17 Sep 10

What's the Buzz? It's The Sun's new perfume

Trainee Comms Planner Jade McKerracher considers the thinking behind the launch of the Sun's new perfume, 'Buzz'.

The Sun ventured into new territory this month when it launched ‘Buzz’ - its first ever perfume.  The fragrance, said to bottle ‘the concept of pure entertainment’, will be sold in Harrods for £59 per 50ml. As part of the product’s advertising, two scented six-sheet posters were placed at a bus stop opposite the famous department store in London.

The Sun’s request for a fragrance came as a surprise to Roja Dove, who produced the perfume, but Buzz is not actually the first of its kind. In June this year pay TV broadcaster BSkyB launched its ‘Eau de Stade’ fragrance, in the spirit of football and South Africa, to promote its HD offering. Similarly, two years ago Burger King launched its fragrance ‘Flame’, which invited men in America to smell like their favourite meat snack.

Like ‘Eau de Stade’ and ‘Flame’, ‘Buzz’ seems to be little more than a PR stunt – it is highly unlikely that the Sun is making a serious attempt to branch out into the very competitive perfume market.

This is not the first brand extension we’ve seen from the redtop. Its recent attempt to start up a radio station – ‘Sun Talk’ – a much closer proposition to its own product, was disappointing and short-lived. The real reason behind ‘Buzz’ is more likely to be the title’s declining circulation figures. BRAD (2010) reports that although the Sun enjoyed a circulation of over three million in August 2010 for the second consecutive month, circulation had been falling prior to this by 1.07% month on month.

So watch this space – the perfume may be the hot topic for the moment, but only time will tell whether this particular ‘Buzz’ will have an impact that lasts ‘to infinity and beyond...’.