Next term, we are studying the world of perfume and the promotional techniques used in the industry. So, to prepare us we have to watch and listen to a couple of things, so we gain some kind of knowledge prior to starting lectures. I first started watching a BBC 4 documentary talking all about perfume.
Now, when I think of perfume, I tend to think of certain smells associated with certain people, places, or things. However, for me, I haven’t found my signature scent yet, I constantly switch up my perfume choice. This is something big fashion brands have programmed us to do. Fashion brands that dominate the perfume industry, like Chanel and Dior, have now made perfume a fashion item, something to be changed regularly. This is a very different approach to traditional fragrance houses like Guerlain, where their customers pick their scent at a young age and wear it for the rest of their lives.
Almost seen as being more important than the scent of a perfume is the packaging and the bottle. I know I am a victim of this, if I see a pretty perfume bottle, I am more likely to go see what it smells like instead of a simple rectangular glass bottle. A brand that has always stuck in my mind is Marc Jacobs, focussing on flowers and nature and incorporating them into the bottle and the lids. This immediately creates an association for the customer, making it more memorable and eye catching, and hopefully, generating more sales.
This is all played up to in promotion, packaging is so important and well thought out in the making process. A story needs to be created for the perfume. The example the documentary gave was ‘Loud’ by Tommy Hilfiger, playing upon the combination of fragrance and music, specifically Rock and Roll. The perfume bottle was in the shape of a record, with the lid similar to an amp volume button. The packaging slid the bottle in and out like a record sleeve, with the promotional video featuring the band, The Ting Tings (they had a few tunes in their time).
One thing I always question is why on earth does perfume have to be so bloody expensive? I tend to refer to perfume as just scented water, but now after watching the documentary I understand the high price point. When creating a perfume, so many testers have to be made with 0.1ml change of ingredients each time, developing a high price point through development. The ingredients themselves are expensive, and the creator simply pours the perfumes he doesn’t like down the sink. Literally, pouring money down the drain. This is why your favourite perfume could be marked up to £100, because the whole production process costs so much, creating very expensive scented water.
Now as I mentioned previously, I am yet to find my signature scent, and some people go to the extreme of requesting the creation of their own perfume. Christopher Brosius is creator of all weird scents. Want to smell like roast beef? Yeah sure, he’s got a perfume of that. He also takes requests and personally makes scents for his clients. One man on the documentary said he wanted to smell of England. Fish and chips? A cup of tea? No, he said he wanted to smell musty and dusty, like wet tweed. A delightful smell. However, Christopher created this, by visiting London and smelling taxi seats, bus exhaust fumes, and old books. Mmmm the lovely fresh smells of England. His client was happy in the end, after paying a pretty price of $2000, proving this industry isn’t a cheap one.
The world of perfume and scents is an expensive and an interesting one. A lot of thought goes into one scent and could have been tested on multiple focus groups, bringing skin with them. I think this is a horrible term of referring to someone who literally sprays the perfume on their arm and lets people shove their noses into it. But anyway, a lot of time and money goes into the industry, where often the role has been passed down through family, or have specially selected, ensuring they have no timewasters.
So, next time you’re spraying your favourite perfume, think about just how much money and care has been put into each spritz
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