The Fame Game: Coty sets out the strategy for Lady Gaga’s debut scent

As previously revealed on The Moodie Report.com, last week at the Guggenheim Museum in New York Coty officially unveiled Lady Gaga’s debut fragrance, Fame, described as the first ever black Eau de Parfum.

The expectant crowd fills the Guggenheim at the Lady Gaga Fame launch

The event, like every element of the fragrance itself, was completely “on-brand” – and completely unlike any other launch The Moodie Report has ever attended. Guests were required to wear masks and/or head accessories; Lady Gaga delivered a performance art piece that involved feigning sleep inside a giant fragrance flacon; and she rounded off the evening by shaving off her hair and being tattooed on the back of her head by Mark Mahoney. It was outré, unpredictable and unconventional – exactly like the Lady herself.

But don’t be fooled by the flamboyance of the reveal. Coty has serious ambitious for this fragrance, which began its global roll-out earlier this month.

“The official launch date was 15 September, but in travel retail, with certain key accounts (such as DFS, WDFG and Gebr Heinemann) we started on 1 September,” explained Coty Prestige Marketing Director, Travel Retail and Export Worldwide Markus Stauss. Left: Coty’s Markus Stauss and The Moodie Report’s Rebecca Mann mask up in search of Fame; right: guests were welcomed on the red carpet by leather-clad male models

“The third wave will begin on 1 October, when we further broaden the distribution. Inflight is happening in line with the various catalogue changes.”

Stauss described the initial results as amazing. “In Japan, for example, where the local markets keep track almost on a daily basis, it is really performing. People are queuing to buy it, which we love! It’s very early days, but the first results from WDFG are also really promising. The indications so far are that it will be a success.”

Stauss declined to quantify Coty’s objectives in terms of sales but declared: “It will be big. We believe that this is going to be a big success everywhere.”

The group views Lady Gaga Fame as a global introduction, so there are no key doors or territories earmarked. “For us, it’s a worldwide launch”¦because her followers, her fans come from all over the world,” Stauss confirmed. “Ultimately the success depends on whether or not they love the juice.” Yoko Ono was among the many celebrity guests at the Lady Gaga Fame launch event

Ah yes, that juice. It’s already quite a talking point – and not just because of how it smells. Featuring patent- pending fluid technology, Lady Gaga Fame is a black edp that sprays clear and become invisible once airborne. It’s undoubtedly innovative, eye-catching and clever – but do consumers understand it? And might they be put off if they don’t?

“[That element] is getting an awful lot of press coverage,” Stauss responded. “We are the only ones with this black-to-clear technology. We think it is very appealing to consumers. It’s wow, it’s different, and they want to try it. They want to see for themselves that it really does spray clear.”

Coty has also harnessed this technology within the ancillaries. “The body lotion is black-to-clear too,” Stauss confirmed. “That will be available in the travel retail channel also, depending on the retailer. Some carry the ancillaries, and some don’t.”

So, what does it smell like? When the collaboration was announced, Gaga famously stated that the fragrance would smell of blood and semen. Happily, the end result features neither note. Instead the juice is built around three main accords: dark, sensual and light, with the poison Belladonna a key ingredient. It is surprisingly commercial, in a positive way. A highlight of the evening was the singer’s performance art piece: “Sleeping with Gaga”

“It is not a polarising juice,” Stauss agreed. “And we think it has a broad appeal, which will work well with the broad audience. While there is no firm age target, Lady Gaga appeals usually to younger people. But we predict there will be customers who might intend to buy it for their kids, but after sampling it, will wear and buy it for themselves.”

Which brings us to promotions. It’s hard to think of a fragrance brand more suited to impactful, in-store theatre. What has Coty got planned to highlight the launch of Lady Gaga Fame?

“We have a promotional schedule with all key travel retail accounts, which“We includes have a promotional WDFG’s schedule ‘Contentainment’ with all key [digital marketing platform]”, noted Stauss. “The HPPs started on 1 Septembertravel retail and accounts, will continue which includes for the WDFG’s next couple of months. ‘Contentainment’ [digital marketing platform].“ Markus Stauss Marketing Director, Travel Retail and Export Worldwide “Through these promotions we can communicate and explain more. And in terms of the ad campaign, it’sCoty not Prestige just a fragrance visual, it’s a piece of art. We think it’s completely different to anything seen before in the industry, which makes it interesting and entertaining for the consumer, who will hopefully be moved to try it.”

Unusually for a brand that is present in travel retail, Lady Gaga falls under the remit of Coty’s Beauty division, rather than Coty Prestige. “Ultimately it’s a question of distribution,” Stauss explained. “The Coty Beauty brands are not usually found in travel retail, but we agreed that this launch is a huge opportunity for us and, as with OPI, it would be a shame not to have it in the travel retail portfolio.”

The smell of success The Lady Gaga Fame juice took a year to create and was the work of no fewer than three different noses: Richard Herpin, Nathalie Lorson and Honorine Blanc. Prior to the official reveal Lorson and Blanc discussed how the fragrance came to life. “I’m sure you all heard how initially, Lady Gaga wanted this fragrance to have the odour of sperm and blood, so when we began, it was quite difficult to know where to start,” noted Blanc. “It was quickly agreed that blood and semen was not a good idea. Then came the idea of using the berry Belladonna, which is very poisonous. We realised that this ingredient captured the essence of what Lady Gaga wanted, and she really liked it. She wanted provocation, and the Belladonna delivered that.”

So Herpin set about creating a Belladonna accord, which proved to be the heartbeat of the juice. There are three key accords (or doses) within the fragrance. “Dose number one is called madness,” Blanc explained. “This represents Gaga’s dark, wild, dangerous side, and includes Belladonna, incense and saffron.”

Noses Nathalie Lorson and Honorine Blanc tell journalists how they created the fragrance juice

The singer’s feminine, more sensual side is represented by dose number two. “This is all about pleasure and tension,” noted Blanc. “It includes apricot and honey to illustrate Lady Gaga’s velvet, ultra-sensual nature.”

Dose three is described as luminous and pure, which delivers an important contrast to the dark elements, the noses maintain. It is fresh and dewy; jasmine is a key component.

“The three accords play together, but there is always an element of surprise,” explained Lorson. “The result is a very addictive fragrance.”

It is also a very accurate rendition of what the performer requested. “Lady Gaga was very involved,” noted Blanc. “She was quite demanding, it was very intensive – and there were a lot of modifications. We worked with her personality in mind, but it’s definitely her vision.” She added: “Lady Gaga was very particular about everything. She was very open – but she knew what she wanted. When we went in the wrong direction we knew it straightaway.”

The black-to-clear technology had no impact on the notes chosen or the creative process. “This was not an issue, it did not limit us at all,” Blanc explained. “In fact, it made things easier, because sometimes you have the difficulty of colouration. With the black technology, this was not a problem, so we could use whatever ingredients we wanted to.”

The retailer review Justine Kennedy, WDFG Category Buying Manager Fragrances (who attended the New York reveal), described the initial performance of Lady Gaga Fame as positive.

“It’s still very early days for us,” she underlined. “And at present we’ve only launched the 50ml version. It’ll be quite interesting to see what happens when the 100ml, with its higher price point, comes in.

“But the initial results are promising. The next few weeks will be telling, but I have a good feeling it will do well. Lady Gaga is popular, she’s intriguing; this fragrance is too. It’s different and people want to come and see what it’s all about.”

https://youtube.com/watch?v=GRaC0C27TZs%3F

As expected, the black-to-clear juice has proved a big talking point. “A lot of people don’t understand it at first,” Kennedy acknowledged. “Some people are dubious initially, and it’s useful to hear the Beauty Advisor feedback. But it’s unusual and interesting too, which will hopefully draw consumers in.”

Celebrity fragrances are not a big focus for WDFG, although the retailer is making something of an exception for Lady Gaga Fame. “It’s gone into most of our doors, on Coty’s own branded counters, so in effect they have made space for it,” Kennedy explained. “Celebrity per se isn’t a big sector for us – we’re more about premiumisation and luxury brands. Celebrity fragrances are small for us, and have been in decline for a number of years, so we’ve taken most of them out. But this one promises to be a bit different so we are giving it an opportunity.”

Interestingly,“The initial results if anything, are promising. Kennedy The next wishes few the introduction of Lady Gaga Fame had been even more high- profile.weeks will “If be you telling, get buta celebrity I have a good fragrance feeling right at the start, when all the PR and the media hype is at its peak, that’sit will dogenerally well. Lady when Gaga it is performs popular, she’s best,” she noted. “You know that in the majority of cases it’s not a long-term intriguing; this fragrance is too.“ thing, so you make the most of it while you can. Perhaps together we could have capitalised more on the launch, Justine Kennedy in terms of in-storeCategory events Buynig and Manager theatre, Fragrances but in this case that was not the Coty strategy.” World Duty Free Group Nonetheless, Kennedy is optimistic that the appeal will be broad – and potentially very lucrative. “Lady Gaga’s fan base is huge and varied,” she commented. “I will be very interested to discover who exactly is buying it, is it big among Asian travellers and what the key purchasing destinations are.”

Kennedy praises the juice, which she describes as a key element of the marketing mix. “You have to get the whole concept right,” she pointed out. “If a fragrance is going to make it, it has to have a juice that works. People only have minutes to try and decide, so if that initial smell is too polarising it’s not going to sell. The Lady Gaga Fame juice is surprisingly commercial, in a good way.” But there is far more to the WDFG strategy than merely listing a pleasant-selling product. “It’s not just about putting fragrance on the shelves, it’s about touching the consumer, and working out how we bring a brand alive in-store,” Kennedy concluded. “Customers love a story; I love a story. And I think Lady Gaga Fame, with its [namesake inspiration] and black juice, is a brilliant story to tell, and one that customers will want to hear.”

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