Would you buy a high end car fragrance?

Would you buy a high end car fragrance?

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Discussion

technodup

7,576 posts

129 months

Wednesday 20th April 2016
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BRISTOL86 said:
How will it be distinguished from the others. To me 'high end' is suggesting you're offering a luxury (read expensive) product - assuming it costs more than your competitors products, what does it offer over and above to convince people to pay more for it? Longevity? Quality of fragrance (subjective and hard to discern in an aisle full of air fresheners).
By it not being an air freshener for a start.

Think of this as perfume for your car and you're in a different market altogether. People don't buy perfume for 'quality' or longevity, they buy on brand, marketing, packaging and some might give it a sniff.

It needs to be much more expensive than a car air freshener. It will be packaged unlike a car air freshener. It won't be sold in petrol stations. It's not a car air freshener.

Done right this will sell. Not to your average fat 50 year old PHer who can't see past wee cardboard trees but to the type of woman who buys interiors magazines and drives a new Audi or Evoque. I'd start with a couple of feminine fragrances and one masculine, as I'd imagine the ratio being 80/20. I'd think up to £30 wouldn't be ridiculous to the aspirational type who likes spending on image.

Good luck.

Deangtv

Original Poster:

743 posts

219 months

Thursday 21st April 2016
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Technodup, thanks for the supportive words and you can see exactly what I'm aiming for here. The packaging will also be key to the product and its success.

Just to explain a little of yesterday, last night i took some shots of my current diffusser I'm testing mainly for fragrance longevity and potency. The sample bottle I'm awaiting are flatter in shape however this would give you an idea of how neatly to product can nestle in the center console.





Deangtv

Original Poster:

743 posts

219 months

Thursday 21st April 2016
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andy-xr said:
This post comes from no market research or any understanding of the market
As mentioned in my first post, I have no experience of products or the industry. I develop properies for a living, I just see a gap in the market. Its a product I desire and I believe other may do too, as evident from other posters.


Thankyou4calling

10,595 posts

172 months

Thursday 21st April 2016
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As with any new product there will be those who get it and those who don't.

People who dismiss it as too expensive and frivolous are absolutely correct, for them and their acquaintances it is but there are plenty of people out there who buy things others don't. the examples are endless.

A guy asked if my watch was expensive the other day and I said "What do you mean expensive? Oh £200 he said. I replied that yes it was expensive :-) a lot more than that.

The point is that you need to find people who value something different, it is as much about that as actually making your car smell nice. Fragrance is an amazing market. If I bought my OH a bottle of Aldi Eu De Parfum (it's beaten Chanel in a lot of tests) at £4.99 it would be a total waste of money, it'd be laughed at. If I buy her a bottle of Gucci at £60 it is cheap, pulled out of her handbag daily, and makes he feel special.

Car enthusiasts will be a market but as said, this is as much about lifestyle. TOWIE. Orange people in Evoques, people who get their nails done and shop in Bicester village.

Tap into them and you will sell plenty.

The key is repeat business, capture their info and work it leading up to the time bottle 1 is going to expire.

One other thing, IF it could be launched WITHOUT the sticks it'd do better as a streamlined and minimalist look will help.

chrisb92

1,051 posts

123 months

Thursday 21st April 2016
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Thankyou4calling said:
As with any new product there will be those who get it and those who don't.

People who dismiss it as too expensive and frivolous are absolutely correct, for them and their acquaintances it is but there are plenty of people out there who buy things others don't. the examples are endless.

A guy asked if my watch was expensive the other day and I said "What do you mean expensive? Oh £200 he said. I replied that yes it was expensive :-) a lot more than that.

The point is that you need to find people who value something different, it is as much about that as actually making your car smell nice. Fragrance is an amazing market. If I bought my OH a bottle of Aldi Eu De Parfum (it's beaten Chanel in a lot of tests) at £4.99 it would be a total waste of money, it'd be laughed at. If I buy her a bottle of Gucci at £60 it is cheap, pulled out of her handbag daily, and makes he feel special.

Car enthusiasts will be a market but as said, this is as much about lifestyle. TOWIE. Orange people in Evoques, people who get their nails done and shop in Bicester village.

Tap into them and you will sell plenty.

The key is repeat business, capture their info and work it leading up to the time bottle 1 is going to expire.

One other thing, IF it could be launched WITHOUT the sticks it'd do better as a streamlined and minimalist look will help.
Bicester village? You can put that in the 'a bit council' thread where it belongs!

Deangtv

Original Poster:

743 posts

219 months

Thursday 21st April 2016
quotequote all
Thankyou4calling said:
One other thing, IF it could be launched WITHOUT the sticks it'd do better as a streamlined and minimalist look will help.
Final product will not have the sticks, it will be a sleek and streamline finish.

chrisb92

1,051 posts

123 months

Thursday 21st April 2016
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If and when this does get released, could you let us know when and where they will be on sale? Also, will testers be available as I would like to know how strong the smell will be?

Thankyou4calling

10,595 posts

172 months

Thursday 21st April 2016
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Think of the Lakeland stores, paperchase and the one called Tiger. None of them sell anything you can't buy for a lot less in Poundland, they sell NOTHING you need but they create an environment where people are happy to shop, pay their prices and tell their friends.

Same with Costa coffee.

But there is always another level.

Nespresso have boutiques, I kid you not where you can go and browse their machines and pods, you will leave with a little purchase feeling that a bit of the George Clooney or Jack Black magic has rubbed off on you. Yes, a boutique for massively overpriced coffee.

These car fragrances, forget about selling them to car enthusiasts, they are a bonus. The market is women who will never go in Argos or Asda but will happily pay more for the same stuff at House of Fraser or Waitrose.


technodup

7,576 posts

129 months

Thursday 21st April 2016
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Thankyou4calling said:
The key is repeat business, capture their info and work it leading up to the time bottle 1 is going to expire.
A good point. If it's essentially some perfume with the lid off so it evaporates then it should be easy to gauge how long it will last, so ideal for email marketing near the time.

Truckosaurus

11,183 posts

283 months

Thursday 21st April 2016
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I'm a Magic-Tree man, I reckon I'd spend a tenner on some nicer smelling jollop if the scent last several weeks.

The biggest downside would be the loss of one of the 2 cup holders that are currently doing sterling service holding my sunglasses, peage tag, 2x USB cables (one Android, one Apple), supermarket trolley token and a post-it note with the postcode of somewhere I needed the satnav to find.

veevee

1,455 posts

150 months

Thursday 21st April 2016
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I think this is a good idea, I hate the smell of most air fresheners.

I'm not really an air freshener person, but I would buy one of these IF:

It was out of the way. Cupholder is a dealbreaker, very few people will want to drive around with what looks like a yankee candle in their cupholder. Some cars only have one holder, some have none.

This might sound silly, but it needs to be more expensive. £10-£15 is too cheap. £1-£5 I'm thinking of a magic tree or something else crap. £5-£15 I'm thinking of an air-wick type jobby. It needs to be reassuringly priced - £25-£50, good quality, convincing packaging, smells nice, lasts for ages.

This kind of thing, basically.

https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=home+diffuser&am...

stinkspanner

701 posts

180 months

Thursday 21st April 2016
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Describing something as 'high end' instantly makes it 'a bit council' i reckon.
Will probably sell loads to orange people in mid range cars (so in other words quite a lot!)
Good luck with it

Some Gump

12,671 posts

185 months

Thursday 21st April 2016
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OP,

I'm going to sound like an utter tt here, but IMO the idea is just daft.

I'm thinking back to where all the cup holders are / were in every car I've owned.

Saxo, rs4, boxster, a4, 1 series - stupid flappy thing that clicks out of the dash near the vent. Having a big pot with sticks in it would look retarded. It would be kind of like the beetle's silly flower thing, but more hippie. Hippies tend not to drive German repmobiles.


Passat, vectra, 3 series, Saab - low cup holder thing behind the gear stick. Where your arm is. Wearing a jacket? Shirt? It'll get aroma- oil on. Even if it doesn't stain, you'll smell like a tart's window box.

So in short, even if you had a magic scent which is fresh but smells nowt like fur orange or magic tree (which smells of taxis), I'd not want it in a stick/pot combo. As others have said, discrete / hideable and nice smelling would be a much more widely attractive product.

Ps - sorry if to tttish smile


fellatthefirst

579 posts

154 months

Thursday 21st April 2016
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I use a California Scent car smelly but stick a bit of velcro on it and place it under my seat so it grips the carpet. This way it's hidden, the car smells nice and it doesn't roll around when i'm cornering etc.

I personally would consider an upmarket car fragrance up to about £15 but i would imagine you would need to spend a fortune on marketing something like that for it to gain traction.

Good luck!

AM7

268 posts

128 months

Thursday 21st April 2016
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Another user of California Scent here, again I stick it under the seat so it's out the way and won't be flying all over the interior. I don't have a cup holder and I like my dash empty (other than extra gauges..), so need an air freshener that I can put away. Also I tend to go for the more wild scents as I have to mask over the glorious smell of oil/exhaust/old Nissan. However if my primary car was something a bit more sensible/practical I'd be tempted, we have an Audi and I feel it'll suit it well other than that the cup holder pops out of the dash, so would look untidy, again it'd have to be hidden somewhere e.g. under a seat.

spikeyhead

17,225 posts

196 months

Friday 22nd April 2016
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It's of no use to me, my Atom doesn't have a cupholder

bomma220

14,454 posts

124 months

Friday 22nd April 2016
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spikeyhead said:
It's of no use to me, my Atom doesn't have a cupholder
You're missing out there sir, has your's not been specced with this?



hehe A fine car, you must have bks of brass to drive one...

jonah35

3,940 posts

156 months

Sunday 24th April 2016
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I can't see it working.

1. Am I the only one that actually feels cars have too little storage and always need cup holders for drinks, keys, phone etc. I couldn't use a cup holder for some perfume - where would I put my cups?!! It would forever get in the way. Therefore I'd be more inclined to have it somewhere else.

2. Sounds like eventually it will be in motosave for £3. Very few women spend money on cars. Most would like a cocktail with friends or a cheapy dress instead of that. Or, perfume for themselves. Men, on the other hand, don't mind spending on 'manly' things for their car but a bottle of perfume? If my mate bought a 'high end' bottle of perfume for his car I'd think it was a bit feminine,

3. Where would you stock it? In a car shop alongside cheap air fresheners or in another type of store?

4. I like my cars to smell of nothing/new car smell rather than perfume but am happy with an air freshener if necessary.

5. Long journeys with smells can make some people feel nauseous or give them a headache etc

6. There is so much choice already

7. If you are obsessed with having your car smell of perfume why not just spray 2 squirts of 'real' perfume/after shave instead? At least that way the car will smell like you and you won't have your aftershave mixing with the car smell


KrissKross

2,182 posts

100 months

Monday 25th April 2016
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Is there a Pasty scent available?


Thankyou4calling

10,595 posts

172 months

Monday 25th April 2016
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Useful post that.