Chanel N°5 in a New Light
A Multi-Sensorial Event Experience
How do you tell a new story around the oldest and most iconic fragrance in the world? By collaborating with stakeholders who shared key insights. The head of marketing wanted the audience to see the product ‘in a new light.’ Partnering with Radical, we created high-tech touchpoints to tell a low-tech story of cultivation, curation, composition and the creation of the world's most famous fragrance.
N5 2.mp4View 'the Making of' and Key Campaign Elements
Case Study
CONTEXT
“Let’s do something big for N°5” —marketing ask
An iconic pillar of the brand and the #1 fragrance worldwide, Chanel N°5 is almost 100 years old. As the first fragrance to feature aldehydes, N°5 birthed the genre of the abstract fragrance. Gabrielle Chanel wanted it to be composed ‘like a dress.’ Unlike the standard single-note fragrances of its era, N°5 started a revolution.
CONUNDRUM
“We don’t have anything new to show” —initial creative response
With its 100-year-old status and iconic heritage, the fragrance reminds people of their grandmother. How do you create something new from something so old and untouchable? How do you make a heritage story feel modern?
CAMPAIGN + MY CONTRIBUTION
I created an experience brief for N°5, outlining the 5 pillars of the fragrance story to share with the audience through a high-tech, multi-sensorial lens. In partnership with Radical Media, we developed a concept to reveal the fragrance in an unexpected new way at a public pop-up event. I worked closely with the teams to ensure the experience and the interactions were authentic, on-tone and compelling. The scenting was saved for the very end—via a towering silhouette of the Classic Bottle, imprinted with quote ‘smell and you will see’ from the master perfumer as a final note and the finale to the sensory twist.