Mia, Myself and I

Elements of Branding: Dolce and Gabbana Light Blue

Branding is a huge concept in the marketing of any product, and perfumes are no exception.  This is usually noted when a perfume is a stand alone product that is independent of other fashion ties, but it gets less attention when the perfume is part of a global brand.  This is a disservice to the branders, as famous brand fragrances like Dolce and Gabbana Light Blue have to do their own work to establish themselves in the market place.

After all, one simply can’t place a scent on the shelves without advertising it or it simply won’t sell. This is especially true in the present tough market.  Consumers all over the world are shutting their wallets to all but the most meaningful purchases.  This is hurting any luxury house that can’t convince the buying public that their product is unique and meaningful.

To fight the battle, the Dolce and Gabbana Light Blue has worked hard to pull out all the stops on the campaign.  They’ve begun with a good product, which is always a help in any branding campaign.  Light Blue was designed by Olivier Cresp, the noted perfumer, and uses high end scent notes that can justify its brand price.

From there, Dolce and Gabbana Light Blue has focused on its Italian base.  The scent notes are meant to evoke a southern Italian summer, with citrons, ambers, and musks.  To keep the branding in line with the scent notes, the marketing team selected Italian models and dressed them in typical Italian beach wear before launching them out into a bay for the photo shoot.

The resulting shots oozed Italian sex appeal and were blended both into a stills campaign for the American market and a series of flowing commercials for the European consumers.  More modest shots were prepared for the conservative Chinese market.  The launch was timed for 2007, when the world market was still strong.

However, while the global markets went on to famously crash, the brand thrived.  The Dolce and Gabbana Light Blue was a big seller, even as other pieces of the fashion house’s collection struggled.  It was appealing and pitched as only slightly aspirational, meaning that even strapped consumers could afford to indulge with a little bit of D & G in the tough market.

Will it continue to thrive?  The brand for the perfume is fairly well established at this point, even though it is a newer fragrance.  When the 2009 number are finalized, the brand team will have a better idea of what effect the continuing slump is having on their carefully created Italian summer scent.

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Light Blue for men and women by Dolce & Gabbana fragrances

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