As a luxury brand and not just any luxury brand, but one of the world’s most recognized luxury brands for scents. Which the perfume industry is becoming more competitive, almost every celebrity is starting to launch a new fragrance to enter the business.
One company, one name still remains the ultimate holiday gift for fragrance and that is Chanel No. 5! Why? Well, consider this Chanel No. 5 established a very successful PR campaign that has worked its magic since 1921. That is a long time to develop a brand and communicate with your target audiences.
However, competition is brutal in this business and how has this powerhouse managed to hold brand recognition? The company still operates on the principals of its founder Coco Chanel. It is identified that designer Coco Chanel hired a famous perfumer by the name of Ernest Beaux, who created Chanel No. 5.
Beaux mission was to create at the time the world’s most expensive and world’s most desirable fragrance. Cost was not an issue. Which those of us who understand high-end luxury can appreciate the concept I hope.
Five Facts About Chanel No. 5:
1: When Coco Chanel hired perfumer Ernest Beaux to create the World’s most exclusive scent, he came up with several prototypes.
No. 5 – which coincides with Coco’s lucky number – was chosen from the series.
2: The shape of the Chanel No. 5 bottle cap is inspired by the octagonal shape of Paris’ famous Place Vendome.
3: Chanel’s fetish flower was the camellia, which has been erroneously thought to be a component of No. 5. The flower is scentless, a fact that Coco herself was pleased with since it allowed women to wear the bloom without having its fragrance interfere with their chosen perfume.
4: Before it was commercially available in 1924, Chanel No. 5 was given away to Coco’s friends and clients who visited her first boutique near the Louvre in Paris.
5: Coco sprayed No. 5 liberally in her favorite stairway of her apartment in Rue Cambon, where she would often sit – unobserved – on the fifth step while watching fashion shows held in her parlour through a panel of mirrors.
Now that you got the vision and mission down, let’s explore the changes to Chanel No. 5 PR campaign that keeps it ticking even 90 years later.
Introducing The new Chanel No. 5 Eau Premiere!
What’s New?
It is housed in a taller bottle, retains the primary ingredient that made the 1921 original so distinctive: a heavy dose of jasmine extract.
In order to balance the heavy dose of jasmine, other ingredients had to be added to the mix.
These included extract of the May rose, cultivated in exclusive fields in the South of France specially for Chanel. Other components include essence of the Madagascan ylang ylang flower and – importantly – the synthetically-produced component, aldehyde.
Adding Something NEW! Yes, you have to add value to what you already have and keep your audience interested. Part of Chanel No. 5, success has always been associated with top celebrities. Marilyn Monroe even swore it was the only thing she wore to bed; Catherine Deneuve posed with the bottle.
Today the PR campaign is more strategic and developed by using the art of storytelling. The Chanel No. 5 Eau Premiere will focus on the concept of the old Chanel No. 5 spotlighting the history of the fragrance. This just may be the very first fragrance campaign to land an invite on Oprah’s couch oppose to a favorite things feature, lol.
This is my pick for the most creative PR campaign launched for the holiday season! It is about time somebody got this luxury fragrance battle right.