Fragrance Project | Task 2

And task 2 is complete!

For the second task of our FCP Fragrance Project we had to create an A4 booklet covering three ideas/creative concepts for our potential brands. Each idea has to cover the:

• Insights
• Competition
• Consumer
• Creative Concept

We also had to follow all of this by a recommendation at the end, suggesting and justifying which idea our group should take forward on to the rest of the project. 

These were my ideas:

1. Longevity

- A fragrance where you would share a base note with a friend, relative or partner (of your choice), and then add another scent on top of that which would make the fragrance personal to just you. This was thought up after I read some studies which showed that those with stronger social ties are more likely to live longer and I also did a primary research questionnaire, which showed that 90% of people are concerned about the longevity of a fragrance. To really milk the idea there will be an app, which reminds you of when and where to spray the fragrance, resulting in the consumer smelling lovely all day long! 

2. Environmentally friendly

- A fragrance of the consumer's choice, which is then put in to a bottle that has been recycled. Each of the bottles would be unique, creating a 'message in a bottle' theme and proceeds would go to a marine conservation project. Recycling has been a massive topic within the government for years, but many people aren't fully aware of what they can recycle and that water reuse is just as important to our ecosystems. 

3. Practicality/Convenience 

- A selection of 5 different scents, which suit different situations and environments, for example, on a date, at work, or in different climates. The consumer can work with a specialist to create the scents that work on their skin and suit them the best, making each set unique to the consumer. The bottles would be travel size, making them more practical to carry around (an important factor from my primary research) and refills would be available.

I chose to recommend my second idea because of it's actual benefits, rather than the perceived benefits of the first and third ideas, which we were just persuading the consumer to buy in to. The third idea wasn't actually a need of the consumers, because they didn't really understand the whole concept of a 'fragrance wardrobe' and, along with my first idea, the retailing wasn't flexible, as the physical processes meant they could only be in bricks-and-mortar retailing and not online.

This task has definitely been a learning experience for me, because I feel like I'm progressing with InDesign and it made me really think about how a brand has to incorporate each aspect and keep having to go back and making sure that it all relates to the target consumer.

Georgia.xo

Hidden Figures Review

On Saturday night, me and Harry went to see Hidden Figures at the Broadway in Nottingham. I've been wanting to see it for ages but had never got round to it, so having Harry up for the weekend seemed like the perfect time.

Hidden Figures is based on a true story about three black women, Katherine Johnson (Taraji P Henderson), Dorothy Vaughan (Octavia Spencer) and Mary Jackson (Janelle Monae), all mathematicians who worked for NASA during some of the most vital years in the US space program. During the film, you see how each of them work their arses off to get where they want to be, despite racial segregation and sexism, and how they experience life outside of work in a world of white hegemony.

I thought this film was really refreshing. Especially as we've been hearing a lot more of the Black Lives Matter campaign in the last couple of years. Taraji P. Henderson, Octavia Spencer and Janelle Monae play their roles with such emotion and integrity, they really have portrayed the honesty and feelings within the story. You begin to understand how these women must have felt when they were constantly being told to leave public places because the whites "didn't want any trouble" and having to walk half a mile to go to the coloured bathroom. Honestly, you see "coloured" this, "coloured" that so many times during the film you almost have to laugh, it seems so unrealistic, yet that's how it was. It's shocking.

It also makes you realise that you can achieve anything. I got this feeling when I watched Eddie the Eagle too the other day. It sounds so cliche, I know, but these ladies pushed and pushed to achieve more than they ever thought they could. After Mary Jackson was told that she couldn't apply for an Engineering job at NASA, because she didn't have the qualifications, she went to court and persuaded the judge to let her attend an all-white school, even if it was just night school. Katherine Johnson was told that she was no longer needed because of a new IBM computer system, which could work 100 times faster than any human brain could, yet they eventually realised they needed her when the IBM was giving out incorrect co-ordinates for John Glenn's launch (the first American to orbit the Earth). She then went on to help calculate the trajectory for the Apollo 11 flight to the moon in 1969.

If you haven't seen this film already then I really recommend that you should. Not only is it motivational and educational, but it's also a really good watch in general!

Georgia.xo

Fragrance Project | Task 1

Four weeks ago, we began our Fragrance project, which is split into four parts:

1. Context & Big Idea
2. Big Ideas & Creative Concepts
3. Creative Concepts & Executions
4. Summative

And on Thursday (9th March), we had the presentations for the 1st quarter of the project. This task was a group work task, which meant that we were put into a group of four and as a group we had to go and carry out both primary and secondary research, generate insights and come up with some ideas as a result of the insights. 

My group started by looking at some secondary research, which included Mintel reports and making perceptual maps (Price vs. Gender, Attitude vs. Age, and Price vs. Age). By doing this we realised that consumers are spending less due to savvy shopping habits, there is a rise in the unisex market, consumers are looking for more personalised products and recommendations and there is a gap in the market for more serious fragrances (not pink, girly and floral) for a younger demographic (16-25) and a higher end fragrance for a younger demographic. 

Each of these secondary research sources provided us with some questions such as "what are the spending habits of men and women like?", "do you think that unisex is becoming more popular?", "do you think men or women are more loyal when buying a fragrance?" and "are there any unusual/new scents?". 

As a result, we took a trip to Birmingham to carry out some primary research and it was actually really productive. We visited the likes of Selfridges, L'Occitane, Jo Malone, The Fragrance Shop, Boots and Neale's Yard and the sales assistants in each of the stores were really friendly and helpful. We found out that:

• women are more loyal to brands rather than individual scents, whereas men are more loyal to scents, which could be why men tend to make more impulse buys.
• there is a gap in the market for a British brand.
• there's a demand for niche, more bespoke fragrances.
• Creed is the most popular brand; it's natural and a perfume, meaning its more concentrated.
• Oud is very popular, especially with Middle Eastern consumers which visit Birmingham a lot (different Selfridges stores sell different fragrances as a result of consumers to each location).

We also found some brands that we were really interested in including Juliette Has A Gun, Eight & Bob, and Replica by Maison Martin Margiela. Each of these brands has a narrative which differentiates itself from other brands. This is something that we would really like to carry through our ideas. 

As well as this, we had a peer review session where members of our seminar group read through our initial ideas and provided constructive feedback. We found that a lot of people were questioning the demographic we were targeting (18-30) as the first thing that came to mind was students with limited spending. Due to the fact that our idea is for a luxury, high end product, we though that we should make our margins smaller to 21-28, as many people in this age group are no longer students, have a career and the disposable income. They also asked if the market has already been covered by the likes of Vivienne Westwood, so we realised that we need to go through what our product is NOT, in order to pinpoint what our products actually IS. Our concept came down to:

• A high end, luxury product, because perfume is still seen as a 'treat'
• Bespoke fragrances - a more personal scent
• Unique, edgy packaging that isn't childish or gimmicky 
• Help with combining scents

Then came presentation day, where we had to make three mood boards on InDesign, under the themes of 'Market and Product', 'Positioning and Promotion', and 'Consumer'. Overall, I think it went really well. Things we have to work on includes how we're going to differentiate ourselves from high end brands such as Tom Ford and we need to actually find our target consumer and talk to them - ask them what they want rather than just making assumptions.

Georgia.xo

Blousin' Around The High Street

Left-Right-Top-Bottom

Zara Poplin Blouse with Belt - £39.99

Topshop Choker Blouse - £29

Urban Outfitters Pin Tuck Floral Black Blouse - £39

Topshop Gingham Mutton Sleeve Blouse - £29

Lipsy Wrap Front Ruffle Blouse With Cold Shoulder - £30

Bershka Strapless Poplin Blouse - £12.99

Noisy May White 3/4 Sleeve Pleated Blouse - £26

Vera Moda Off The Shoulder Blouse - £28

TREND ALERT: Over the last few weeks I've definitely seen a surge in blouses coming through on to the high street. And many versions of the blouse at that. Above, I've picked my top favourites, all under £40, which I think is great value for money and I'm sure you will too. 

When I think of a blouse, school uniforms come to mind. The whole idea gives me nightmares of how my boobs were too big for the chest but a bigger size would drown my arms and just looked so unproportioned I might as well have just worn a bin bag. But as I've seen by just walking down the high street, I no longer need to worry about my chest bursting the buttons open! 

Most of these blouses combine current trends, so you are sure to nail the perfect spring look. For example, the Topshop choker blouse meets the choker trend and the bell-sleeve trend all in one, whilst the gingham blouse, also from Topshop, obviously meets the gingham trend. Then you've also got a couple of off-the-shoulder blouses, which is always a popular concept during the spring. Blouses in general are great for this time of year, because they provide a transition between the colder months when you still need to cover up a bit and the warmer months when you want something that's not too heavy and doesn't cling to you.

What do you think about the blouse trend?

Georgia.xo