Guerlain Terracotta Eau Sous Le Vent (2009) {New Fragrance - Beauty Notes}
Guerlain will launch another tiare-based scent this spring, from March 2009 called Terracotta Eau Sous Le Vent...
The other one is Tiare-Mimosa in the Aqua Allegoria line.
It is part of the spring/summer 2009 cosmetics line by Guerlain and is billed as a skin mist with soothing and moisturising properties as well as a tan-intensifying effect, a little in the spirit of Estée Lauder Bronze Goddess Eau Fraîche.
Interestingly, the name of the perfume reprises two classic perfume names by Guerlain: Terracotta Voile d'Eté and Sous Le Vent.
The bottle is lovely, with its engraved Indian orientalist design and a bit reminiscent for its shape of Eau de Réglisse by Caron.
One can only note that the naming policy at Guerlain seems to be very consistent these days as the brand is often turning to its famous archived names when producing flankers or ancillary products, from Lights of Champs Elysées, to Vol de Nuit Evasion, Mitsouko Fleur de Lotus, and now Terracotta Eau Sous Le Vent.
The most probable explanation is that Guerlain do not want to go through all the trouble of registering new names for limited-edition flankers as this is legally draining. At the same time, they are using their most prestigious names.
I think I said it before, but I will restate this musing: I am wondering if that means that somehow, the name of Guerlain alone is not enough these days to stand out? They also need to refer themselves to the house of Guerlain of the past, especially at a time when significant changes are taking place within its structure. It is less and less of an artisan house and more of a power house under the aegis of LVMH. Hundreds of launches each year bear testimony to that new standing, not to mention a brand new in-house perfumer Thierry Wasser, who comes from outside of the Guerlain family, a first.
Source: British Beauty Blogger
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I've worked in marketing and branding for years and what Guerlain are doing is technically called 'leveraging their brand equity'.
By attaching iconic, recognisable names to new and unrelated perfumes, they are trying to give the new perfumes increased status and desirablity. Most notably, these new perfumes all seem to be much more approachable and 'focus-group-friendly' than the original classics whose names they share.
One big risk for companies using their brands in this way is that the original iconic brand can become devalued and customers can become confused. So it's a practice that needs careful consideration, although it does have merit - most notably in offering an 'entry point' to a brand that might be perceived as intimidating or old fashioned by young customers.
Posted by: Wordbird | February 3, 2009
Very interesting. Very marketing-oriented an approach indeed. Also a delicate operation to conduct, as you described so well.
Guerlain have said loud and clear since Insolence that they needed to gain the loyalty of a new generation of customers.
I can see how the new The Little Black Dress is part of that move of being more approachable while counterbalancing the potential loss of prestige (next to the Guerlain name) by adding a young-and-hip factor with nevertheless a flavor of classicism, the iconic LBD. Nice marketing attempt at balancing things out, a priori.
Personally, and going back to the problem of confusion the similar-name approach can create, I have to say that the repetitiousness of perfume names tends to create indifference in me as it introduces this industrial connotation of Taylorism and Fordism that is too obvious and oh-so mind-numbing. But it is true that in the particular case of Guerlain, the classics' names are so replete with history that I will pay attention nevertheless, even if I didn't really have to. Also I have to say that they are good at preventing some amount of confusion by adding elements of attraction and differentiation to their bottles/packaging.
But, it's kind of a big change and suddenly seems less incremental than it used to be.
Posted by: Marie-Helene Wagner | February 3, 2009