[25] Jacob Elordi, Andiamo, Ciao and Paparazzo - How Bottega Veneta Gained Cult Status Without Owned Social.
Let others do the talking to earn ultimate attention.
Hi! I’m Felicitas, a brand executive focusing on innovation across brands and products from a cultural insight perspective. Drawn to “what’s trending” and “the next thing” I write about cultural phenomena and forces, and how they impact brand marketing today and tomorrow. If you’re looking to understand the business of culture and trends, this newsletter is for you. Interested in connecting? DM me.
TL;DR Last weekend, I reached for one of my favorite bags to meet Eshita Kabra, CEO and founder of By Rotation, a start-up I joined recently as angel investor.
It was the Bottega Veneta Andiamo.
BV is an interesting case: In an era where social media presence is often deemed essential for a brand’s success, Bottega Veneta made a daring move by opting out of platforms such as Instagram, Facebook, and X. This decision, seemingly counterintuitive in the digital age, has not only preserved but enhanced the brand’s mystique and exclusivity, proving that less can indeed be more. So let’s explore the deliberate strategies that propelled Bottega Veneta to cult status despite its absence from social media and offers insights for other brands aiming to build cultural influence.
Deliberate Scarcity and Intrigue
The first strategy Bottega Veneta employed was creating deliberate scarcity. By leaving social media, the brand did the unthinkable, generating a buzz that turned into widespread curiosity and intrigue. This move aligned with the luxury principle of “less is more,” creating an aura of exclusivity around the brand. Rather than hearing directly from Bottega Veneta, consumers began talking about them, allowing the brand to maintain control over its narrative and cultivate a sense of mystery.
A fan-driven instagram account @newbottega became the new official go to source for the brand’s increasing fandom.
Leaning on Earned Media and Cultural Gatekeepers
Instead of relying on self-published content, Bottega Veneta leaned on earned media and cultural gatekeepers like fashion media, celebrities, and influencers to tell its story. This strategy created a cultural flywheel, with celebrities such as Rihanna, ASAP Rocky, and Jacob Elordi as well as Kendall Jenner wearing the brand’s pieces, sparking organic viral moments. So popular, that promptly after, the brand signed them as ambassadors. Media outlets and influencers became the brand’s amplifiers, providing free PR with the added benefit of cultural validation.
The Launch of “Issue” as a Curated Digital Publication
To maintain a digital presence on its own terms, Bottega Veneta launched “Issue,” a visually rich, editorial-style digital magazine featured on their website. “Issue” combined fashion editorials, behind-the-scenes content, and artistic collaborations, allowing the brand to control its narrative while still releasing curated digital content. This approach provided a platform for storytelling and further reinforced the brand’s unique voice.
Drive Desire at Scale
Under the creative direction of Daniel Lee and later, Mathieu Blazy, Bottega Veneta delivered minimalist yet high-impact visuals and a fresh take on luxury staples such as The Pouch, Puddle boots, Cassette and Andiamo bag.
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Their products became instantly recognizable and highly regrammable, even without an official Instagram presence. This creative direction made the products ultra-identifiable, driving cultural virality through their aesthetic appeal. With Louise Trotter now on in the seat, it shall be seen what cultural icons the brand drops next.
Tone and Expression Matter
Adding to the allure, Bottega Veneta's paparazzo campaign further heightened audience intrigue by positioning them as 'observers'. The campaign featured candid, paparazzi-style shots of celebrities wearing the brand's pieces, creating an authentic, unscripted glimpse into the lives of the rich and famous. This approach capitalized on the public's fascination with celebrity culture, while subtly promoting Bottega Veneta in the background. The candid nature of the images conveyed a sense of spontaneity and exclusivity, reinforcing the brand's mystique and making the audience feel like insiders witnessing something truly special.
In contrast, a recent campaign featured the SS25 fashion show’s animal seats as backdrop, showcasing a sense of humor, building on the success and social chatter these evoked during BV’s fashion show.
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Building a Community Without Followers
Bottega Veneta focused on tapping into select communities to leverage their reciprocal social conversations and interactions to build indirect influence - rather than accumulating follower counts on their owned channels. The brand’s design language invited interpretation and fostered consumer buy-in through emotional and aesthetic connections. Influencers and brand ambassadors organically promoted the pieces without the need for overt advertisements, and hundred’s of fan-driven, UGC style creator and curator accounts popped up as a result, helping to build a community around the brand. Bottega Veneta doesn’t have one owned social channel, it has hundred’s of fan driven ones.
Lessons for Other Brands
Bottega Veneta’s unconventional approach offers several key lessons for other brands:
· You Don’t Have to Be Everywhere—But You Must Be Intentional: It’s okay to step back from constant content. What matters is how and where you show up. Be selective in your channels and own your presence.
· Design is Media: Make your product recognizable at a glance. In a visual economy, design is your campaign.
· Let Culture Carry You: If your product, vision, and storytelling are strong, culture will share it for you. Focus on making content people want to talk about, not just posting for the algorithm.
· Build Brand Energy, Not Just Awareness: Cult status is built by sparking desire, curiosity, and conversation, not by overexposure.
· Building a Brand World: Think of yourself as a publisher delivering cultural hit after hit, in different expressions, media, places and collaborations
In conclusion, Bottega Veneta’s decision to eschew social media in favor of more controlled and deliberate marketing strategies has proven to be a masterstroke. They have turned the volume down on noise and up on meaning, demonstrating that mystique and letting others do the talking can be louder than the loudest social strategy. Their success is a reminder that in the world of marketing, quality and intention often trump quantity and ubiquity.
[ this article expresses the author’s personal POV and was created with the support of generative AI ]