Brand essence

The sweet smell of excess

What?: Retail store shelves are buckling under the weight of musician-endorsed perfumes, as the beauty of music and cosmetic connections shows its polished face.

Chaps-wearing crossover country star Shania Twain is embarking on a comeback with a new perfume line ‘Shania Starlight’ pre-empting a future album release.

Hugo Boss has unveiled a nationwide urban music programme. The campaign includes master-classes, exclusive gigs, and UGC activity where users can audition for the chance to perform alongside urban music legends.

Country singer Tim McGraw has signed up to be the latest face of a new Coty fragrance. Other artists on its roster include Kylie Minogue, Celine Dion and Gwen Stefani.

Lynx is offering its deodorant products in a Lynx Music Download box which includes five free music downloads.

Chanelle – no not Chanel, but the Big Brother failure behind VH1’s dismal pop competition ‘Wannabe’ (which aims to create an over-25s girl band) launches ‘Mwah’ a new perfume on an unsuspecting and ultimately uninterested public.

So what?: Celebrity perfume sales have risen a massive 2000% since 2004, and everyone from Christina Aguilera to P Diddy wants a piece of the £255M endorsement industry. One in four of the top 100 women’s fragrances are either a celebrity scent or celebrity endorsed; with one in five 16-to-24-year-olds having bought a celebrity fragrance. Paris Hilton is set to boost the Parlux Fragrance range to $100M (with her cut at 5%). Not bad work, for virtually no work.

The downside with perfume endorsements is saturation, meaning each campaign has a relatively short life span. CK One tried with free downloads and a DJ talent competition, echoing Hugo Boss’ efforts, but the sincerity and longevity weren’t evident. The major perfumiers need to engage consumers better with music, so the scent lingers beyond a celebrity name.

“Music brands have a massive opportunity to tap into the investment that is put behind fragrance launches. For example we will spend £2M on Mariah Carey in a 6 month period. If labels were proactive about becoming involved they have the ability to tap into this to cross promote their artist and their music”
Scott Harvey-Nicholls, Marketing Director UK & Ireland, Elizabeth Arden

www.shaniastarlight.com
www.hugofragrances.com
http://lynxtunes.com