Burberry this week became the first luxury fashion brand to partner with Twitch, signifying a new era for the fast-growing live-streaming platform for gamers.
In a groundbreaking collaboration, Amazon-owned Twitch streamed the Burberry Spring/Summer 2021 show from London Fashion Week, demonstrating its potential for luxury marketers. The hour-long stream garnered approximately 42,000 concurrent views. Streamed in “squad stream mode” to offer multiple perspectives from celebrities like Bella Hadid and Rosalía, the show marked a radical departure from Twitch’s usual content — live streaming mega-hit video games such as Fortnite and Call of Duty.
Twitch is confident that luxury fashion has a place on the platform, says Adam Harris, global head of brand partnerships at the company. Twitch was acquired by Amazon in 2014 for $1 billion and had average concurrent viewer numbers of 1.44 million in March of this year, a remarkable figure by any standards. User numbers rose by 57 per cent in the first four weeks of lockdown. Although audiences are broadening in terms of age, 43 per cent of its user base is Gen Z. “The younger generation in particular are very savvy,” says Harris. “It’s quite hard to get them to engage with brands and activities, but with Twitch it’s a live community-based experience. People are able to simultaneously watch something and discuss it in real time. This opens up a whole host of opportunities for Burberry.”