Womanity.com went online earlier this month and will be fully operational by June this year. The site invites visitors to upload their thoughts on what womanity means to them and to share ideas on various contemporary issues.
An interview with Thierry Mugler, embedded into the site, gives an idea of the perfumer's take on the question, and the motivation behind the site.
“At the heart of it is what one woman learns from another. Womanity is that bond: giving, complicit, a tacit affinity,” he said.
Clarins hope to have 2 million contributors to the site by the end of 2010 and claims it will be fully interactive with social media sites to aid content sharing and increase traffic.
Enhancing relationship with consumers
This is not the first time the brand has explored the internet and new media in an attempt to communicate with its public. According to Joël Palix, president of Clarins Fragrance Group, the idea is to build the brand with customers taking a central role.
“If we as a luxury brand are to keep moving this legacy forward, enhancing or relationship with our customers is crucial,” he said.
“A brand must seek to break away from the elementary notion of broadcasting a message. Through user generated content we place customers at the core of our thinking about the brand, sparking interaction through constant exchange,” Palix added.
Although at present the womanity site and brand only offers content, be it text, video or audio, the company hopes it has the potential to become something more concrete in the future.
Products created by the womanity community could become a reality, according to Clarins, which would put consumers at the heart of the new brand’s development.