Hi everyone and happy Second Week of 2021! 

Our latest discussion at Design Land NYC has been about Bottega Veneta

Only last week, Bottega Veneta decided to close down its Instagram, Facebook and Twitter account unexpectedly, offering no announcement for future plans to follow.

What could have caused such an abrupt change? 

According to GQ Magazine, some speculation reveals that this may fit into a larger scheme of the brand’s marketing strategy, before the release of Bottega Veneta’s 2021 Spring-Summer Collection. In the recent weeks before the sudden Social Media “cleanse”, Bottega already debuted the brand’s Spring 2021 collection to a private socially distanced audience in London, the creative director’s Daniel Lee home base. According to Vogue, Daniel Lee does not believe in fashion shows, something that only makes sense for the brand and became the reason why he opted for a salon performance instead. The most exclusive luxury brands show very little online, creating a veil of mystique around their products and offer unique experiences through their stores. As Alber Elbaz has best said: “When you see too much of a designer, it means that it’s not too much of a good piece and they need to do too much publicity to push it forward.”

Why would this sudden shift in Bottega’s social media presence make a difference in the brand’s overall performance?

Now, more than ever brands have become more reliant on social media to promote their products, marketing campaigns, offer new channels of distribution and connection to their customers. Most luxury brands, if not all, have some social media presence in various scales, and have been increasing their digital activities throughout different platforms. 2019 and 2020 marked a significant shift of consumer attention to TikTok, a popular social media platform among the teenagers. As a result, many brands actively expanded on the new trending platform as a measure of staying on trend and being seen. As the 2020 pandemic precautions prevented social gatherings, many luxury houses have shown their collections creatively through online streaming mediums, completely changing the way how a fashion show can be organized, presented and consumed. 

Eliminating these social media outlets also means minimizing reach, specifically towards the younger consumer, when other luxury brands are actively trying to grab attention throughout trending platforms to create everlasting relationships with potential customers. 

Stealth Luxury Marketing Approach

However, Bottega Veneta is known as a stealth luxury brand, one to use anti-marketing marketing strategies of staying away from overexposed logos and design trends. We all know the previously used tagline “When your own initials are enough”, demonstrating a sense of discreteness, and amplifying the quality and craftsmanship character of the brand. Perhaps the decision to stay off social media for a while can be an extended tactic on their overall discreet marketing strategy, turning away from the overexposed heavily consumed mediums, and relying on word-of-mouth recognition. Bottega Veneta is a brand that few forget, and is often tagged or mentioned in celebrity wardrobe tours and handbag collections. While Bottega will not have their own hub on any social media platform, others will continue to talk about it out of sheer preference, and construct more genuine unintentional promotions. 

How long before we see Bottega on Social Media again?

We wonder how long Bottega will be off these platforms before debuting their next collection and returning to digital advertising. We all have that friend that swears to give up social media as their New Year resolution, in hope for spending more quality time, yet end up activating their account just days later. On a side note, we hear from Vogue that only over a month ago, the brand posted a listing for a global social media manager, so the real answer may be that the brand is preparing for a complete strategic transformation, and only time will tell when we will see it unfold online. 

While we were initially shocked at Design Land NYC to learn about Bottega Veneta’s social media cleanse, we now understand how that fits in the picture of stealth luxury marketing, and it is not radically new or unexpected for Bottega after all. If you are interested to read more on this story, check out these articles we read!

• GQ

• Vogue

• Harpers Bazaar

As always, we hope you are safe and healthy!

Sending joy,

 XOXO Lori / Design Land NYC