campaign. And in addition to creating a personalized experience, the purpose was to encourage the customer to make a purchase. Each board contained a hyperlink leading directly to the Sephora online store, where customers might buy the things the brand recommended.
Burberry Acoustic Campaign
Without these two key ingredients, true content marketing would lack originality and original thought. To rebrand itself, Burberry has turned to musical performances to showcase its wares. This all began with the Burberry acoustic ad in 2014. The brand’s official website had room for this type of content. Additionally, significant British painters have been widely recognized for their work. Because of this and similar actions, they’ve taken the same platform. They have also used the music of these talented musicians on their YouTube channels and in their parades. Burberry employs this strategy by just playing the music of these British musicians in their stores. Who act as ambassadors for this time-honored British product. While also emphasizing the legacy and development of singer-songwriter music. So, in these Acoustic videos, the artists wear the brand’s clothes while they perform. The brand uses content marketing to instill these ideals further. The fact that it was the first fashion label to launch its dedicated Apple Music channel indicates its success.
Art of Trench
The “Art of Trench” program was launched to foster friendships and solidarity. That’s why they modified their trench coat advertising to feature regular people dressed in their classic models. You should know that this is one of the most significant brand initiatives ever. Also, Burberry’s 2009 debut on Facebook was a brilliant move. Along with the premiere on Facebook, the company built a website and hashtag called “Art of the Trench.” That resulted in millions of new users and turned them into enthusiastic promoters of the product. This campaign was pivotal for the company since it paved the way for its eventual digital transformation. Then, as the first fashion brand to be run entirely online, they set the bar high for content promotion.
Prada Marketing Strategies
To successfully serve all generations, Prada had to alter its business plan and adapt to new marketing techniques. This is made worse by the fact that Prada’s target market has expanded and new technology. Social media is used by everyone, from young individuals to older adults, to keep up with trends in clothing. These are some of the qualities Prada aims to emphasize in its marketing plan.
Candy Campaign
Prada has just unveiled the new inspiration behind their Candy scent collection. The campaign was fronted by a digital model named Candy and the slogan “RethinkReality,” rather than a famous actor or a luxury content provider with millions of followers. On the surface, Prada has done something revolutionary by fusing digital media with age-old advertising and high fashion methods. The work of promoting a new fragrance, purse, or lipstick often falls on influencers who are adept at storytelling because luxury firms have been reluctant to build social media feeds with compelling content. But Candy isn’t the first social media celebrity to gain notoriety in this way. In 2018, Shudu, a dark-skinned Black supermodel, appeared on Instagram, donning vivid orange Fenty Beauty lipstick.
Search Engine Optimization
Prada is aware of the importance SEO plays in achieving a high ranking. After all, luxury consumers rely heavily on Google to research companies and items. Looking at its websites, one can see that Prada puts a lot of money into SEO strategies. They succeeded with this strategy because of the high number of people currently using the internet.
Social Media
Prada is very active on Instagram. They have been employing Reels, and you can see examples of this in their official account. Images and videos of the items, as well as those of attractive models wearing the clothing, can be displayed in this way. Due to Facebook’s sophisticated ad targeting, the company’s online advertising campaigns have yielded excellent results. They also make heavy use of Instagram. This is since the fashion industry has been doing exceptionally well in this medium.
So, Which is Better Between Burberry and Prada?
Prada may be more valuable than Burberry, but the latter has been around the longest. Despite having headquarters on different continents, both brands cater to high-end customers. They both provide things that appeal to high-end markets, but their demands and styles differ. While we aim to be as neutral as possible, we believe that choosing which brand is superior to the other is entirely dependent on consumers. What price are they willing to pay, and what material do they prefer? Some people might argue that Prada is superior to Burberry and vice versa. Go through this Burberry vs. Prada comparison to determine which brand appeals to you the most.
