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CASE STUDY 1

Eternal Fragrance

Designer-inspired luxury scents at real-world prices (early-stage startup) - Launch

01. Insight  →  02. Strategy  →  03. Creative  →  04. Execution  →  05. Testing & Optimization

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JUNE 2024 - OCT 2024

 

The Problem:

  1. The customer wants the designer experience without the designer price. Competitors lack the luxury bottle aesthetic.

  2. Launch a performance creative strategy from zero, with no existing ad account data, against well-funded competitors.

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The Opportunity:

Build a trusted brand that delivers designer-level perception without the designer price guilt.

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My Role:

Creative Strategist (Brand & Performance)

Developed a full-funnel creative strategy, translating customer psychology and competitor analysis into scalable ad systems across Meta, Email Marketing, TikTok, Amazon, and Walmart.​​

11X

Web Traffic Growth

7.23%

Avg. CTR

2.29

Avg. ROAS

01. Insight

“Luxury is desired, but price creates guilt”

GENERATIONAL INSIGHTS

Gen Z (18-29) - "Treat Culture"

  • Digital-native, TikTok-driven discovery, does not trust mass media / brand authority

    • UGC short-form native format​

    • Peer authority > Brand authority

  • Sees fragrance as affordable confidence

  • Budget-conscious but emotionally driven

  • Buys multiple scents vs one signature

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Psychology Loop: Feel stressed → buy small luxury → feel temporary relief → feel guilt → rationalize as self-care → repeat

Millennials (30-45) - "Cautious Splurger"

  • Higher disposable income, but needs validation that it's smart and high-value

    • Needs social proof & verified reviews​

    • Peer authority > Brand authority

  • Sees fragrance as self-care + lifestyle upgrade

    • "the upgrade that actually makes sense”

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Implications

  • Financial Stress (affordable luxury)

  • Time Stress (needs fast, punchy ads)

  • Relatability

MICRO-MOMENTS

  1. Sitting on the couch at night, scrolling TikTok or Instagram. A fragrance influencer reviews a $300 niche perfume. They zoom in on the bottle, describe the scent notes, talk about compliments. The viewer saves the post, opens the brand's site, sees the price, and closes the tab. 

  2. At work or a social gathering, someone leans in and says "You smell really good, what is that?"

  3. Browsing fragrance content on TikTok, not shopping for a specific need, but building an identity. They're curating a "fragrance wardrobe" and trying to figure out their "signature" or their rotation for different moods and occasions.  

  4. After buying a $200+ designer fragrance on impulse (or even a $60 bottle that doesn't perform), they're sitting with buyer's remorse. They're checking reviews post-purchase, finding negative reviews that confirm their doubt. 

WHITESPACE GAPS

  1. No one owns the "designer-inspired + premium design" position on Meta. Dossier uses uniform bottles to save costs. Oakcha leans into playful, trend-driven naming. ALT focuses on the price argument. Lattafa leads with cultural heritage. Nobody is saying: "This looks, feels, and smells like the $300 bottle, and it's $30." The packaging and design story is wide open.

  2. No one is targeting the post-regret buyer on Meta. The person who just spent $200 on a designer and feels guilt. That's the highest-intent conversion moment in affordable fragrance. 

“Customers don’t want cheap fragrance, they want to feel smart buying luxury.”

Fragrance is a shortcut to feeling like your best self, fast.

It's not about smell. It’s about identity, confidence, and social validation.

02. Strategy

1

Resolve the Guilt Loop
Reframe purchase as smart, not indulgent

2

Prove It Visually
Show, don’t claim (blind tests, comparisons)

3

Build Identity,
Not Just Product
Fragrance wardrobe
vs single purchase

4

Replace Brand Authority with Peer Trust
UGC > brand voice

03. Creative System

Full-funnel Strategy

TOF:

AWARENESS

  • Goal: Pattern interrupt + curiosity

  • Scroll-stopping hooks
  • UGC testimonial video
  • Offer-first static

  • “They don’t want you to know this fragrance hack…”

  • "Smell like $300 for under $30..."

MOF:

CONSIDERATION

  • Goal: Reduce skepticism + build belief

  • Comparison + trust
  • Us vs. Them
  • Testimonial

  • “No one can tell the difference”

  • “$30 fragrance… 8 hours later”

BOF:

CONVERSION

  • Goal: Push action now

  • Offer + urgency

  • Review static + promo offer

  • grid-swap​

  • “Smell expensive. Pay less.”

  • “This scent keeps selling out…”

04. Execution

A/B tested a range of creative approaches across paid social, from voiceover-led storytelling to music-driven, scroll-stopping content, alongside static ads and TikTok influencer collaborations, while building a consistent organic social calendar and email program. Here are a few examples.

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Learnings & Optimization

Launching a performance-driven creative strategy from zero, without historical ad data, required building both demand generation and conversion systems simultaneously in a highly competitive, well-funded category.

1. Hero Product Focus

  • ​We learned what our top-selling products are, based on top-performing ads and sales​.

    • Narrowing to 2–3 hero products reduced overwhelm and increased trust and clarity.

    • Royale had the most social buzz but Escape and Atlas were the top sellers on TikTok Shop, and Cherry Bomb led on Amazon. We followed sales data, not noise.

    • Reviews revealed:

      • Escape: ​4.2 stars | 367 reviews

        • Pros: Smells expensive, scent accuracy, compliments, bottle design & packaging, strong emotional resonance, loyalty.​

        • Cons: Longevity inconsistency, some expecting sweet vs. dark sophistication, more feminine as a unisex fragrance

        • Result: More education on scent. application and expected longevity, emphasize dark cherry vs. sweet cherry.

      • Atlas: avg. 4 stars | 237 reviews

        • Pros: Scent accuracy, value, bottle quality, compliments.

        • Cons: Longevity inconsistency, likely skin chemistry or batch variation.

      • Cherry Bomb: ​​avg. 4.3 stars | 249 reviews

      • Pros: Scent accuracy, value, bottle quality, compliments.

      • Cons: Longevity inconsistency, likely skin chemistry or batch variation.

      • Result: More education on scent application and expected longevity based on fresh vs. spicy scents.

2. Platform-Native Commerce Wins Over Traditional Funnels

  • ​Meta drove 11x traffic but conversion lagged. TikTok influencer ads converted better. Native TikTok Shop outperformed by cutting friction and embedding social proof into the buying experience.
     

3. Influencers Are the Conversion Engine

  • Brand content builds awareness. Influencers close the sale. Brand content gave influencers a foundation to work from. Neither worked as well alone.
     

4. Our Actual Customers

  • Age 25-45, mostly female

  • Most bought one bottle. Needed stronger trust signals and bundles to increase order value.

  • Low repeat rate. Loyalty and retention needs to be a priority.

  • 39% email opt-in shows intent and meta awareness campaign success. Catalog started at 14 products, grew to 33. Email buyers spent nearly double non-subscribers, confirming high-intent audience.

  • Two personas, two different creative briefs:

    • The Connoisseur knows the designer original and is testing Eternal as the smarter buy. Needs proof.

    • The Newcomer found us on TikTok, no designer reference, just wants compliments. Needs aspiration.

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