A Case Study of Balenciaga's Fashion Marketing Strategy

Ziling Li a

HKUSPACE, Hong Kong, 999077, China

Keywords: BALENCIAGA, Generation Z Luxury Consumption Behavior, Luxury Fashion Controversy, SWOT

Analysis of Viral Marketing.

Abstract: In light of the intensifying competition within the global luxury market, largely driven by the emergence of a

younger consumer demographic, this study employs Balenciaga as a case examination to investigate the internal

logic and multifarious effects of its innovative fashion marketing strategy, as informed by practical outcomes.

By utilizing a comprehensive case analysis alongside an exploration of the preferences of young consumer

groups, as well as conducting a SWOT analysis and examining marketing strategies implemented by other

luxury brands in response to evolving demands. This study concludes that Balenciaga has effectively achieved

a reconstruction of brand value and market penetration through a tripartite marketing framework: promotional

marketing through innovative products, style development intertwined with various subcultures, and the

integration of digital virtual products with technological advancements. SWOT analysis of controversial

marketing shows that it can provide brands with low-cost and large-scale advertising, while there is a weakness

in weakening the brand image. At the same time, this has external threats, which are caused by consumers'

boycotts caused to negative emotions, and the opportunity for brands to dissipate the previous new products

will also receive widespread attention from the public. The research offers four recommendations aimed at

transforming weaknesses into opportunities while effectively balancing threats and opportunities.

1 INTRODUCTION

In the rapidly evolving luxury industry, consumer

demographics are shifting towards younger

generations. Cho et al. (2022) posited that Gen Z (i.e.,

born after 1996) is an important target market for the

fashion and luxury industry. This has led brands to

prioritize the needs of younger generations of

consumers, exacerbating the challenge of balancing

innovation with traditional preservation. One of the

needs of young consumers is sustainable

development. Research shows that Gen Z has become

the main consumer group, which tends to choose

sustainable brands and is willing to pay 10% more for

these sustainable products (Petro, 2020, as cited in

Youn & Cho, 2021). To cater to their needs, luxury

brands utilize some unique marketing strategies, such

as controversy marketing, digital marketing, and eco-

friendly marketing. However, these strategies also

come with some risks. Maison and Pawlowska (2017,

as cited in Noland, 2020) found that the controversial

strategy can capture substantial audience attention,

https://orcid.org/0009-0005-3431-7836

while it can impair brand image. Although many

researchers have shown strong interest in the current

state of diversified marketing in the luxury industry,

there has been insufficient research on how brands

such as Balenciaga can balance the pros and cons of

controversial marketing, integration of Asian culture,

and digital marketing.

A force to be reckoned with in the fashion

industry, Balenciaga was founded by Spanish

designer Cristóbal Balenciaga in San Sebastian,

Spain, in 1917. After this, it moved to Paris. Due to

its extreme tailoring, sculptural silhouettes, and

subversive design, the designer Cristóbal Balenciaga

is known as the "father of haute couture".

Additionally, minimalism, subversion of tradition,

structural innovation, and diversified integration have

become the brand's code. The brand's style is

characterized by avant-garde rebellion, a street-

defying futuristic aesthetic, and a digitally native

approach. The use and embodiment of these contents

can be found in products such as the Hourglass

handbag, the Winter 2022 collection, and the Meta

Balenciaga NFT. As the core luxury brand of Kering,

Li, Z.

A Case Study of Balenciaga’s Fashion Marketing Strategy.

DOI: 10.5220/0013845400004719

Paper published under CC license (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)

In Proceedings of the 2nd International Conference on E-commerce and Modern Logistics (ICEML 2025), pages 379-383

ISBN: 978-989-758-775-7

379

alongside Gucci and Saint Laurent, Balenciaga

represents the innovation benchmark of the

contemporary luxury industry. Balenciaga's

commitment to "avant-garde" and "iconoclastic

aesthetics" such as the Triple S, the "dad shoe"

launched by Creative Director Demna Gvasalia in

2016, redefined the "ugly fashion" trend of luxury.

However, under the wave of digitalization and

rejuvenation, the century-old brand is undergoing an

unprecedented transformation: from the "ugly

fashion" revolution led by Demna Gvasalia to the

launch of virtual skins in the collaboration "Honor of

Kings", Balenciaga is trying to attract Gen Z through

controversy marketing, subcultural fusion and

metaverse layout. For example, the "children's

advertising incident" is necessary to systematically

analyze the logic and risks of their strategies, which

happened in 2022. By analyzing Balenciaga's

marketing strategies for controversy marketing,

subculture communication, and joining the

metaverse, people can better understand the ideas and

logic behind the marketing methods of luxury brands

and understand the great significance of marketing to

brands. On the other hand, marketing methods that

keep pace with the times can allow brands to develop

more potential customers. In this paper ， the

significance lies in analyzing Balenciaga's dispute

marketing methods to study the positive and negative

effects of dispute marketing on luxury brands.

Therefore, the core question of this study is to

uncover the dynamic tension in Balenciaga's

controversial marketing strategy, which is how to

attract public attention to engage consumers in the

discussion in the short term, but damage the brand

and lead to the loss of brand equity in the long run.

To study this problem, this paper primarily employs

the literature and case study methods, while

integrating the SWOT model for an in-depth analysis.

Further, this article starts by introducing three

Balenciaga marketing cases as a preface: namely,

controversial marketing, integrating subculture, and

virtual goods. It then provides a detailed and

comprehensive SWOT analysis of dispute marketing,

ultimately presenting suggestions from the

perspectives of both laymen and insiders.

2 CASE ANALYSIS

In response to the rapid development of the digital

age, Balenciaga chose to distinguish its brand from

the crowd by producing controversial products,

integrating subcultures, and launching virtual

products. These moves not only gave Balenciaga

exposure to the public but also attracted a certain

number of young consumers. The Trash Pouch

incident is a good example of controversy marketing.

In the fall of 2021, Balenciaga launched a black

handbag that resembles a regular garbage bag, which

sells for $1,790. The launch of the product has

received extensive attention and discussion.

Balenciaga's Trash Pouch, which was initially

regarded as outrageous, has now become a highly

coveted item in the fashion sphere and has gained

popularity among young people on social media

platforms (MODA, 2018, as cited in Hobin, 2024).

Behind this seemingly lively scene is Balenciaga's

creation of topics through unconventional design,

aiming at Gen Z's preference for absurd aesthetics. In

contrast, the children's advertising incident that took

place in 2022 is a negative example. The main reason

for the controversy was the alleged sexualisation of

children because the child model was holding a

BDSM-style teddy bear in the advertisement. As a

result, Balenciaga was severely judged and criticized

by the public. Jin (2023) posted that due to

considerable public pressure, Balenciaga eventually

removed the contested images and issued an apology.

This incident is a painful lesson for the brand. When

it comes to dispute marketing, it can have both

positive and negative effects on brands. Secondly, the

coexistence of localization opportunities and cultural

risks has an impact on subculture adoption in the

Chinese market. Opportunity refers to the virtual skin

of the alliance with Honor of Kings in 2023, which is

a Chinese competitive mobile game. Balenciaga has

achieved excellent results by translating iconic

pieces, such as the Hourglass bag and the Triple S

sneakers, into the skins of the game's Diao Chan and

Li Bai characters. Many luxury brands try this idea to

appeal to younger consumers. For instance, MAC is

launching a series of limited edition co-branded

lipsticks for the more than 54 percent of female Honor

of Kings users (Xiao, 2021). The brand is reaching

Gen Z and Millennial customers by building a large

pool of esports users in China. The risk lies in the lack

of a deep understanding of the local subculture,

resulting in a poor presentation of the product, which

is criticized for superficial work. For example, in

2023, Balenciaga will launch the Cyberpunk Wuxia

series with the theme of integrating martial arts and

futuristic technology. For this reason, the

collaborative project of the Cyberpunk Wuxia series

was suspended. In the subculture adoption market,

where risks and opportunities coexist, brands should

dig deep into the core of culture to ensure the design

effect. Thirdly, with the rise of the metaverse,

Balenciaga experimented with virtual products. In

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2023, the 3D virtual shoe "Mate Balenciaga" will be

released in limited quantities on the Roblox platform.

Users can wear avatars and interact socially. The

investment cost of a distinctive digital assertion

project is high, but the project has achieved

outstanding results. Dou (2024) argued that research

conducted by Roblox in 2023 revealed that the

number of digital fashion items reached 1.65 billion.

Hence, this reinforces the brand's image as a

technology and fashion innovator and is very

beneficial to Balenciaga's future development. In

summary, through three strategies: controversy

marketing, digital innovation, and subcultural

integration, Balenciaga demonstrates its pioneering

and risky characteristics in fashion marketing. At the

same time, it also shows that in the wave of

digitalization and globalization, luxury brands need to

find a dynamic balance between innovation and

breakthroughs and cultural respect, as well as a

balance between traffic acquisition and brand value.

3 SWOT ANALYSIS

The SWOT analysis is used in the controversial

marketing employed by Balenciaga. A SWOT

analysis is a comprehensive analysis that

encompasses internal strengths (S) and

weaknesses(W), external opportunities (O), and

threats (T). For the strength part, controversial

marketing is a great opportunity for exposure. Not

only is it low-cost, but it will also bring a wider

audience to know about the brand and other products

released by the brand. Consequently, develop more

potential consumers for Balenciaga. In addition,

controversial marketing is in line with Balenciaga's

avant-garde style and iconoclastic code. This helps

the brand to better establish an image of avant-garde

and iconoclastic aesthetics. In terms of disadvantages,

the outcome of controversy marketing is

unpredictable; in other words, it may have a positive

impact on the brand, or it may harm the brand. For

example, the children's advertising incident in 2022,

this controversial marketing matter was detrimental

to brand image management, resulting in Balenciaga

losing many fans. The social media boycott, which

was initiated in response to the brand's perceived lack

of support for the Black Lives Matter movement,

rapidly gained momentum, reaching even the streets;

besides, this led to acts of vandalism against two

flagship stores in Los Angeles and London (Gárgoles

& Ambás, 2023). Moreover, over-reliance on

controversial marketing can weaken the luxury

attributes of brands. In terms of opportunities,

Balenciaga can seize the wind of public opinion,

launch new products, and maintain the popularity of

the brand. Donating 5% of the sales of the disputed

products to the Youth Arts Foundation facilitates the

restoration of the image. On the treats hand, this

marketing idea and innovation will attract the

attention of the public, but it will also easily lead to

imitation by competitors. Additionally, controversial

marketing could accelerate widespread consumer

discussion on social media. As a result, it may

provoke a reaction from consumers. Consequently,

this boycott would affect the Kering Group's financial

position. Kering's financial records demonstrate a 27

percent decline in sales within a single week after the

boycott (Chen, 2022). The study combines the

analysis of the four directions of SWOT with an

investigation of the impact of dispute marketing on

luxury brands, displaying the advantages and

disadvantages.

4 SUGGESTION

The following recommendations are proposed for the

multifaceted impact of dispute marketing.

First, brands need to control the number and

proportion of disputed products. This is because the

overexposure of the controversial product could

dilute the brand's extravagant familiarity and weaken

the brand's noble image. In order to prevent the

negative impact of diluting the luxury attributes of

brands, brands can learn how GUCCI controls

product proportions to balance innovative products

with classic products. The GUCCI uses the rule of 28

to control the proportion of controversial products,

which means that classic goods make up 80% of the

total goods, and the remaining 20% are controversial

goods and innovative goods. This approach is

conducive to retaining existing customers while

developing target customers.

Second, the luxury brand can arrange for the

designer of the controversial product to shoot a

documentary or short film about it. This helps

potential consumers connect with the product,

understand the designer's inspiration, and establish an

emotional resonance between the designer and the

consumer, reducing the negative emotions caused by

the masses due to incomprehension. In addition,

visual transmission, like documentary or short film,

will better convey the brand's story. In the study of

Saifa (2023), the visual media is considered to be one

of the most accessible forms of storytelling. Hence,

the purpose of conveying brand value and

A Case Study of Balenciaga’s Fashion Marketing Strategy

381

strengthening the emotional link between the brand

and consumers is achieved.

Third, the company can set up an independent

team of risk assessment experts. This allows brands

to estimate the risk in the market before listing the

disputed product, reducing the probability that the

brand will have a negative impact due to the disputed

product. This approach also reduces the area of public

opinion storms. On the other hand, the establishment

of an independent team of experts can also play a

supporting role in times of brand crisis. In other

words, when facing a crisis, the brand needs to gather

cross-functional teams (team members come from

different fields) together to quickly integrate multi-

dimensional information, systematically integrate

customer needs, technical trends, and business

models, and quickly produce ideas (Bar Am et al.,

2020).

Finally, a statement is made on social media

software or the official website that part of the

disputed product will be donated to a public

foundation, such as the Youth Arts Foundation. An

advantage of this approach is that it maintains the

brand's image in front of the public, thereby winning

the goodwill of consumers and attracting more

customers. Sengabira, Septianto, and Northey (2020)

predicted that if luxury brands can continue to express

their commitment through corporate social

responsibility activities, consumers' skepticism about

their social responsibility behavior will be effectively

reduced; also, a more positive evaluation of the brand

will be formed. The brand donating money to public

foundations is a manifestation of corporate social

responsibility. Furthermore, this approach can also

promote the subsequent cultural co-creation program

of inviting young artists. This series of actions helped

the brand establish a positive public image and also

fostered the development of social art.

Through those four suggestions, the effect of

turning disadvantages into opportunities and

balancing threats and opportunities can be achieved.

This will not only help Balenciaga manage short-term

risk with its controversial marketing strategy, but also

lay the foundation for a steady growth of its long-term

brand equity.

5 CONCLUSION

This study analyzes the dual effects inherent to

Balenciaga's controversial marketing strategies and

the integration of subcultural approaches, along with

the favorable feedback acquired from participation in

the metacosmic wave. The objective is to provide

insights into the results and the underlying rationale

behind these phenomena. Moreover, the research

underscores a comprehensive assessment of the

SWOT analysis associated with controversial

marketing. The findings are organized into four

sections. First, controversial marketing enables rapid

and widespread communication while yielding cost-

effective publicity results for brand products.

Secondly, products that are incongruous with

consumer values may lead to adverse effects on brand

image. Thirdly, newly launched products during

periods of heightened popularity possess inherent

opportunities for traffic and visibility. Lastly, public

resistance can represent a significant threat to

profitability. To mitigate these concerns, brands

should implement four strategies: regulating the

proportion of controversial products, producing

documentaries and short films related to such

products, establishing an independent expert team for

an in-depth analysis of market-entry products, and

allocating a portion of the revenue derived from

controversial products towards charitable donations.

The importance of this study resides in elucidating

the rationale that underpins the marketing strategies

employed by luxury brands in response to the

evolving demands of a younger consumer

demographic and the effects of marketing on brand

perception. The primary challenge is to navigate the

dynamic tension wherein controversial marketing

may afford brands short-term traffic advantages while

potentially compromising brand image and leading to

long-term asset depreciation. The following

limitations of the research are acknowledged. Firstly,

the timeliness of the cases restricts the observational

data cycle to a period spanning from 2020 to 2024,

whereas changes in long-term brand value require

continuous tracking. Additionally, the study cannot

fully quantify the significant impact of cultural

appropriation on particular communities.

Furthermore, the data concerning metacosmic

consumption is affected by the technological bubble,

necessitating the exclusion of short-term speculation.

Future research endeavors could encompass vertical

comparisons of the controversial marketing

trajectories of brands such as Gucci and Vetements,

the development of an index system for assessing

cultural value loss, and the introduction of

neuromarketing experiments aimed at exploring

consumer subconscious cognitive biases. Moreover,

investigating methodologies to integrate market

research and analysis would facilitate the

establishment of a comprehensive three-dimensional

management and control system for cultural co-

creation, ethical reviews, and value precipitation.

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