Ariana Grande Sells Fans Her Fragrance Without Them Even Smelling It
Patrick Eminger
Ariana Grande fans rejoice. The pop diva has released her fifth fragrance in her line with Ulta, but this one has been distributed in a much different way. For her past four perfume launches, a pandemic was not going on that hindered the product from being sold in stores. However, knowing she would not be able to make as many sales from in-store purchases, she launched her perfume online only. Selling a fragrance online seems crazy because the main selling point, the smell, cannot be tested by buyers. So how did she ensure that her fans would continue to support her fragrance line by buying her fifth perfume? She made an advertising campaign that gave her fans everything they wanted.
Ariana’s first four perfumes were usually just promoted with a cute photoshoot, a post to her social media, and she let Ulta do the rest. For her fifth fragrance in a COIVD world, she knew she had to step it up. She knew her promotion had to be more than just a pretty photoshoot. So what did she do? She made the most amazing minute and a half animated perfume commercial that was a tribute to herself, and everything her fans love about her.
Why will fans love this video so much? It’s everything that an Arianator could want. The video is set in the world of one of the most iconic music videos that she has ever done and one of the fan’s favorite songs. There is a voice-over and cameo by her famous dog, Toulouse, who has been on the cover of Vogue and modeled for Gucci (Yes, that’s right, the dog was on the cover of Vogue). Toulouse has been in all of her music videos, so the fans know and love him. There is a voice-over and cameo from her famous pet pig, Piggy Smallz, who Grande infamously adopted with ex-fiance Pete Davidson. The animated version of Ariana served the fans the look she knew they would want most: a giant and voluptuous high ponytail, padded leotard, and signature thigh boots. Everything on brand by Ariana. There were hundreds of robot Arianas who wore the same outfit but looked like robots in the video to really make the video Ariana overloaded. Her famous best friends and dancers did voice-overs as well. Lastly, the perfume was named after one of her iconic hit songs of the past that fans still hold onto and cherish today. Her animated character smoothly sings a little bit of the song at the end. The video, along with promotional photos where she recreated one of her legendary past outfits, really sold her fans everything they needed to blindly buy a perfume just because of the person selling it and not the scent. This campaign was aimed towards the fans who love everything about her and want to add it to their collector’s memorabilia. I mean how could an Ariana Grande fan not buy it after seeing all of their fondest memories of a singer they love put into one box?
What we can learn from this ad is how well the team working on it knew how to optimize sales in the world we live in today. They knew they had a long shot with selling a physical scent online, so they targeted buyers who they knew would be crazy enough to make the purchase. And luckily, Ariana has a ginormous legion of loyal fans who were ready and able to buy. It is great adapting to the times, and a lot of fun for all the fans who have probably watch the video one hundred times already.