Hyogen Fragrance Launch by Gabriella Ryan

THE FRAGRANCE WITHOUT BORDERS

HYOGEN Gabriella Ryan N0450390 Fashion Promotion and Communication Creative Networks Simon Beales FASH10106

CONTENTS Introduction

Launch

2-3

Public Relations

4-6

Digital

7-8

Conclusion

References

10 - 11

Images

Fig 1

INTRODUCTION Fragrance is something that almost everyone can associate with, whether it is a perfume you wear yourself or a particular scent that takes you back to somewhere or something (Solomon & Rabolt, 2004). In this report I will be discussing the concept of a new fragrance I have been developing and will describe how this product will be launched into the public through a live event, the product’s PR strategies and how it will be endorsed digitally.

Fig 2

modern age these colours will be mixed with brighter more neon shades, producing the final six coloured fragrances: pink, green, bright blue, yellow, black and white, The juice itself will be coloured and each fragrance will provide a different kind of scent. Consumers then have the opportunity to create their own fragrance by combining any of these six together, producing a different coloured juice and a personalised scent, which enables them to express themselves through the creation of perfume. The ideal consumer for Hyogen includes both men and women aged 18 to late 20’s. They love to travel, are keen gig goers, coffee cultured, hold a good eye for fashion, are avid art enthusiasts and are keen bloggers and social networkers. These consumers love to express themselves through what they wear, through their own work and through what fragrance they buy, which compliments the brand’s message; giving people freedom of expression through the use of colour influenced by the city life of Tokyo.

The fragrance brand Hyogen is a niche brand which is based upon the colours and life of Tokyo with themes stemming from the city’s street life, unique style and traditional aspects. Hyogen is Japanese for expression, which is an important part of the brand’s message to consumers. The concept of the brand is to take six chosen colours and construct them into six fragrances, all of which are unisex. The traditional colours of Japan include red, blue, yellow, black and white. However to bring the brand into a

THE LAUNCH Finding the right location for the launch of Hyogen is very important as the brand identity needs to reflect through all aspects, attracting the right consumers. According to Kawamura (2012) Japanese street fashion and youth sub-cultures have always been key in different parts of the country, which is why the launch will take place in Ura Hara, a part of Harajuku in Tokyo. Ura Hara translates as ‘wrong side’ and consists of hidden trendy youth groups and secret alleys behind the much more extravagant face of Harajuku (Virtual Japan, 2008). It is a place for creativity, a variety of artistry, back alley fashion styles and small cafes which hold live events. With the style of graffiti, art and clothing galleries Ura Hara is a combination of modern fashion trends and nonconformist roots creating the perfect location for Hyogen’s launch as it’s filled with people who enjoy expressing themselves. Ura Hara is also home to the Design Festa gallery, which is world famous for hosting the Design Festa Event. The launch will be held within this gallery consisting of six separate rooms each flooded with a different colour of light representing each coloured fragrance. The rooms will pump out the scent of each fragrance so the perfume fills the air and immediately hits the consumer when they enter. This means each room will smell different from the previous and gives the chance for the consumer to really indulge in the brand. The last room will resemble a pop up lab space or a “create your own room” where guests can experiment with creating their own Hyogen fragrance and they will be given samples of their creation to take away. Kabuki theatre is a classical Japanese dancedrama known for elaborate make up and costumes (Matsuda, 1998). This form of entertainment revolves around expressing yourself through movement and as Hyogen’s brand message is about expression, features of Kabuki will be used within the launch. For example, costumes used in Kabuki theatre are very bright and powerful which are perfect for models to wear as they hand out Hyogen samples and greet guests as they travel through the scented rooms. Each model will be dressed according to the colour of each fragrance.

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In each room information on how the fragrance was made and a description of the top, heart and base notes will be projected onto the walls so consumers can see for themselves what has gone into each unique perfume. An individual bottle of Hyogen will be placed in the centre of each room (the corresponding coloured bottle to match the room) on a translucent cube. Bright neon coloured light will shine up through the cube and up through the bottle to really place emphasis on the colour. With regards to music, the launch will feature light blended sounds of the city combining sounds of traffic and the underground with an overlapping echo of traditional Japanese Zen music. It will feature conventional melodies and relaxing tones using traditional Japanese instruments which hold a mixture of long and short spiky notes.

“Celebrities increase awareness of a bloggers and networkers who constantly

update the public at a much faster rate. Posner (2011) states that: “Blogs are one of the fastest growing areas of what has become known as consumer-generated media (CGM) sharing opinions and brand experiences”. (p168). Taking this into consideration Hyogen will invite to the launch a range of bloggers such as Susanna Lau, a well established writer and blogger of StyleBubble. co.uk based in London. According to Tungate (2012) Susie Bubble is a well known blogger whose blog attracts around 35,000 visitors a day and has become a minor celebrity among UK fashion. Dillon (2012, p155) quotes: “A blog with a large readership can help establish a company within an industry and prompt readers to seek out more information”. Another set of bloggers include Atsuko and Joe, their blog name is “together divided between London and Tokyo”. Allen (2013) states that Joe is obsessed with music, and drawing and his career choices involve design and photography, whereas Atsuko is a British fashion brand manager, design researcher and interpreter. From their combined experience they are very beneficial Fig 5 guests to attend the Hyogen launch as they will also reach the Japanese audience and Western cultures. Taking inspiration from P. Diddy’s fragrance launch not only will the event be offline but a link will be available on the Hyogen website allowing viewers to ‘participate’ in the launch experience as if they were actually there (Kendall, 2009). This ensures a broader reach to consumers and enables more people to get involved.

brand’s advertising, enhancing both company image and brand attitudes”. (Solomon & Rabolt, 2004, p333). Hyogen intends to have two brand ambassadors in order to help connect with consumers. However, as Hyogen is such a niche brand it does not feel right to use such well known ‘A list’ celebrities for fear of the brand being judged and wrongly typecast. Therefore, the first face of Hyogen’s campaigns will be May J. Hashimoto, a 24 year old R&M/pop singer from Japan. May J. Hashimoto makes a great brand ambassador as she enjoys different kinds of artists from around the world and has experience with both Japanese and Western cultures. Her mother Fig 4 is Iranian/American and she grew up in Japan attending American schools (Poole, 2010). This means she can help appeal to a wider audience. As Hyogen is a unisex brand there will also be a male brand representative, Keito Okamoto, a 20 year old singer songwriter born in Tokyo (Johnny & Associates, 2013). Okamoto lived in England for four years and is a very well known member of the Japanese pop group Hey! Say! JUMP. Similar to May J. Hashimoto he is very creative and has valuable experience with Western culture. Being strong successful artists May. J Hashimoto and Keito Okamoto are both innovative and original icons who express themselves musically and will aim towards expressing Hyogen’s brand identity. According to Lavenda (2013) the pace of news today is limited and the media landscape consists of fewer major outlets, but rather a small number of

PUBLIC RELATIONS Hyogen is a niche fragrance, therefore it is very important that the way in which the brand is advertised and promoted is achieved in the most successful and appropriate way. According to Dillon (2012) PR involves communicating a message to a target audience and influencing them in a positive way. Hyogen intends to do exactly this involving their consumers as much as possible. In order to create a buzz and get the public talking about Hyogen, a few weeks before the launch lamp posts and some buildings around Ura Hara, and certain parts of Tokyo, will be installed with IC tags disguised as stickers

(Gray, 2013). This enables pedestrians with smartphones to scan the tags and receive data on Hyogen events including exciting news about the launch and then, in the near future, information on locations nearest the tag at which Hyogen will be available to purchase. This may seem to be primarily an online and digital stunt, however, the main target of this concept is to be more commercially viable offering consumers special deals, and giving out information to promote Hyogen making users aware of upcoming campaigns and events around them. Taking inspiration from Estée Lauder’s “gift with purchase”

promotional device (Kendall, 2009), Hyogen will run a campaign where the first 1000 bottles of Hyogen bought will be accompanied by a complementary bracelet, coloured to match the perfume, and infused with the corresponding fragrance. This will encourage consumers to be one of the first to purchase the product and, through word of mouth, and create an exciting hype around the brand. It will also urge people to find out more about Hyogen hopefully, visiting the website and getting involved with the product. “You see an ad with a web address, you go online to find out more”. (Barry, 2008, p185).

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Posner (2011) states that PR and press play an important role in promoting a product ensuring the brand is known and well heard. Therefore Hyogen will collaborate with a number of PR agencies in order to promote the brand and ensure it is well established. According to their website, CCD Beauty Public Relations Agency, based in London, are a very creative company who work closely with prolific bloggers and social networking mediums. This is very important to Hyogen as a great deal of exciting publicity build up is now generated online and digitally. Having already worked with companies such as Ben Sherman, Red or Dead and Eve Taylor CCD Beauty PR is the perfect agency to promote Hyogen. In order to link the Eastern and Western markets Hyogen will also collaborate with SET Japan, a Japanese PR Agency based in Tokyo. SET Japan’s website says that the company has a network of talent that spreads across the globe and they have a wide understanding of both the mainstream and underground Japanese market. This ensures that SET Japan will help lift Hyogen’s profile accordingly, making sure the brand is promoted in the right locations. One of SET Japan’s major achievements was inventing the designer QR code. Since then the

company has been creating some of the worlds most talked about codes collaborating with brands such as Marc Jacobs and Warner Brothers Japan. These designer creations make the codes much more personal and unique to the brand. They can be used to drive campaigns forward, increase brand awareness and help reflect the brand’s identity. Therefore, Hyogen will also become one of many to work with SET Japan and produce its very own designer QR code. The code will be bright, reflecting the brand’s colourful theme, and will be placed not only around the city of Tokyo but also cities such as London and New York. This promotional idea will benefit Hyogen greatly as it will enhance campaigns and make Hyogen stand out from other brands, helping to create an exciting buzz around the product. As Hyogen is a niche brand, mass media advertising should be avoided in such obvious ways, however print advertising is an important part of any brand’s promotional strategy. P. Winters & A. Winters (1996) state how ads are an indication of how a company intends to attain their marketing objective. Hyogen adverts will therefore be placed in less mainstream magazines such as ID magazine and Dazed & Confused to further enhance the identity of the brand.

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Hyogen print adverts

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Considering this, Hyogen will aim to interact with the consumer on a high level getting them involved as much as possible. According to Brown (2010) social network sites propagate information by word of mouth networking and connections. Therefore, one way in which this will be achieved is by holding a competition on Twitter’s VINE page, a mobile service, which allows users to create and share looping videos (Murphy, 2013). Having already created a Hyogen GIF video (see figure 11), this will be posted on the brand’s VINE page with a challenge for users to create their own short clip including a colourful theme and/or their Hyogen fragrance allowing creativity to meet technology (Barry, 2008). Lindsay (2012) reveals that the number one reason a Facebook/Twitter user “likes” or “follows” a brand is to receive a prize or special offer. Taking this into account Hyogen will announce the winners of the best video who will then receive a prize of a complete set of six Hyogen fragrances and the chance to create their own for free. This concept stimulates the idea of viral marketing, Dillon (2012) argues that social media is increasingly being used to stimulate consumer interest and build brand loyalty through viral marketing as it involves people passing on the message. The more people talking about Hyogen the more attention the brand receives.

DIGITAL “Online advertising and strategies form the bulk of interactive experiences with the consumer”. (Barry, 2008, p184). Interacting with the consumer is an absolute vital part of the brand experience for Hyogen. Barry (2008) also states that the key to most successful interactive concepts is to customise the experience, making it feel more personal and intimate to the consumer ensuring they feel in control.

SENSE YOUR SCENT! Fig 12

Another way in which Hyogen will communicate with consumers is through the use of banner ads. Kendall (2009) states that banner ads on web pages are very successful at linking products with experiences and providing purchasing opportunities. Hyogen will create a banner ad which will be placed at the top of a range of different web pages, it will be entitled “Sense your Scent!” and will link to a page which features a survey/test on which colours the consumer is drawn to or prefers the most (Gaye, 2013). This then leads to another page, which tells the consumer which coloured Hyogen fragrance best suits them. The user then has the opportunity to receive a free sample of the fragrance; this gives the consumer the chance to try out the product first and, if they are satisfied with it, they can then go on to buy the fragrance in larger quantities. This idea is highly influenced by Burberry’s successful ‘tryvertising’ concept on Facebook to help promote the launch of the Burberry Body fragrance (Marsden, 2011). This free of charge service to receive a sample could also be expanded into being able to send a sample to a friend; a strategy which helps to create an exciting word of mouth buzz for Hyogen and also drives launch sales. Japan has long been a country of cutting edge new technology, both online and through the use of smartphones (Inkster & Satofuka, 2000).

Influenced by this, Hyogen will collaborate with some of the country’s latest technology pushing their brand forward into the very front of the modern age. The Scentee Chatperf is a new smartphone add-on (inserted into the dock connector) released in 2013, which enables users to send a scent along with a message to others. It can also be used to add a scent to a notification sound whenever the phone receives an email or message (Kennedy & Osuga, 2013). Hyogen’s objective is to create six of these add-ons acting as samples of the six fragrances. Consumers will then have the ability to send their friends a scent message or activate their own Scentee when they receive notifications. There will also be an app to complement the add-on where new Hyogen fragrances can be sampled and games can be played activating the release of perfume at certain points. This app will keep the consumer up to date with the latest Hyogen news, campaigns and events. The purpose of this is to create attention around the brand and get the public talking about it. As the Scentee Chatperf is such a new innovative product, Hyogen will be one of the first brands to experience the use of such technology. As Saeks (2013) states: “The future of business is in the palm of your hands, through mobile marketing brands can connect with new customers increasing brand awareness”.

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~ HYO h yo g en G n Fig 14

CONCLUSION Overall, Hyogen is a very unique brand offering originality and exclusive offers to consumers. It is an exciting new product providing innovative opportunities for buyers taking fragrance into the modern technology world. In the future, Hyogen will aim to expand globally and begin to sell through unique perfumeries. The future potential for Hyogen looks very strong, Tungate (2012) claims that in the current fragrance industry there is a growing market and increasing demand for made-to-measure and exclusive perfumes because, just as in fashion, there is a move towards the public wanting limited editions and original finds. Hyogen offers this service and will forever be inventing new ways to ensure consumers find what they are looking for.

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MARSDEN, P., 2011. Smells Like F – Commerce: Burberry Body Launches With Pop up Facebook Tryvertising Store. (online). 23 August. Available at: http:// socialcommercetoday.com/smells-like-f-commerce-burberry-body-launches-with-popup-facebook-tryvertising-store-images/ (Accessed 29 May 2013). MATSUDA, R., 1998. An Introduction to Kabuki. Japan Digest. (online). 10 January. Available at: http://iis-db.stanford.edu/docs/140/kabuki.pdf (Accessed 28 May 2013). MURPHY, S., 2013. Twitter Introduces VINE for Creating GIF – Like Looping Videos. Mashable. (online). 24 January. Available at: http://mashable.com/2013/01/24/twittervine/ (Accessed 27 May 2013). POOLE, R., 2010. J – pop Starlet May J reveals her Persian Heritage. Japan Today. (online). 24 April. Available at: http://www.japantoday.com/category/arts-culture/view/ j-pop-starlet-may-j-reveals-her-persian-heritage (Accessed 28 May 2013) POSNER, H., 2011. Marketing Fashion. London: Laurence King Publishing. SAEKS, F., 2013. Using the Power of Smartphones to Grow Your Own Business. (online). Available at: http://www.nmoa.org/news/tips/usingthepowerofsmartphonestogrowyourbusiness. asp (Accessed 30 May 2013). SOLOMON, M.R., & RABOLT, N.J., 2004. Consumer Behaviour In Fashion. New Jersey: Pearson Education Inc. TUNGATE, M., 2012. Fashion Brands. United States: Kogan Page Limited.

Images Fig 1 Tokyo at night (digital photograph) Pinterest, (online 2013). Available at: http:// pinterest.com/pin/216524694554558929/ (Accessed 1 June 2013). Fig 2 Tokyo street style (digital photograph) Pinterest, (online 2013). Available at: http://pinterest.com/pin/36310340717107512/ (Accessed 1 June 2013). Fig 3 Ura Hara (digital photograph) Tumblr, (online 2013). Available at: http://www.flickr. com/photos/hdknr/5345352048/in/photostream/ (Accessed 31 May 2013). Fig 4 Keito Okamoto (digital photograph) Blogspot, (online 2013). Available at: http:// jump-daisuki.blogspot.co.uk/2010/08/translation-of-hanako-august-keito.html (Accessed 1 June 2013). Fig 5 May. J Hashimoto (digital photograph) Japan Pop Central, (online 2013). Available at: http://jpopcentral.yuku.com/topic/342/May-J-Album-Summer-BalladCovers-20130619#.UapmZmQ-v80 (Accessed 1 June 2013). Fig 6 CCD Beauty Agency home page (digital photograph) CCD Beauty website, (online 2013). Available at: http://www.ccdbeautypr.com/ (Accessed 2 June 2013). Fig 7 Warner Brothers Designer QR Code (digital photograph) SET Japan website, (online 2013). Available at: http://www.setjapan.com/services/qr-design-mobileconsulting/ (Accessed 2 June 2013). Fig 8 Marc Jacobs Designer QR Code (digital photograph) SET Japan website, (online 2013). Available at: http://www.setjapan.com/services/qr-design-mobile-consulting/ (Accessed 2 June 2013). Fig 9 -10 Photographs from advertisement studio shoot, May 2013 (digital photograph). Fig 11 GIF still images, May 2013 (own photographs). Fig 12 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 13 Scentee Chatperf Smartphone add-on (digital photograph) Phone Report (online 2013). Available at: http://phonerpt.com/scentee-allows-smells-to-be-sent-fromiphone-android-devices/ (Accessed 2 June 2013). Fig 14 Hyogen Logo, April 2013 (own image).