Korean Fragrance Marketing: How K-Beauty Brands Sell Time Through Four Marketing Types

Are We Really Buying Fragrance?🔗

The common factor among top-ranking products in Olive Young's fragrance category isn't simply "good scent."

"24-hour scent longevity", "5:28PM dazzling sunset", "midnight 12 o'clock", "6-8 hours long duration"

They're all selling 'time'.

BeauticsLab AI analysis of 155 product detail page images from 4 brands (SlowHumming, Anillo, Hotel Dobson, Huxley) revealed distinct patterns of how each brand commodifies time differently.

More notably, there's a correlation with actual sales performance. In Week 37's mini/solid fragrance category, Anillo ranked #2, SlowHumming #10, and Huxley #15.

Discovery: Four Types of Time Marketing🔗

Through BeauticsLab AI analysis of 155 images, we identified four distinct time marketing types.

1. Philosophy Type: SlowHumming's 'Slow Time'🔗

SlowHumming demonstrates consistent time philosophy in BeauticsLab AI analysis. A clear belief that creates your own leisurely time away from the hectic daily routine appears consistently across all messages.

Core Messages:

• "24h 24-hour scent longevity"
• "myown Place / my own Time / myown Ritual"
• "Languidly pleasant moments"
• "Slow Humming"
• "DAILY RITUAL", "When commuting to work in the morning"

Week 37 Performance: Mini/solid fragrance category #10 (1,170 reviews, 4.6 rating) - View SlowHumming Relief Perfume Balm Details

2. Scenario Type: Anillo's 'Specific Moments'🔗

Anillo provides rich time scenarios. With the concept of recording special moments of the day with fragrance, it connects all times of daily life with scent.

Core Messages:

• "5:28PM dazzling sunset"
• "Make Every day Scented / Make every day special, every moment fragrant"
• "TIME TO FILL UP YOUR OWN TIME"
• "Languid afternoon tea time", "Sunday morning"
• "Shower Time"
• "Rose-colored evening", "That day's fragrance"

Week 37 Performance: Mini/solid fragrance category #2, #9 - View Anillo Eau de Parfum Details

3. Curation Type: Hotel Dobson's 'Special Time'🔗

Hotel Dobson packages time as a premium experience. Through mysterious fragrance experienced at the special time of midnight, it brings hotel rest and recharge time into daily life.

Core Messages:

• "Midnight 12 o'clock when night dew has fallen"
• "Time of leisure and recharge"
• "Jardin Midnight"
• Rest and recharge at the hotel

Week 37 Performance: Home fragrance category popularity #5 (diffuser product) - View Hotel Dobson Jardin Midnight Diffuser Details

4. Optimization Type: Huxley's 'Efficient Time'🔗

Huxley approaches time as functional specifications. Emphasizing the value of fragrance changing with time flow and lasting long, it shows unique storytelling expressing Morocco's daily cycle (dawn→sunset) through scent.

Core Messages:

• "Fragrance lasts for about 6~8 hours"
• "Fragrance changing by notes as time passes"
• "Containing morning moisture", "Moment of sunset"

Week 37 Performance: Mini/solid fragrance category #15 (3,263 reviews, 4.8 rating) - View Huxley Perfume Details

Four-Stage Structure of Time Marketing🔗

The time commodification process discovered through AI analysis follows a systematic four-stage structure.

Brand Examples by Each Stage🔗

Stage 1 - Definition of Time

• SlowHumming: "Languidly pleasant moments" (value of leisurely time)
• Anillo: "Make every day special, every moment fragrant" (specialness of daily time)
• Huxley: "Fragrance changing by notes as time passes" (change and growth of time)

Stage 2 - Concretization of Time

• Hotel Dobson: "Midnight 12 o'clock when night dew has fallen" (specific time designation)
• Anillo: "5:28PM dazzling sunset" (precise time notation)
• Huxley: "Morning moisture", "Moment of sunset" (specific times of day)

Stage 3 - Commodification of Time

• Huxley: "Fragrance lasts for about 6~8 hours" (quantified value)
• SlowHumming: "24-hour scent longevity" (long duration guarantee)
• Anillo: "That day's fragrance" (daily unit experience)

Stage 4 - Experientialization of Time

• SlowHumming: "my own Time, my own Ritual" (personal ritual)
• Anillo: "Shower Time", "Tea time" (connection to specific daily actions)
• Huxley: "Fragrant moments" (elevation to sensory experience)

This four-stage structure shows a strategic approach that goes beyond simply describing fragrance functions to redefining time itself as a purchasable product.

Key Insights🔗

1. Specificity of time expression is crucial

• Specific time notations like Anillo's "5:28PM" are more impressive
• Use numbers like "24 hours", "6-8 hours" rather than simple "long-lasting"

2. Consistency with brand identity is essential

• Like SlowHumming, time philosophy should be consistent from brand name
• Connect to overall brand story rather than one-off time marketing

3. Differentiated approach by category

• Mini fragrance: "Anytime" concept connected with portability
• Home fragrance: Spatial experience of "special time"

FAQ for Global Beauty Marketers🔗

Q. What's an effective way to incorporate time into product names?

A. Successful cases show that specific time + emotional association combinations are effective. Like Anillo's "5:28PM dazzling sunset" combining precise time with emotions of that moment, or Hotel Dobson's "Jardin Midnight" directly incorporating symbolic time into product names. The key is expressing the experience that time gives, not time itself. Specificity like "5:28PM", "midnight 12 o'clock" is more memorable than simple "morning", "night".

Q. How should product usage times be connected to consumer experience?

A. Connecting to specific daily rituals is key. Anillo linked products to specific time behaviors like "Shower Time", "Sunday morning", "languid afternoon tea time". SlowHumming connected to daily routines with "when commuting to work in the morning", "DAILY RITUAL". Effective methods: 1) Analyze target customers' daily schedules, 2) Identify natural product usage times, 3) Specifically describe emotions or situations of those times.

Q. How should product duration be expressed as product value?

A. Express with specific numbers + situational application. Like Huxley's "fragrance lasts for about 6~8 hours", SlowHumming's "24-hour scent longevity" - present clear numbers but connect to consumer experience, not just specs. Examples: "8 hours from commute to end of work", "all day 24 hours". Also effective like Huxley's "fragrance changing by notes as time passes" - making time flow itself into product value.

Q. How do you express the emotional texture of time in products?

A. Capture unique emotions by time of day and express them. Good examples include SlowHumming's "languidly pleasant moments", Hotel Dobson's "midnight 12 o'clock when night dew has fallen", Huxley's "containing morning moisture". Methods: 1) Identify unique feelings each time period gives (dawn=freshness, noon=energy, evening=warmth, midnight=mystery), 2) Express through five senses (visual, tactile, olfactory), 3) Balance personal experience with universal emotions.

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