Overview
Amplify Crown Affair’s hero SKU with a prestige fragrance collaboration, reimagining The Leave-In Conditioner with D.S. & Durga’s iconic I Don’t Know What scent. This campaign positioned the product as the first fine-fragrance leave-in conditioner — transforming haircare into a mood-boosting ritual and reinforcing Crown Affair’s authority at Sephora and beyond.
Result
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EMV: $619K (exceeded goal) with 164M organic reach (+60% vs goal)
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Events: Immersive NYC launch drove $94K EMV (+188% to goal); Sephora customer scratch-off saw 100% redemption
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Sales Impact: Beat sales plan by +251%; became #2 SKU at Sephora, #3 on DTC
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Halo Effect: Core Leave-In Conditioner also surged +96% vs plan at DTC, +31% at Sephora
BRAND: Crown Affair
INDUSTRY: Haircare, Clean Beauty, Prestige Beauty, Luxury
PROJECT: Brand Partnership
ROLE: Director of Brand & Integrated Marketing
TIMELINE: May 2025
Crown Affair x D.S. & Durga
Leave-In Conditioner Collab
the challenge
Elevating a hero SKU through prestige collaboration.
Reinvigorate Crown Affair’s top-performing hero SKU while driving incremental growth at Sephora and dotcom. The goal: excite existing Leave-In Conditioner loyalists, capture new fragrance-first consumers, and generate cultural buzz through a premium partnership
strategic approach
Merging the worlds of fragrance and haircare.
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Anchor the collab in sensorial storytelling: merging the worlds of fragrance and haircare.
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Build around brand pillars of Product Excellence, Ritual, and Results — emphasizing weightless hydration, effortless shine, and a scent enhancer that adapts uniquely to each individual.
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Deliver a 360° strategy that spanned influencer seeding, immersive activations, Sephora retail integration, and OOH to ensure cultural resonance
creative execution
360 execution
Inspired by the concept “French Babe in her Intergalactic Orbit”, the campaign leaned into a playful, avant-garde visual universe that was at once whimsical and chic. Through solarization, kaleidoscopic visuals, and elevated packaging (glass bottle, fine fragrance cues), the creative brought to life the weightlessness, radiance, and chameleon-like versatility of both the product and fragrance
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NYC Interiam Event: Immersive planetarium + infinity room with campaign projections, caviar bar, and curated cocktails; ~75 editors and influencers attended.
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Sephora Customer Activations: Scratch-off prize events at DS&Durga Nolita and Abbot Kinney; halo Sephora SoHo event driving cross-traffic.
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OOH: NYC wheatpasting near Sephora flagships.
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Retail: Branded windows + A-frames across DS&Durga stores, top-shelf Sephora placement.
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Organic Social: Robust calendar with 25+ content pieces
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Influencer Mailer (300 units): Custom silver mailer boxes with product, collateral, and holographic stickers, driving early buzz.
