Once upon a time, every cosmetic ad used words like shimmering, glimmering, and gleam. Deep. Then, looking into the mirror, Lois Korey realized that inside their customers pretty heads were brains. Ones that thought about a lot of things other than shimmer, glimmer, and gleam. And so, with partner Allen Kay looking over her shoulder, she wrote the headline, What rocks the cradle, runs a business, prepares a meal, signs a lease, parks a Porsche? Hands. A new kind of fashion advertising was born. A style that recognized its audience as three dimensional women who live 360º lives. And spoke to them as such. 1
We took the experience we gained working on brands that ranged from Alexandra de Markoff to Yves St. Laurent with us when we founded Korey Kay & Partners. And it served our beauty and fashion clients well. When Halston Fragrances hired our newly-formed agency, trade papers labeled Halston as an endangered species. Taking on the challenge to rejuvenate the brand, we created a campaign giving the fragrance a naughty but nice air. (What could be naughtier than original sin or nicer than an apple a day? Available to all at Halston fragrance counters.) The first year s effort reversed Halston s annual sales results from -5.4% to +7%. And won the award for the Best Fragrance Revival from The Fragrance Foundation. 2
The campaign was so successful that the single bottle... became a couple. The couple became... 3
...a ménage à trois. Which soon grew into... 4
Korey Kay turned that around, positioning Almay as a fabulous beauty product that wouldn t upset even the most sensitive skin. Along with a high score, it resulted in high sales the best two years in Almay s history. Sales up 44%. 9
...a fragrance orgy. 5
Then Halston s resurgence called for a new signature scent. And we were back to woman one. 6
The success of Halston attracted another renowned designer to Korey Kay. Oscar de la Renta. He hired us to introduce his new signature fragrance to the world. The perfume bottle had its own remarkable signature: a Lalique crystal flower stopper. We joined several of the crystals to form a necklace. And used it as the focal point of the introductory ad. The headline expressed Mr. de la Renta s love and respect for women. Experience the power of femininity. Following in Halston s footsteps, Oscar s new entry won The Fragrance Foundation award for Best Fragrance Introduction of the Year. 7
Our success with Halston also brought its sister company, Almay, to our door. At that time Almay was doing very well, but their research told them they should be doing better. Their customers said they were attracted to the product because of its packaging. When asked about Almay s advertising, the respondents responded, What advertising? All Almay executives could see was $10 million a year going down the tubes. At that point, Almay challenged three agencies to create a commercial that would be off the charts in a Burke on-air test. Our spot left the others in the dust, and brought Almay to our agency. Our marketing strategy was simple. Until then, Almay s advertising was treated like a medicinal product that you could use as makeup. 8
Sometimes the way to a man s closet is through his woman. When we found out that 40% of Members Only jackets were bought by girlfriends or wives for their boyfriends or husbands, we slanted the client s Anti-drug campaign to women. It didn t make a fashion statement, but an impactful statement just the same. 10
Korey Kay hasn t won all of its accounts in the traditional way. Especially not Dubey & Schaldenbrand. While searching for a new wristband for his wife s watch, Allen Kay met Ken Grazi, the founder of Kenjo, a store specializing in high-end watches. Allen was attracted to a Dubey & Schaldenbrand watch and bought it. Mr. Grazi told Allen that he was the North American distributor for the brand. And, so far, Kenjo was the only store that sold it. After discussing the various difficulties in promoting THISWATCH HAS BEENTESTED TO10 0METERS. REMEMBER, YOUHAVE NOT. a high-end Swiss brand in a market flooded with high-end Swiss brands, Allen took out an index card and created the first Dubey ad on the spot. That was all it took. www. pktime.com 888-618-3925 11
Two years later, Dubey & Schaldenbrand, with its distinctive, irreverent advertising, is carried by 63 stores around the country and is featured in its own case at Tourneau in New York, Los Angeles and Las Vegas. The New York Times wrote a feature story on the campaign, centering on the unusual media approach. Each ad is written specifically for the publication it s in. BEWARE: THE BELLMAN WILLEXPECT ABIGGERTIP. www.pktime.com 888-919-8463/212-397-1662 12
The Stuart Weitzman Story: Korey Kay was hired by Stuart Weitzman (the person) to position Stuart Weitzman (the shoes) and advertise Stuart Weitzman (the flagship store). The retail advertising was so successful, we were given the mission of creating a magazine campaign to establish Stuart Weitzman (the brand). With an eye toward global expansion, we came up with a concept that drew upon the international language of pictures to tell the story. The campaign launched with the first 16 x 21 poster ever to appear in a magazine. The series bonds the designer to his upscale customers in one significant area their obsession with shoes. Each ad depicts another view of the world as seen by Stuart Weitzman, where something always seems to be in the shape of a shoe. These offbeat series, directed to be strictly image by Stuart Weitzman (the designer), did something which was unanticipated by Stuart Weitzman (the businessman). They helped him expand to 70+ stores from Athens to Zapopan. 13
S mall space newspaper. 14
The world according to Stuart Weitzman.. 15
Then there s boots... Gore-Tex and Guaranteed To Keep You Dry are registered trademarks of W.L. Gore & Associates, Inc. PERFECT FOR HIKING. THE HIMALAYAS. OR MADISON AVENUE. GORE-TEX BOOTS BY STUART WEITZMAN. GUARANTEED TO KEEP YOU DRY. 16
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<koreykay.com> Contact Allen Kay, CEO, 212-463-5922, akay@koreykay.com