“It was a deliberate choice, to have the guts to address a consumer of 35 plus. Obviously, if the appeal is broader and younger people too want to buy, we won’t complain. But we wanted to differentiate our portfolio, avoid cannibalisation and send a strong message to consumers about what they can find in the Davidoff brand.” |
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Lancaster Group Worldwide Senior Vice President Marketing Fragrances Fran̤oise Mariez anticipates that Germany will be among the strongest markets for Silver Shadow, along with Switzerland, Austria, the Netherlands Рand travel retail |
Davidoff is Lancaster’s most successful fragrance franchise to date, but what – apart from sales – does it bring to the group’s portfolio?
“It gives us a very strong positioning and credibility in the fragrance area,” responds Lancaster Group Worldwide Senior Vice President Marketing Fragrances Françoise Mariez.
“That changes the way retailers look at you, which is increasingly important.
“Davidoff also gives us a very specific brand: a lifestyle brand. The other important thing is that up until now it was our only really international brand. We have enjoyed global success with this franchise, and there are not so many houses which are strong everywhere.”
She continues: “Davidoff is also interesting to work with because we can target different audiences and build different territories within it. We can express different aspects of the name. And moreover, it is a true prestige brand, which is important as the boundaries between mass and selective continue to blur.”
Within the Davidoff franchise, there are very clear objectives for Silver Shadow. “We hope it will bring us a totally different consumer from what we have today,” confirms Mariez.
“It was a deliberate choice, to have the guts to address a consumer of 35 plus. Obviously, if the appeal is broader and younger people too want to buy, we won’t complain. But we wanted to differentiate our portfolio, avoid cannibalisation and send a strong message to consumers about what they can find in the Davidoff brand, so we needed to take a strong position [with Silver Shadow].”
But how much of a risk does that constitute? In a society seemingly obsessed with youth, will consumers want to be associated with a fragrance that so obviously targets people the “wrong” side of 30?
“Our company is always looking to send new messages and to think of things first, before all others,” answers Mariez. “You have seen this with Jennifer Lopez – nobody expected that to be such a success, and now everyone has celebrity fragrances.
“We believe that when men reach a certain age, they want different things. There is still a lot to explore within the world of fragrance and we are trying always to investigate new directions.”
“Silver Shadow will do well in travel retail because of the profile of the business passenger. There is a lot of gifting in travel retail, and the Pure Blend edition is perfect for that.” |
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The product line-up comprises 50ml and 100ml edt sprays, a 100ml after shave splash, a 100ml after shave balm, a 200ml hair & body shampoo and a 75ml deo stick |
Mariez declines to talk figures, but reveals reasonably ambitious objectives for Silver Shadow. “We don’t expect to replicate the turnover of Cool Water, because that’s so huge,” she explains. “But in terms of ranking we are aiming for between five and ten in our strongest countries”¦and in the other markets we are targeting top 15.
“It has higher price points [At €47 for the 50ml it’s about €3 more than Echo and Cool Water Deep, and €7/8 more than the original Cool Water] so we have to be realistic.”
Mariez anticipates that Germany will be among the strongest markets, along with Switzerland, Austria, the Netherlands – and travel retail.
“Silver Shadow will do well in travel retail because of the profile of the business passenger,” Mariez comments. “We know we will have a lot of the target consumers there.
“Also, there is a lot of gifting in travel retail, and the Pure Blend edition is perfect for that.”
There will be no travel retail exclusives at launch, but they will come later, Mariez confirms.
In addition to the TV and print campaign, the Silver Shadow launch will be supported by outdoor advertising and extensive sampling.
“But we have insisted on being more specific,” reveals Mariez. “So we will use a higher weight of newspapers, for example.
“We want to target our sampling better, so while we will use both men’s and women’s magazines, there will be tighter selection of titles. For Cool Water, we go where the teens go; this is another target and we will focus our efforts accordingly.”
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MORE STORIES ON THE LANCASTER GROUP
Coty completes purchase of Unilever’s prestige fragrance business – 11/07/05
Lancaster invites consumers to get the Lopez look – 29/06/05
The Lancaster Group smells Lovely with first Sarah Jessica Parker scent – 28/06/05
The Lancaster Group and Kenneth Cole aim for another good Reaction – 21/06/05
