Following a slew of celebrity alliances that most recently included signing Patrick Dempsey, Avon Products Inc. is inking a new kind of partnership that involves signing on a film series along with a new celebrity spokeswoman, simultaneously. Avon is leaving it up to the James Bond entertainment franchise and one of the newest Bond “It” girls, Gemma Arterton, to kick off what the company anticipates will be the biggest global fragrance launch of the year, Bond Girl 007.
“We saw this as a great opportunity, since it could bring a new dimension to our portfolio of brands,” said Geralyn Breig, senior vice president and brand president. “The Bond girl is such an iconic figure — she’s someone who’s smart, empowered, feminine and glamorous, and this is exactly in line with our mission, which is all about empowering women.”
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Although terms of the partnership were not disclosed, Breig said the new alliance is a “multiyear partnership.”
“Working on [the latest Bond movie] ‘Quantum of Solace’ was a great experience and each day brought something new and exciting,” said Arterton. “I am proud to be a part of the Bond girl legacy and Avon’s Bond Girl 007 fragrance embodies the qualities of what a Bond girl represents — it’s sexy, empowering and iconic.”
Industry sources estimated the fragrance could do between $10 million and $15 million in retail sales in its first year.
At the annual FiFi Awards ceremony held Tuesday, Avon monopolized the Private Label/Direct Sell category by winning the women’s category with Christian Lacroix and men’s with Derek Jeter Driven Black — both examples of recent celebrity and designer partnerships.
Executives at the James Bond franchise, property of Danjaq LLC and Eon Productions, were particularly attracted to Avon’s global visibility and thought this could provide an opportunity to build the brand’s awareness.
“We looked for people who understand our brand and felt that Avon had a great understanding of the brand and how it fit within our objectives,” said Keith Snelgrove, senior vice president of global business strategy for Danjaq. “They’re a global brand with a massive global reach, which was very important for us.”
Launching in October through Avon’s 500,000 sales representatives and avon.com, Bond Girl 007 will make its debut in conjunction with the release of “Quantum of Solace.” Created by Firmenich, the fragrance is composed of top notes of white peach and orange blossom; middle notes of jasmine, calypso orchid and freesia, and bottom notes of amber, cashmere wood, patchouli and musks. Retailing at $30 for the 1.7-oz. eau de parfum, the fragrance will launch in North America, Europe and Brazil in October, followed by other Latin American countries and Asia starting in November. In addition, the company is introducing a mini site, avon.com/bondgirl.
British actress Arterton, who plays the role of Agent Fields in the film, will be the face of the new fragrance and will appear in television and print advertising, which breaks in October. In addition to appearing on the cover of the Avon brochure the week of the launch, other promotional opportunities include distributing more than 57 million samples. The company is looking to have sales representatives at select movie theaters worldwide to sample the fragrance.
Avon has plans to continue exploring opportunities “to bring high-end fashion, glamour, style and a piece of Hollywood to consumers,” said Tracy Haffner, Avon’s vice president of global marketing.