Guerlain - Brand Identity

A French perfume house, among the oldest in the world. Guerlain is among the few older houses that exist just to produce and market perfumes, It owes its name to its founder Pierre-François Pascal Guerlain, as well having as main characteristics its unique essence often said to be characterized by a common olfactory accord known as the "Guerlinade."

As Chanel, it has a large and loyal customer following, and is held in high esteem in the perfume industry.

This is not any more a private company, today, is one of the brands in LVMH, (Louis Vuitton, Moet, Hennessy) The world's largest luxury goods company, with many well-known brands, including Christian Dior and Givenchy.

Since its acquisition by LVMH, Guerlain has reformulated some of its classics, as a consequence of not being any more private, in order to be up to date in this competitive market.

Guerlain, has not focused their branding into one solely essence or perfume brand (It has more than 30!), their perfumes are characterised since the 19^th century, to have different names in honour to the specific socio - cultural situations lived through the time, as well representing familiar personages.

·  Eau de Cologne Impériale (1853) as a gift for Empress Eugénie, the wife of French Emperor Napoleon III.

·        Jicky (1889): Said to be named either after the nickname Aimé Guerlain gave to his nephew, Jacques- Over 120 years later, Jicky is still being sold, making it the oldest fragrance in continuous production.

·        Mitsouko (1919): Named after the heroine of the novel La Bataille by Claude Farrère, Mitsouko is said to herald the ending of World War I.

·        Shalimar (1925): Named after the garden in Kashmir, built by Shah Jahan in memory of his wife, Shalimar.

·        Vol de Nuit (1933): Composed as a tribute to flight, celebrating the novel of the same name by pilot Antoine de Saint-Exupéry and Air France.

·        Samsara (1989): Composed by Jean-Paul Guerlain. The name is a reference to the cycle of birth, life, death, rebirth or reincarnation in Hinduism and many other religions in South Asia.

This way, Guerlain, not only brands itself as an exclusive brand and with original essences, as well tries to give a warmer feeling by associating his family and as well, trying to reach the customers, by identification of the social or cultural events at that time.

Below, the brand identity prism for Guerlain...

One important point, in their distribution channel, Guerlain, is one of the brands that has refused long time to sell its products in department stores, to avoid this way losing its exclusive market. As many other brands, Guerlain has extended its market to the skin care and make up market.






Source:

-        http://www.guerlain.com