How can a multi-sensory experience such as a scent transcend mere sight and sound in the digital realm? Could an olfactory symphony be captured digitally without diluting its layered sensuality?

This was the challenge faced by Yves Saint Laurent, the iconic fashion house, as it prepared to launch MYSLF, a new masculine fragrance that celebrates the modern, fluid male consumer.

This scent represented a daring opposition to traditional masculinity, embracing the multidimensional nature of the modern male. The Milan Fashion Week 2023 provided the perfect stage to unveil their new fragrance.

YSL needed to create intrigue and excitement around MYSLF in the competitive fragrance market. More than a perfume, MYSLF needed to become an immersive AR experience – a branded space where men could discover, explore and express their identities.

What will you learn from this customer story:

• Crafting a scent-imental journey: YSL’s vision to redefine masculine fragrances
• A phygital sensation: how Aryel added immersion to YSL’s fragrance
• Distilling digital delight: how YSL turned sample recipients into brand ambassadors

How could YSL bottles MYSLF’s playful complexity into a digital experience? One that would intimate yet intrigue users, forging an emotional connection while prompting real-world action?

YSL sought an innovative digital launch where individuals could become true “self-owners” of their expression while driving users in-store. There, they could collect fragrance samples and share their one-of-a-kind experiences.

With Aryel, YSL set out to create an experience where the boundaries between the virtual and the real would blur.

To bring Yves Saint Laurent’s visionary MYSLF campaign to life, the iconic fashion house teamed up with the creative agency Different and Aryel as a technology partner.

Together, they conceived an immersive Augmented Reality experience that would take users on a digital journey of self-discovery. Aryel provided the AR technology and digital experience expertise, while Different led the creative direction and implementation.

The experience began with QR codes distributed throughout Milan during Fashion Week, starting at the city’s iconic San Babila metro station. Scanning a custom QR code on the station’s dominant banner unlocked the portal to the world of MYSLF.

Here, users would enter the main scene of the 360° Immersive environment developed by Aryel, where they would be greeted by the international MYSLF campaign video.

This space consists of three portals, each leading to a different AR activation:

• My Proud Self: A unique AR Camera Filter & Effect with different branded effects that allow users to embrace (and share) their multifaceted personalities.
• My Expressive Self: A configurator that allows users to select a quote and a color that represents their inner self, rendered in a 3D shape that can be manifested in the real world.
• My Emotional Self: An AR space that reveals the three main olfactory layers of MYSLF through video, 3D visuals and descriptions.

Here you can have a look at the MYSLF experience.

After exploring their different selves through the portals, a button appears in the main hub of the MYSLF AR experience where users can download a voucher for a free sample or an in-store gift to be redeemed at the Sephora store in Milan to complete their journey.

The YSL campaign can also be accessed via influencers’ social communications or at the brand’s live initiatives during Milan Fashion Week, where influencers wear clothes with QR codes to access the experience. Participants can then become brand ambassadors by organically sharing their personalized AR snapshots on social media.

YSL created a sensory, self-discovery campaign that redefined what was possible for omnichannel activations. With Aryel’s AR platform and Different creative talents, YSL was able to intimately engage potential customers while driving traffic to retail locations.

Combining digital experiences with real-world interaction, augmented storytelling opens up boundless possibilities.

In a cluttered fragrance market, YSL carved out an unforgettable, augmented sensory experience for MYSLF to shine, making it an experiential fragrance marketing success story.