Guerlain uses flower power to charm passengers on International Women’s Day

Bloom of Rose is much more than another flanker.

Dozens of pink roses are being handed out today at Paris Orly Airport where Guerlain has taken a prime concourse space to celebrate both International Women’s Day and the new Mon Guerlain edt fragrance, Bloom of Rose. It launched on 1 March.

The Orly activation – started yesterday and lasting until the end of April – is the biggest of several taking place today. The others are at Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport (across four terminals), Milan Malpensa, London Heathrow T5, Brussels and Amsterdam Schiphol airports, plus the Moscow gateways of Sheremetyevo and Vnukovo.

Passengers using the Orly South terminal were welcomed – before they got to the main departures shopping area – by Guerlain associates offering them the chance to smell the new Bloom of Rose fragrance.

They also had the opportunity to be snapped by a Polariod camera in front of a wall of freshly-cut pink roses for a memento of their visit. Single roses tied with Mon Guerlain ribbons were being distributed.

From concourse pop-up (above), where Angelina Jolie has star billing, to the Guerlain corner in the main beauty area (below) – this is the ideal customer flow for the Bloom of Rose activation.

The rose handouts – in partnership with advertising group JCDecaux – are taking place at Orly South and Paris Charles de Gaulle each weekend throughout March and April, for two weeks in March at London Heathrow T5 and then T3 in April, while the rest of the activations are for International Women’s Day only.

At Orly, the pop-up promotion sits in the centre of a narrow concourse en route to the shops, and is flanked by a large Mon Guerlain advertising image featuring Angelina Jolie – with another lightbox close by.

While The Moodie Davitt Report was there, many female passengers were slowing down to find out what was going on, and were delighted at the possibility of having their picture taken and to leave with a keepsake.

Passengers were drawn to the strong imagery and wall of cut pink roses on the left.

Discovery zone drives passenger interaction 

Guerlain Marketing Manager Travel Retail Europe Bérengère de Fels commented: “We are interacting with passengers that show an interest in the pop-up and we explain that we are celebrating International Women’s Day. We are doing something to mark the event for the first time.

Bérengère de Fels: “We are celebrating International Women’s Day. We are doing something to mark the event for the first time.”

“Of course we are also promoting Bloom of Rose and we encourage curious passengers to go to the Guerlain counter to find out more, and also look at our make-up and skincare collections.”

De Fels added: “Our objective is to drive footfall to our counter. On the pop-up we can’t sell, we only have testers so it’s more of a discovery zone.”

Guerlain has used this concourse pop-up space before – about two years ago for the Mon Guerlain launch. “It worked extremely well and, in fact, we booked it twice for Mon Guerlain.” That is a testament to the penetration that the brand achieved for the scent which has become the biggest franchise within the Guerlain portfolio.

Bloom of Rose is expected to do just as well. It is the fourth creation within the franchise (following the edp, edt, and edp florale) but the marketing investment behind it is almost as big as the original Mon Guerlain, The Moodie Davitt Report understands.

De Fels did not confirm this but noted: “We want Bloom of Rose to be more than a flanker… more like a pillar within Mon Guerlain which is now our number one priority.”

Asked whether the house is aiming to get the same level of sales in travel retail from Bloom of Rose as Mon Guerlain, de Fels said: “This is our expectation but let’s see. This is a very joyful fragrance… a bouquet of fresh flowers, and we have a strong belief in it.”

A new and cherished duo

While the initial structure of Mon Guerlain remains unchanged, still featuring the quartet of Carla lavender, Sambac jasmine, vanilla tahitensis and Australian sandalwood, Bloom of Rose includes a new duo of ingredients cherished by Guerlain’s perfumer Thierry Wasser: neroli and Bulgarian rose.

Wasser said: “Bulgarian rose is happy, fresh and fruity. It possesses both innocence and maturity. It is a rose that I love. In fact, rose is part of the Guerlinade, the recognisable olfactory signature exclusive to the house fragrances. This is why it has its rightful place in this new Mon Guerlain creation.”

The Bloom of Rose edt is available in two sizes 50ml and 100ml with travel retail prices of €67.20 (US$77.24) and €92 (US$106.43) respectively.

In both travel retail and local markets, the launch of Bloom of Rose and the push behind it is expected to keep the Mon Guerlain franchise moving in an upwards direction. The current activations are a preamble to big in-store high-profile promotions (HPPs) that start on 21 March with Lagardère Travel Retail at multiple airport locations.

A team effort: Guerlain beauty advisors, promoters and head office staff mingle on the podium. Front row (from left): Trade Project Manager – Travel Retail EMEA Marie Prigent; Travel Retail Europe & Middle East Marketing Manager Flaminia Arganini; and Field Supervisor Travel Retail France Jessica Pettiti.
Click on the image to access our special anniversary report from October 2018 on Guerlain at 190 years
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