Nautica Looks To Head Off The Competition With Latest Men’s Scent
This article was originally published in The Rose Sheet
Executive Summary
Unilever Prestige is aiming to recruit younger men to the Nautica fragrance brand with the introduction of Competition, President Laura Lee Miller said
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Unilever Prestige is aiming to recruit younger men to the Nautica fragrance brand with the introduction of Competition , President Laura Lee Miller said. Bowing in March, Nautica Competition will launch in approximately 2,200 department store doors and 300 military outlets in the U.S., as well as in 500 doors in Canada, according to the exec. With a "bullseye" target group including men ages 18-24, Competition carries a lower price point and sportier, more modern packaging than Nautica's existing men's scent Latitude Longitude , Miller explained. Both Competition and Latitude Longitude were inspired by the Nautica sportswear apparel brand, according to Miller. Latitude Longitude, which was based on Nautica's classic sportswear line, has a target audience of men ages 25-45, while the Competition clothing line is positioned for men 18-35, she explained. "Competition really focuses in concept and in spirit on a younger consumer, and therefore, we anticipate the cannibalization on Latitude Longitude to be less than it might otherwise be," Miller stated. Pricing for Competition also is geared toward a younger consumer, with price points falling slightly below those for Latitude Longitude, Miller said. The edt will retail for $35 and $46 for 2.5 oz. and 4.2 oz., respectively. Ancillary items including a body wash, soap and deodorant will cost $12.50, while an aftershave will retail for $28. Unilever plans to promote Competition by connecting it to basketball given the fragrance's March launch date and the popularity of the "March Madness" NCAA college basketball tournament on college campuses, the firm said. The company plans to draw young men into department stores using a gift-with-purchase promotion offering a Spalding indoor/outdoor basketball featuring the Competition logo and color scheme, according to Miller. The gwp promotion will be supported in catalogs, print ads and scented blow-ins. The firm also will sponsor a Nautica Competition basketball "shootout" at 50 college campuses across the country in conjunction with the NCAA tournament, VP-Marketing Gina Paterno said. Additionally, Nautica Competition scented strips will appear in programs at the NCAA men's basketball finals in March, she noted. A print ad campaign, breaking in April books, will continue the basketball theme. Appearing in men's books such as ESPN, Men's Health, Vibe and Maxim, the two-page ad will feature a young man dribbling a basketball. A picture of the bottle appears at the bottom of the shot with the copy, "the newest player in men's fragrance." A scented strip will appear on the back of the ad. More than 25 mil. scented impressions are anticipated to reach customers through print ads and catalog blow-ins, Miller said. Additional promotional activity will include in-store merchandising, testers and distribution of about 5 mil. spray vial samples, she added. Unilever will spend approximately $12 mil. on promotional support for the launch, according to industry sources. Unilever Prestige expects Nautica Competition to achieve a top 10 ranking in U.S. department stores for the spring season and a top 20 position for the year, Miller projected. The fragrance is estimated to generate $20 mil.-$25 mil. in first-year sales, industry sources predict. The scent's "functional, modern, athletic" packaging bears the brand's "team colors" of yellow, black and silver, Paterno said. The yellow bottle has a rubberized coating, which offers functional shatterproof protection, she explained. The bottle is topped with a black, matte rubber cap. Created by Creations Aromatique, the juice contains an exclusive "Teton Air" accord that runs throughout the fragrance. The note was developed to "capture the essence of being in the altitude of 13,000 feet in the [Grand Teton] mountains of Wyoming," the firm said. Top notes comprise bergamot and juniperberry, while middle accords of rosemary and nutmeg dry down to sandalwood and white amber, the company said. Nautica previously marketed a fragrance called Competition under a previous agreement with Paul Sebastian. The fragrance was discontinued in 1999 when Unilever Prestige acquired the fragrance license for Nautica. Latitude Longitude launched in 2000 as the first Nautica fragrance under Unilever (1 (Also see "Nautica Charts Course For Latitude Longitude Men's Fragrance" - HBW Insight, 5 Jun, 2000.), p. 3). |