Brand & Marketing Studio by Shauna Williams
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
Crown Affair x D.S. & Durga
Leave-In Conditioner Collab
the challenge
Elevating a hero SKU through prestige collaboration.
Crown Affair's Leave-In Conditioner was already a top performer, but its virality opened a door to a new customer.
The challenge: drive incremental sales without cannibalizing the core, while strengthening prestige positioning at Sephora.
The solution needed to excite loyalists, capture DS&Durga's fragrance-obsessed audience, and generate cultural buzz that elevated both brands
strategic approach
Merging the worlds of fragrance and haircare.
The insight: With high audience overlap in fine fragrance, we wanted to leverage that with our hero SKU, The Leave-In Conditioner.
The strategy anchored in three brand pillars:
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Product Excellence: Weightless hydration + effortless shine
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Ritual: Scent as a daily mood enhancer that adapts to each individual
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Results: Performance-driven formula meets prestige fragrance
Executed a 360 plan spanning influencer seeding, immersive activations, Sephora retail integration, and OOH to ensure cultural resonance beyond the beauty community.
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. The concept needed to honor both brands' aesthetics while standing apart from typical beauty collaborations.
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
the results
A partnership that exceeded every goal.
BUSINESS IMPACT
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Beat sales plan by +251%
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Became #2 SKU at Sephora, #3 on DTC
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Halo effect: Core Leave-In Conditioner surged +96% vs plan (DTC) and +31% (Sephora)
BRAND IMPACT
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$619K EMV (exceeded goal) with 164M organic reach (+60% vs goal)
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NYC launch event: $94K EMV (+188% to goal)
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Sephora scratch-off: 100% redemption rate
STRATEGIC WINS
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Proved collaboration strategy could elevate hero SKU without cannibalizing core product
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Demonstrated Crown Affair's ability to command prestige positioning through strategic partnerships
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Created replicable collaboration playbook for future brand partnerships
A multi-channel activation strategy designed to reach fragrance-first consumers beyond Crown Affair's existing customer base:
EXPERIENTIAL
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NYC Interiam Event: Immersive planetarium + infinity room with campaign projections, caviar bar, curated cocktails (~75 editors and influencers)
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Sephora Customer Activations: Scratch-off prize events at DS&Durga Nolita and Abbot Kinney; halo Sephora SoHo event
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100% redemption rate on scratch-off activation
RETAIL & OOH
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NYC wheatpasting near Sephora flagships
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Branded windows + A-frames across DS&Durga stores
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Top-shelf Sephora placement across all locations
DIGITAL & INFLUENCER
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300-unit influencer mailer: Custom silver boxes with holographic stickers driving early buzz
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25+ organic social content pieces
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Coordinated launch across both brands' social channels