Paco Rabanne Fragrances Welcomes a New Generation of Fans

Paco Rabanne fragrances is embarking on a new positioning and communications strategy in the UK, developed by creative agency Impero. Tasked to ignite a new generation of Gen Y and Gen Z consumers, activity is targeted to position Paco Rabanne as the most loved fragrance brand in the UK, focusing on their best-selling fragrance franchise.  

The new positioning builds on Paco Rabanne’s philosophy and target consumers dubbed the ‘Paco Cool Kids’. This ambitious cohort exists beyond outdated portrayals of wealth that came before them and are creating their own success for the future through hustle and creativity.  To connect with the Paco Cool Kids, bring fame to the idea and endorse the hustle ethos, the first activation will be for the ‘Million’ fragrance franchise. The ‘My First Million' campaign will see Paco Rabanne launch a funding scheme that will identify and support three emerging musicians every year with a £5,000 grant. Partnering with VICE’s music and culture platform Noisey, handled by StarCom, each artist will also receive extensive publicity through editorial and paid social videos, that will rally other rising artists to apply for next year’s grant with a short video. Eligible artists will need to embody the hustle mentality in their approach to music, be unsigned British music talent, and resonate with youth culture. The winning artists will have the option to spend their Paco Fund to further their careers, using it on studio time, equipment or marketing. Content across VICE's websites and social platforms will include a short-form video series and in-depth interviews profiling the artist’s music and their journey to reach their first million streams. Each artist will also be presented with a Paco Rabanne 1 Million framed gold record, alongside a custom engraved 1 Million or Lady Million fragrance.  

Paco Rabanne, owned by the fragrance company, Puig, is currently the third most popular fragrance brand in the UK. Other fragrances include Invictus, Olympea and Pacollection. ‘My First Million’ is scheduled to run until the end of 2021, with entry for the next grant taking place over the Summer, after which the next cohort of artists will be announced. 

Having built its reputation building global alcohol brands, Impero is today recognised as an industry leader in targeting and contributing to youth culture. The creative agency launched Mike’s Hard Seltzer in the UK for ABI InBev, recruiting a generation of younger drinkers looking for a fuss-free option. They also relaunched Havana Club Rum by putting the product at the heart of new culture, resulting in global sales growth from 1% to 12%. In recent years Impero has been building its health and beauty credentials, most recently launching Estée Lauder Companies’ Dr.Jart+ cult Cicapair range in the UK using AR during lockdown, seeing the brand sell out in stores across the country. 

Celine Gilg, Managing Director of Puig in the UK says: “Paco Rabanne recognise the importance to connect with Gen Y and Gen Z. A target audience of audacious, tenacious, driven and talented individuals. This generation embodies the spirit of the Million fragrance range, by living and breathing their dreams, and endlessly hustling to make them a reality. We are proud to provide a facilitator to help celebrate and achieve their ambitions and can’t wait to support them on the road to further success”. 

Charlotte Willcocks, Impero’s Strategy Director, said “Paco Rabanne is a well established and much loved global brand but we needed to inject relevance with a younger emerging audience in the UK: the Paco Cool Kids. By celebrating and supporting their spirit of hustle and graft, the ‘My First Million’ campaign sends a very real and practical message out into the world that Paco Rabanne sees them and is with them for the journey”.

Archie Harding, Creative at VICE+ said 'It's great to work with a brand that wanted to create a genuine commitment to helping emerging artists, especially after a year where so many of their revenue streams have been closed off due to COVID. The campaign dials right to the heart of what Noisey has always stood for - celebrating and supporting artists on their way to the very top.'