Objectives

Young French male consumers demonstrate a growing interest in fragrances. But going in-store can still prove challenging either because of the feeling “it’s not for me” or a lack of knowledge.

Our objective was to figure out how to drive this consumer group to go and buy their own fragrances in selective retail. And even more importantly: make them go and ask for the new Diesel fragrance “Spirit of the Brave”, co-created with soccer prodigy Neymar Jr.

In order to boost the drive to shop for their new Diesel fragrance, L’Oréal (Accélérateur Parfums) asked us to come up with an original strategy to bond relevant male communities and subcultures around the values of the new fragrance and to rely only on organic amplification.

There was a need to create a strategy that was closely aligned with the new global campaign, especially the TVC. Our job had to also take into consideration the special story Neymar Jr has in France, with his club (Paris Saint Germain).

In other words: make the new fragrance hyper legit among French men to make them want to go to shops.

Strategy and Execution

Social mission:

Spirit of the Brave is all about reinventing bravery; inciting young men to reach their full potential, and endeavor a modern masculinity. Spirit of the Brave is also celebrating an important milestone: the 10th anniversary of the iconic fragrance “Only the Brave”.

We came up with a simple mission: asking the French audience to #PlayWithYourFears by launching challenges first to themselves but also to their crew or friends, while also discovering and trying the fragrance

Subcultures & communities’ infiltration:

We analyzed thousands of French digital influencers, through the versatility of interests and networks, in order to be able to ignite word-of-mouth where it truly happens for young male consumers. We found two key tribes:

1. Tribes which face fears in an implicit way: fears as personal challenges, sometimes even intimate
2. Tribes which face fears in explicit ways, meaning they need to overcome tangible obstacles

Around these 2 directions, we also assessed the power of the crews surrounding them, the kind of success they’re aiming for, and if they have uncompromising stories.

We came up with a shortlist of talents and regrouped them in precise categories:

• The skill unlockers: talents who consider real-life as a playground, in which by working out or working their way around, they can unlock new achievements and success
• The survivors: talents who had to fight even harder to reach success, whether it’s because of an injury or a personal story
• Neo-warriors: talents who express themselves through new territories like esports
• The resourcefulness: talents generally coming from lower-income suburbs, who follow their dreams and make magic using “system D”

#playwithyourfears challenges:

We invited talents to play challenges on a 1 to 1 basis, documenting their reactions, personal narratives and hopes. To mention a few:

• Boumé Sama, rising YouTuber known for his soccer #topbins videos challenged Eve Perisset, who plays as a defender for Paris Saint-Germain and the France national team just before the World Cup.
• Mélody Donchet, soccer freestyler (who a couple of weeks later became World Champion) challenged Bruce Grannec, a multiple FIFA Interactive World Cup champion
• AF5 & Vinsky, both esports superstars, co-created 6 challenges (3 on each of their YouTube channels): the winner could control the loser’s life for 24h.

Beyond the challenges, we interviewed many talents from various street cultures. For instance:

• Laura Nala and Waydi Wade shared views and a dance battle about their own journeys
• Manassé and his crew from Lyon explained how fashion helps him in defining his story and his success
• Tortoz, pioneer of Latin trap music in France and rapper, explained how he had to overcome his fears for his music

Talents were later invited to discover the fragrance in a L’Oréal masterclass and are regularly invited to Diesel Fragrances parties in order to maintain the relationships and keep documenting Spirit of the Brave.

Results

Quanti:

1M consolidated organic views were generated in total on French influencers’ content.

2513 mentions occurred on social networks during the campaigning phase (from May to September 2019), leading to a strong share of mind in esports, sports, street cultures communities, mostly shared by a young male audience.

Instagram account of Diesel Fragrances multiplied by 2 its followers during the French campaign.

A reach of 43M (Sprinklr) at its peak of attention on May, 19th 2019.

Business

Spirit of the Brave was one of the summer “hits” among male fragrances in selective retailing.

Media