Secrets of Perfume Bottles 2

There are some brands out there with some really fabulous bottles and in this post I would like to highlight just a few of my favorites:

Thierry Mugler

Thierry Mugler’s avant-garde style has been successfully translated into each and every bottle design. His bottles create a touch of nobility.A jewel,talisman or curved flask - each bottle enhances the Muglerian scents. There is something space-age about the designs and they emulate the fantasy of the Mugler brand. For Mugler the bottle is a vision -crafting a bluecrystal star for Angel took more than 2 years to create.

Thierry Mugler’s avant-garde style has been successfully translated into each and every bottle design. His bottles create a touch of nobility.A jewel,talisman or curved flask - each bottle enhances the Muglerian scents. There is something space-age about the designs and they emulate the fantasy of the Mugler brand. For Mugler the bottle is a vision -crafting a bluecrystal star for Angel took more than 2 years to create.

Guerlain

Guerlain has always attached great importance to its bottles, which are like jewels, works of art, sculptures with rounded forms and precious, gilded colours. I discovered a droplet of gold in Idylle's bottle. A form at once simple and complete, a feminine form with a woman’s shapely hips, a form that soars like a tower, full of grace and sensuality.

Insolence bottle was created by French sculptor - Serge Mansau, who created theas three stacked, tilting half spheres, resembling a spinning top or spiral in movement to fit the fragnance's "olfactive spiral"structure.People had divided opinions on the look. Some found it innovative and beautifully shaped, while others thought it was too futuristic for Guerlain, or even a bit silly, often mentioned as the "dishes in the kitchen sink" bottle. Cardiet Design, a Parisian firm, filed a lawsuit alleging that Guerlain had copied one of their designs, but Guerlain maintained that the Insolence bottle was inspired by a sculpture Serge Mansau made in 1973, and Cardiet Design later dropped the case.

Cultural and Social Forces Affecting Perfumes Purchase

Smell is not just a biological and psychological experience, it is also a social and cultural phenomenon.  The choice of perfumes is a complex decision making process that the customer has to go through. There are different elements that marketing gurus such as Kottler and Keller recognized as consumer behaviors factors : cultural, social and personal factors.

Culture is one of the most major influencers in consumer behaviour. Consumption choices cannot be understood without taking into consideration the culture in which they are made. Consumer products and services are a part of the system of meaning. The system is often culturally shared and culture specific and it is passed on from one generation to another. One of the world’s largest cosmetics companies L’Oreal has realized the importance of tailoring products according to consumers’ culture. 

Family, social roles and statuses as well as different reference groups are some of the social factors that, in addition to culture, affect consumer behaviour. In terms of choosing the perfume one’s decision can be easily influenced by the fact that someone in the family has used the perfume before or simply has recommended it.  Social roles and statuses also affect the way people choose to buy or not to buy a certain product or a service. Therefore the  choice of a certain perfume distinguish one from the different social classes and gives other a hint on the message the person is sending to the society. Furthermore, personal characteristics also influence a consumer’s behaviour. Examples of personal characteristics include the consumer’s age, occupation, economic circumstances, personality, self-concept, lifestyle and values.Last but not least ,probably the most important factor while choosing the perfume is personality of the customer. It refers to the person’s way of living as expressed in activities, interests and opinions  that often reflect unconscious motives underlying purchasing decisions.

Perfumes show the personality of the person who is using it, or who are we trying to be that is why  personality is probably one of the most important traits while trying to identify why customers are choosing this and not the other brand .

References:

http://www.sirc.org/publik/smell_culture.html

https://publications.theseus.fi/bitstream/handle/10024/26464/Thesis.pdf?sequence=1

http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2008/dec/22/recession-cosmetics-lipstick

Chanel - Brand Identity

It is almost impossible to talk about the competitive market in perfumes, without mentioning: CHANEL

Belongs to a private, independent company with 100 boutiques worldwide. The brand was born under Coco Chanel’s personality. Shifted to a younger market after Coco Chanel died in 1971. It has been known as one of the world's most prestigious brands. It has never fallen out of style. 
Additionally, Chanel, going into diversification, has extended its market to the fashion, accessories, jewellery, make up and exclusive watches market. This in order to extend its market and therefore be more present by diversification.

We would have to say that one of the key factors of success and brand equity is the fragrance and reputation grown since early XXth century. Additionaly, as you may know, bottles are an important part when branding a perfume, in the case of Channel, we don’t see much innovations in bottling, this, because, Chanel has as main attribute its fragrance and reputation and in 2^nd place it is recognized of course from the bottle with what it was born. Chanel, this way, sticks to tradition and as well, somehow incorporating to the brand, the bottle itself. Who doesn’t think in Chanel, when thinking in this crystal, square shaped bottle?

Chanel, apparently has not tried to diversify their fragrances and format far from Chanel No 5. The only innovation that we could see is the round shaped bottle for Chanel Chance...trying to give something different to their audience...

Below their fragances:        N°5 , Coco Mademoiselle , Chance , Chance Eau Fraîche , Chance Eau Tendre , Allure , Allure Sensuelle , Cristalle , Cristalle Eau Verte , Coco and N°19

Chanel

After the previously mentioned, below you may find a model by Kapferer to describe the brand's identity; we have applied in this case to Chanel. It includes external and internal attributes of the brand.