Korean Men's Fragrance Marketing: How Brands Translate Scent into Touch, Vision, and Emotion

The Challenge of Describing Scent🔗

How do you describe a fragrance to someone who has never smelled it? Traditional perfume terminology like "musky" or "woody" means nothing without prior experience. That's why leading men's fragrance brands in Korea's 2025 beauty market are pioneering a revolutionary approach: translating scent into other senses.

This analysis examines three top-performing products from Olive Young's Week 34 men's fragrance category to understand how brands are abandoning olfactory descriptions in favor of tactile, visual, and emotional language.

Three Brands, Three Sensory Strategies🔗

Forment: Making Scent Tangible🔗

Strategy: Tactile + Emotional Translation

Forment, Olive Young's #1 fragrance for two consecutive years, has returned with a Crayon Shin-chan collaboration that exemplifies sensory marketing excellence. The brand completely avoids traditional fragrance terminology, instead creating a tactile narrative:

• "Cozy blanket musk" - transforming an abstract scent into a familiar texture
• "Warm bath moment" - connecting fragrance to a sensory memory
• "Emotions spreading gently" - physicalizing the intangible

The progression from physical touch ("blanket") to everyday experience ("bath") to emotional state ("spreading emotions") creates a complete sensory journey that consumers can immediately understand and relate to.

Ralph Lauren: Scent as Aspiration🔗

Strategy: Emotional + Value Translation

Ralph Lauren Polo EDT takes a different approach, translating fragrance into aspirational emotions and values:

• "Big dreams and inspiration" - scent becomes possibility
• "Confidence and style" - fragrance as personal transformation
• "Youthful joy" - perfume as emotional state

By leveraging influencer Kyoka from Street Woman Fighter 3, the brand bridges abstract values with a concrete personality, making the emotional translation more accessible to young consumers.

Jimmy Choo: Fragrance as Luxury Object🔗

Strategy: Visual + Material Translation

Jimmy Choo Man EDT transforms fragrance into a luxury object through detailed visual and material descriptions:

• "Crocodile leather texture" - premium materiality
• "Metallic silver color" - visual luxury cues
• "Solid shape" - physical presence

The brand treats perfume like a luxury accessory - something to be owned and displayed rather than just worn. This objectification strategy appeals to consumers who view fragrance as a status symbol.

The Evolution of Sensory Expression🔗

From Abstract to Concrete🔗

The analysis reveals a clear spectrum of expression concreteness:

• Ralph Lauren: Abstract (dreams, inspiration)
• Forment: Middle ground (blankets, baths)
• Jimmy Choo: Concrete (crocodile leather, metal)

This spectrum reflects different target audiences and positioning strategies, with abstract expressions appealing to aspirational consumers and concrete descriptions targeting those seeking tangible luxury.

Key Marketing Insights🔗

1. The Olfactory Paradox🔗

Smell is the most difficult sense to describe verbally. Terms like "fougère," "aromatic," or "patchouli" are meaningless to most consumers. This creates a fundamental marketing challenge: how to sell something that can't be adequately described in its own sensory language.

2. Sensory Choice Defines Positioning🔗

• Tactile brands = Comfort and security positioning
• Emotional brands = Growth and aspiration positioning
• Visual brands = Ownership and status positioning

The choice of sensory translation directly impacts brand perception and target audience appeal.

3. Character Collaborations Meet Premium Positioning🔗

Forment demonstrates how character IP can coexist with premium positioning. Despite the Crayon Shin-chan collaboration, the brand emphasizes "Perfume Grade: 15-25%" and describes the product as "an artwork showcasing the perfumer's creativity." This dual strategy captures attention through familiar characters while maintaining premium credibility through sensory sophistication.

4. Verb Tenses Shape Brand Personality🔗

• Forment: "spreading," "settling" (present progressive - immediate experience)
• Ralph Lauren: "can enjoy," "inspiring" (possibility - future potential)
• Jimmy Choo: "has," "combined" (perfect tense - established status)

The grammatical choices in product descriptions subtly communicate brand personality and consumer relationship.

Practical Applications for Global Brands🔗

Implementing Sensory Translation🔗

For Comfort-Oriented Brands:

• Focus on temperature (warm/cool)
• Emphasize texture (soft/smooth)
• Reference familiar comfort objects (blankets, pillows)

For Aspiration-Focused Brands:

• Connect to life goals and values
• Use future-oriented language
• Leverage influential personalities

For Luxury Positioning:

• Detail material qualities
• Emphasize visual elements
• Treat fragrance as collectible object

Cultural Considerations🔗

Korean consumers respond particularly well to:

• Detailed texture descriptions - reflecting the importance of skincare textures in K-beauty
• Emotional storytelling - connecting to Korean culture's emphasis on emotional expression
• Premium material references - appealing to quality-conscious consumers

The Future of Fragrance Marketing🔗

As fragrance marketing evolves, we're seeing a shift from telling consumers what a perfume smells like to showing them what it feels like, looks like, or means. This sensory translation strategy isn't just a creative exercise - it's a fundamental rethinking of how to communicate intangible products in an increasingly visual and experiential marketplace.

The success of these Korean brands demonstrates that abandoning traditional fragrance language in favor of multi-sensory storytelling can create stronger emotional connections and clearer brand positioning. For global brands entering the Korean market or Korean brands expanding internationally, mastering sensory translation is becoming essential for competitive differentiation.

Conclusion🔗

The Korean men's fragrance market offers valuable lessons in innovative marketing communication. By translating scent into touch, vision, and emotion, brands create accessible entry points for consumers unfamiliar with traditional perfume terminology. This approach not only simplifies purchase decisions but also creates richer brand narratives that resonate across cultural and linguistic boundaries.

As the global fragrance market becomes increasingly competitive, the ability to translate abstract scents into concrete experiences will separate successful brands from those stuck in traditional marketing approaches. The question isn't whether to adopt sensory translation strategies, but which senses best align with your brand positioning and target audience.

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This analysis is based on BeauticsLab data from Olive Young's men's fragrance category, Week 34, 2025. BeauticsLab provides Korean beauty market intelligence and consumer insights.