Branding is essential. This isn’t news to any of you, given your profession. A well-designed label or smartly placed display could make all the difference for a customer who doesn’t quite know what they want. So, what does it mean when a store completely does away with any and all branding?
Perfumarie, a perfume store in Manhattan’s SoHo neighborhood, is doing just that, forcing customers to focus on scents rather than branding efforts.
According to PSFK, the store’s owner, Mindy Yang, thinks it helps customers find what they’re looking for more easily since they don’t have to feel “silent pressure” to purchase products due to their marketing or label. At the end of each month, Yang reveals what the products were during a cocktail party.
This is an interesting move in the world of branding. Mostly because, well, it takes away all of the branding. The first thing that comes to mind is how tobacco products in some countries are forced to hit shelves without any branding at all. By doing so, it (hopefully) deters minors from being influenced by cartoonish or flashy marketing for products detrimental to their health.
It’s become a debate in Canada, too, as legal recreational marijuana came with the topic of whether or not companies should be able to market their products.
While perfume isn’t quite on the same page as recreational marijuana, it’s interesting to see that this particular consumer trend of experience over branding could take hold in other markets, especially those with experiential natures (think food or alcohol).
