There’s Something About ‘Skinn’

The personal lifestyle market in India is on the rise. It’s a particularly recent phenomenon. Two factors that have largely fuelled this growth are the rising Indian e-commerce sector and the increasing purchasing power of the younger population. Brands, both domestic and international, to make the most of the surge in the sector, are launching new products, deploying innovative marketing ideas and rolling out engaging campaigns among others.

In line with this trend, home grown Titan Company recently unveiled a new campaign titled “There’s something about it “to push its range of fine French perfumes, under the brand name Skinn. Conceptualised by Ogilvy, the television commercials — separate ads for men and women variants — focus on the (protagonist) users, instead of the product, showcasing how the perfume makes them special.

Says Azazul Haque, chief creative officer of Ogilvy Bangalore: “The brief was to celebrate the user of Skinn by Titan Perfumes. People who have something extremely charming about them. They are always the centre of attraction. The challenge was to break the clutter and create a memorable and charming piece of communication. So there is a certain creative exaggeration in the films to create a sense of magical realism and to create something that’s sticky and unforgettable. First of all, perfume as a category is not very big in India in terms of market. A brand like Titan, which has a legacy of watches and has got some equity in terms of a lifestyle brand, has been trying to penetrate the market for the last two years with some really aggressive marketing campaigns. Last year was almost like a test ride when we positioned the brand as French, as the perfumers are from France.”

This campaign stems from a category insight, according to which, unlike apparel brands, there’s no logo to flaunt when it comes to perfumes. Perfumes are invisible. And the new ads for Skinn create a story out of this very product truth.

 “We did a campaign called ‘Born French’ last year that was to showcase from the etiquette and behaviour that the brand is pretty French. This year, however, we did not want to talk so much about the perfume; we wanted to talk about the consumer. We wanted to highlight the kind of consumer who uses this perfume and celebrate the consumer, not the perfume,” adds Haque.   — ruhail@businessworld.in