The New Fragrance Movement: 99 Rules Strategy

November 06, 2008

These are the rules I follow in my life you gotta love it

Jay-Z !“Feelin It”

“He is a genius.” Chris Martin, Coldplay

Objectives

To articulate the relevancy and importance of rules in the 21st century !as men aspire to ever increasing heights, attempting to distinguish !themselves through personal and professional achievements.!!To support the creatively-driven idea of “99 Rules” as a platform to

elevate !the Rocawear brand and portfolio with the launch of its first fragrance.

Groundwork• Talked to business partners !

• Visited Marcy Houses and vicinity, Brooklyn via 7 and G trains!

• Comprehensive media review - digital and traditional mediums!

• Experienced an e-commerce transaction at Rocawear.com!

• Competitive analysis and communications evaluation!

• Read and analyzed 496 pages of published lyrics - 12 albums !

• Listened and listened and listened and listened to 199 songs!

• Read every interview digitally available !

• Experimented with 9IX as part of fragrance repertoire !

• Reviewed all relevant entries on YouTube!

• Shopped Rocawear apparel and 9IX at Macy’s and Dr. Jay’s!

• Interviewed fragrance consultant at Sephora - Times Square!

• Attended Jay - Z concert - New Jersey, October 28, 2008

“A lot of artists have not really lived life, they have not been through the things they talk about or they are not going further. The places I’ve seen, I got

another four albums. And the places I’ve been, I got, like, eight albums ready in

me.” Jay-Z!

“The Diary of Jay-Z, Europe” MTV

Why “Rules” is a timely creative strategy

Rules are Evolved Peer-to-Peer Communication Systems

Rules [written and unwritten] are socially-driven norms that we use to communicate, !identify, share, and relate to one another; intangible notions with tangible implications !and mutual expectations. The establishment of rules forms, informs, directs and !governs community.!!Individually we master our own set of rules based on our own unique social and !cultural classifications - ethnicity, religion, geography, business, activity, etc. All rules !guide yet their interpretations are highly nuanced - how you do it is as important as !knowing to do it.!!As we use rules to maintain lifestyle, the accumulation of insights we’ve experienced !forms a strong emotional condition where we assign value to our values; rules !evolve to become standards and precedents - institutions of character and !principles.

Rules Telegraph how we Navigate through Dimensions

INTELLIGENCE

CULTURE SOCIETY

INDIVIDUAL

ValuesBeliefs

Conduct

Rules are Integral to Maslow’s Hierarchy

Biological & Physiological Needsair, water, food, rest, exercise, sex, etc

Safety Needsprotection, security, order, law, limits, stability, etc

Love & Belonging Needsfamily, affection, relationships, work group, etc

Esteem Needsachievement, status, responsibility,

reputation

Self-Actualization

personal growth and fulfillment

Rules as Distinguisher

Rules as Standards

Rules as Survival

Rules as Tools

Rules as Community

Realization

99 Rules: From 452 Marcy Ave to 1411 Broadway

The Hustler’s Rule Book Inspired by Jay-Z

•Fuck perception go with what makes sense!•Honesty, loyalty, friends and then wealth!• If you shoot my dog, I’ma kill yo’ cat!•Even a broken clock is right at least two times a day!• If you a fan I consider you fam’!•Stay away from hoes, put down the toast!•Gotta strike while the iron’s hot!

“The Hova” Brand-as-Rule Compendium

The Hustler’s Rule Book Inspired by Jay-Z

R U L E M A K E R

9IX Brand Equity & Franchise is Approaching 360o

FragranceRules

Lyrics

Video

Current Equity: Iconic, authentic,

grit, hustle

The 9IX Lifestyle

Experience: !Actualizing an

Elevated Lifestyle

USER-DRIVEN

EXERIENCE

=

Jay-Z : User

Jay-Z & Rocawear are Relatable to Culture & Society

CONFIDENCE

HIP HOP MAINSTREAM

HUSTLER

ValuesBeliefs

Conduct

HOV is a Legendary Iconoclastic Dynasty

Jay is the ‘Rule of Thumb’ vs Celebrity Trendsters

We can Relate to Jay-Z & Shawn Carter

PERSONAL MENTOR

GLOBAL ICONOCLAST

CLOSE !FRIEND

JAY

6 DEGREES OF SEPERATION

BUSINESS!PARTNER

ROLE! MODEL

BIGGER BROTHER

JAY-Z

SHAWN

Guidance & Support

Empathy & Family

Fraternity & The Art of the Hustle

Aspiration & Wisdom

Music & Celebrity

La Familia & Marcy

9IX User Dashboard

69view men’s fragrance an integral element of

personal style33MM

%

Target: Urban-minded, progressive men ages 18-40, specifically 21-34 who are still perfecting their fragrance wardrobe. He uses fragrance as a personal and social beacon - a primal tendency - expressing himself and ‘socially marking’ his territory; creating a multi-sensory footprint magnifies his presence. He is a striver seeking to elevate his life and lifestyle - he is working the System to his advantage, accumulating wisdom in his pursuit.

75who purchase fragrance for themselves wear it

daily

% 90spent $50 or more in

past six months

% 61admit wearing a fragrance for the

opposite sex

%

Darius has one mission in life: to be successful by his own rules; winning means not losing his integrity as his life changes and he is faced with Life. He is a crusader and warrior - he works a 9-to-5 but has a legitimate hustle - a small but promising entrepreneurial venture or idea - that he pours his soul into. His life has evolved from dreaming to attaining, from small steps to leaps and bounds. !

As each new experience brings depth to his character, he has not forgotten where he has come from and why he his going where he headed. Finding his way is not always easy, life has taught him some valuable lessons that he passes along to others on their way.!

His game is rising, his swagger is a little more pronounced, and his life is elevating to heights where his potential will soar. The rules that got him here will keep him here.

9IX User: Fragrance Usage & Attitudes• He has developed his own unique fragrance rules and etiquette !

– Application, body location, timing, order - routine, strength!

• Fragrance is as intuitive as brushing his teeth; daily and occasion-based routines!

• Fragrance allows him a multi-sensory and mood enhancing experience!

• He uses more than one; occasion, location, gift, results, etc!

– Tendency to “match” fragrance with fashion; in style, trend conscious, community

specific!

• All fragrance are equal once dispensed, then its up to the individual!

– It’s all in the mind not in the fragrance - the fragrance is only as good as its user!

• He subtly adds dimension and accent, expressing his style and personality!

• A primary motivator is the opposite sex, females - another route “in”!

– Ice breaker, personifies Peacock-ness, masculinity, groomed, confident!

• Sensory Tattoo: Fragrance serves as a social identifier in co-ed environments

9IX User: Core Life Stage, Cultural & Social Needs

• The need for self actualization, public realization and authenticity !– Credibility, Identity, Originality are the primary motivators and

influencers!!

• He is seeking and requires brands that elevate his unique position in the world, by entrusting him with new rules that he can utilize to his advantage!!

• Key variable influencing this quest:!– Neo affluence fuels consumption of status and ‘badge’ brands and experiences!– Respect and recognition from: women, The Establishment, peer network!– Cultural Mobility: ID ambiguity fosters cultural experimentation and adoption!– Strong desire for demonstrable and instant attraction, and gratification!– Changeable IDs: Reality exists somewhere between the physical and digital!– The trek from realization to actualization is sharable - everyone has a

testimony!– The power of close celebrity proximity - we are living in their lives!– Desire for brands that are self-powered and unique to me!– Living life by my own terms - I make the decisions that are best for me

CONSUMER INSIGHT

In a culture where rules no longer rule, hustling young men

need elevated standards to live by in order to succeed by

their own terms.

9IX: Consumer & Brand Interaction Consumer Goal: To develop an intriguing integrated communications strategy that immediately cuts through the celebrity fragrance clutter, appealing to men to aspire to the heights of Jay-Z

Target Consumer Understanding: Whatever culture or world they live in, aspiring young men today feel that they have a growing number of challenges and opportunities and have to increasingly rely on their own resources to meet them. They want to look and feel like strong individuals who have the ability to take on what life throws at them on their own terms. They believe that their choice of fragrance is a small but meaningful signal of who he is and what his tastes are. Many know that Jay-Z is an artist with his own set of rules that helped him reach his dreams, they seek to share his experiences as their own.

Insight: In a culture where rules no longer rule, hustling young men need elevated standards to live by in order to succeed by their own terms.

What does are target consumer think/do today?

What do we want them to do after the interaction?

• Jay-Z is a brand I respect and admire; he is the most real rapper!• Jay-Z has the never-dying hustler’s spirit!• Rocawear is a brand I’m familiar w/ but there are cooler brands!• I try to live by my own rules but each situation is different!• I wear cologne to feel good about myself and for social occasions

• Jay-Z is the real icon vs celebrity trendsetters!• Rocawear is the lifestyle brand for me!• The rules I live my life by are essential - survival of the fittest!• 9IX represents the ethos of the hustler’s spirit!• I will never lose

Permission to BelieveJay-Z will not lose, ever!

The Strategy

Jay-Z reflects the rules I honor my life by

“This is what it looks like.” Rules in Action

Rules as Social Currency

Rules aren’t necessarily created as much as they are transferred from !one culture to another; new frontiers are being conquered as well as new

standards being established. !!New global communities of shared interests, peer-to-peer networks, and !experiences are virally transmitting new rules and their benefits to new !generations of rule-abiding and breaking individuals.!!Rules are the language that allows us to translate affiliation, intent, and !share commonly held beliefs and experiences that bind us.

“I like to set the bar high, to keep me inspired” October 2008

The Authenticity of Rules

Whether you are establishing or breaking rules, you are required to make !

a stand, for something, representing your essence - the soul of the truth. !

Authenticity becomes the differentiator between realness and hyperbole, !

yet ‘keeping it real’ has never been more ambiguous.

I built the Dynasty by bein one of the realist niggaz out

“Moment of Clarity”

Rules provide Guidance

As we practice rules we are conditioning our mind to make the best !decisions based on the set of information we are exposed to - choosing !the best option. But sometimes we do not have the necessary data, it is !this moment when every man must rely on his strength of character to !see him through.!

Now when the rules is blurred!As they is and were!What am I to do…

“Pray”

Rules are Solutions

The most powerful people in the world are part of a rare community !where their rules become pervasive, bringing attention to human

issues. !Individually and collective this neo-establishment is creating

awareness !for social issues, motivating consumers to become advocates.!

We as rappers must decide what's most impor-tant!And i can't help the poor if i'm one of them!

So i got rich and gave back!To me that's the win, win

“Moment of Clarity”

Leading with Rules

Each man must have his own portfolio of rules to groom his conduct and !

behavior. Leadership is an innate quality where rules are the principles !

that inspire the masses who wish to follow, becoming part of a larger !shared human experience.! !

I don't follow any guidelines cause too

many niggaz ride mine

“22 Two’s”

Mastery of Rules

Mastering rules is a painstaking effort of diligent performance and !integrity, requiring patience, stamina, and superiority over a sustained !period of time. It is absolute perfection, uncompromised. Credibility

and !honor are bestowed upon its owner. Distinction and regality are

highly!respected.!

There’s never been a nigga this good for this long!This hood, or this pop, this hot, or this strong

“What More Can I Say”

This is the number one rule for your set, in order to survive you gotta learn to live with regrets…on the rise to the top, many drop,

don’t forget…Jay-Z !

“Regrets”