VICE Media Group × Chanel · Luxury and youth culture
The Fifth Sense: a heritage fragrance for a new generation
As Director of Media, I built the media strategy for a $12MM branded content program with i-D that made a century-old fragrance relevant to female Millennials.
Episode 3
01
The challenge
Everyone knew Chanel. The gap was relevance. Female Millennials weren't rejecting the brand, they just weren't feeling it, and glossy editorial and celebrity endorsement were formats they consumed passively, if at all.
02
The insight
The obvious answer was to make luxury more accessible. The audience pointed the other way: they wanted the brand to be more authentic, to show something real about the creative spirit behind it.
03
The strategy
The Fifth Sense was a branded content program built with i-D: documentary-style films about women working across creative disciplines and the part scent plays in their process, paired with editorial and social.
On media, I used platform data to push the program vertical-first, formatted for how this audience actually watches, rather than repurposing widescreen film.
04
Outcomes
The program was also recognized in the Digiday awards.
05
What I'd carry forward
Start from the audience's relationship to creativity, not to the product, and let the format follow the platform.
Watch
Full films
- Hero film
- Episode 3: Making Codes