Celebrities ‘open doors’ in a competitive fragrance market, says Bruce Willis fragrance maker

Westphalia-based cosmetics manufacturer LR Health & Beauty Systems claims that celebrities serve as ‘door openers’ that increase profits and create positive associations with the brand, on the back of its latest Bruce Willis perfume launch.

Lovingly by Bruce Willis is the first female scent from the Die Hard star, following his first men’s cologne, which was the most successful in LR’s history, and the company hopes the latest launch will follow in the same footsteps.

“[With a celebrity fragrance you get]a positive image transfer of the celebrity to the brand itself, as well as to the entire enterprise. And vice-versa: a classic win-win situation,” explained Tilo Plöger, COO LR Health & Beauty Systems GmbH.

Celebrity scents are often a top choice for fragrance houses and are often successful due the demand of the star and the self-marketing they are attached to.

In demand and enormously successful

“Celebrity fragrances will always have their place on the market, and there will always be a justification for this. Top stars are constantly in demand, and finely crafted fragrances in this segment have the potential to be enormously successful,” he told CosmeticsDesign.com.

As the fragrance market becomes more saturated with celebrity scents, the perfumes are now becoming more and more specialized; especially when it comes to the design of the bottle.

According to LR, a fragrance alone is simply not enough. Successful celebrity brands authentically reflect the star, and are embedded in a comprehensive campaign; from the ‘making of’ through to the active integration of the star beyond pure advertising.

Beyond pure advertising

“Bruce Willis is an internationally recognized top celebrity who has no equal. Bruce Willis’ second fragrance - this time dedicated to his wife Emma Heming-Willis - is the star’s first women’s perfume, and the second in the overall series,” said Plöger.

“The idea behind the new fragrance is more complex, as it doesn’t seek to embody or interpret a single person, but the relationship of two individuals to each other. The particular factor here is its integration into an extensive campaign that migrates from Bruce Willis to Emma.”

According to Plöger, the launch and first two months of the Lovingly fragrance have already been very successful.