CARDI B - B FOR BALENCIAGA

Figure One: Cardi B advertisement for Balenciaga A/W collection 2020. (Source: Iamcardib, Instagram).

Cardi B graces Paris with her presence, as she’s plastered onto the huge Balenciaga billboard on one of Paris’ most famous buildings… the Louvre (Pieri, 2020). The icon’s wearing a “black catsuit-dress hybrid” (Batra and Keller, 2016), from the A/W 2020 collection, laid on artificial grass, looking glamourous as ever, surrounded by Kultures’ toys. Alongside the classic Balenciaga Neo bag (Bobb,2020). The aim of the advertisement was to get consumers attention (Batra and Keller, 2016) and send the message to consumers that despite being a luxury brand, Balenciaga’s also made for everyday life. Cardi self- shot this photo at home, making Balenciaga appear more relatable. The advert is fun, exciting and full of life, just like Cardi.

The marketing mix has been utilized to perfection. The campaign is for Balenciaga’s A/W 2020 collection (Bobb, 2020) and is promoted on a billboard in Paris, which is fitting as Balenciaga is a French brand. The placing of the billboard could not be better, it’s on the Louvre (Elle, 2020), one of the most popular tourist attractions in Paris which will be seen by many. The nearest Balenciaga store is located a 10-minute walk away (Google Maps, 2020), Improving convenience for consumers at the end of their decision-making process (Cope and Maloney, 2016), increasing the likelihood of their end decision resulting in an action being taken and purchase made.

Figure Two: Balenciaga Billboard on the Louvre featuring Cardi B.

(Source: Iamcardib, Instagram).

The last time Balenciaga used celebrity endorsement was in 2018, making Cardi B, being the face of the Balenciaga campaign more exciting (Davidson, 2020). This also allowed the campaign to stand out against competitors, YSL & Gucci, who both often use celebrity endorsement as a form of promotion. Cardi B is notably one of the most famous artists at the moment, known for the controversy caused by her song ‘WAP’. Balenciaga is targeting young women, who feel empowered by Cardi B. Balenciaga may feature an expensive price-point however, it’s a luxury and quality brand, with added value because Cardi B endorses it.

Although customer journeys are now more dynamic, consumers still follow a traditional decision-making structure, the AIDA model is an example of this (Batra and Keller, 2016). Consumers first become aware that Cardi B is the face of Balenciaga’s A/W 2020 collection. The next stage is interest, where consumers are likely to find out more information about the collection, such as by browsing Balenciaga’s website.

Research has found that, the message of a promotion is often more important than how many times it’s communicated (Batra and Keller, 2016) there’s only one advertisement featuring Cardi B, portraying the message that Balenciaga is unique. Generating desire for the product because people perceive it as exclusive. The final stage of the consumer decision making process is action, consumers decide whether they’ll make a purchase from Balenciaga. Promotions have one of the greatest influences on inspiring action to be taken (Batra and Keller, 2016). The Balenciaga billboard is large and features vibrant colours, attracting consumers attention. It features an analogous colour scheme, creating a luxury and charismatic aesthetic to match Balenciaga’s brand identity.

I feel that the objectives of the promotional activity were met because, it captivated one of the busiest tourist locations in Paris, and Balenciaga was the first luxury fashion house Cardi B has shot a campaign for, giving it a competitive advantage (Bobb, 2020).

Reference List:

Batra, R., & Keller, K. L. 2016. Integrating marketing communications: New findings, new lessons, and new ideas. Journal of Marketing. 80(6), 122–145.

Bobb, B. 2020. Cardi B’s impressive Balenciaga Billboard graces the Louvre. [Online]. [Accessed on 18th December 2020]. Available from: https://www.vogue.co.uk/news/article/cardi-b-balenciaga-louvre

Cope, J. and Maloney, D. 2016. Fashion promotion in practice. London: Bloomsbury Publishing.

Davidson, E. 2020. Cardi B is the new face of Balenciaga. [Online]. [Accessed on 18th December 2020]. Available from:https://www.dazeddigital.com/fashion/article/50311/1/cardi-b-new-face-of-balenciaga-campaign-demna-gvasalia-aw20-paris

Elle, 2020. Fashion campaigns you need to see. [Online]. [Accessed on 6th October 2020]. Available from: https://www.elle.com/uk/fashion/trends/g32298/best-fashion-campaigns/?slide=12

Google Maps. 2020. [Online]. [Accessed on 18th December 2020]. Available from: https://www.google.com/maps/dir/Louvre+Museum,+Rue+de+Rivoli,+75001+Paris,+France/BALENCIAGA,+336+Rue+Saint-Honoré,+75001+Paris,+France/@48.8632724,2.3317156,17z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m14!4m13!1m5!1m1!1s0x47e671d877937b0f:0xb975fcfa192f84d4!2m2!1d2.337644!2d48.8606111!1m5!1m1!1s0x47e66e2e34e70c89:0xb8f04614ec77b817!2m2!1d2.3302844!2d48.8659267!3e2

Pieri, K. 2020. Cardi B takes her rightful place on the Louvre. [Online]. [Accessed on 18 December 2020]. Available from: https://www.harpersbazaar.com/fashion/trends/a33895841/cardi-b-balenciaga-fall-2020/