Procter & Gamble's Hugo Boss luxury brand raised awareness for its Element fragrance via a multichannel mobile media campaign.

The campaign targeted independent, unconventional and modern Italian male consumers who are on-the-go. Phonevalley was the mobile marketing firm that created the campaign in partnership with Starcom.

"While the growth of luxury brands using mobile marketing could be perceived as part of the larger push towards brand engagement via mobile, a closer look reveals undeniable synergies between the two," said Ben Tannenbaum, communications manager at MX Telecom, New York.

"The personal nature of the mobile channel, when combined with the intimacy of the luxury brand-consumer relationship, makes mobile marketing an obvious and effective opportunity for luxury brands," he said. "The marketing strategy must appeal to the tastes of the targeted market, which are not necessarily the same as your everyday mobile user.

"For example, a traditional mobile coupon campaign wouldn't be as effective in engaging the luxury brand consumer as would an SMS concierge service. The key is for the brand to provide something that can be perceived as exclusive."

Hugo Boss is a fashion house based in Metzingen, Germany, that specializes in high-end menswear apparel.

Hugo Boss Element is a fragrance designed specifically for the urban traveler who just knows how to navigate the city and where to find its creative elements.

The campaign started with the launch of a mobile site at http://m.hugo.com.

Phonevalley used mobile media to target male consumers in Italy and raise awareness around the launch of the new Element fragrance.

The campaign relied on mobile display ads and mobile search engine marketing to drive urban male personalities to the mobile site, while they are on the go.

The agency ran display ads on Italian portals and sites, populated by men ages 18-34.

The mobile display banner ads encouraged viewers to click to find out more about the Element product.

The banners for this campaign set up by Phonevalley relied on wireless carrier portals such as Vodafone, and also on the Nokia, MSN and Virgilio mobile sites.

Once at the mobile site, consumers could receive free samples of Hugo Boss' Element cologne. The site also displays the full-range of Hugo Boss products and even lets site visitors download wallpapers and other media created specifically with the Hugo Boss brand in mind.

The mobile components are just one part of a large global campaign for the Element fragrance.

Jonathan Rhys Meyers is the face of the new Hugo Man fragrance. Mr. Meyers not only stars in television commercials to sell the fragrance but is depicted in promotional posters and advertisements all around the world.

Hugo Boss is not the only fragrance brand that has used mobile to spread the word.

In fact, to promote Gwen Stefani's new Harajuku Lovers perfumes, fragrance company Coty launched a marketing campaign that included a mobile Web site.

The fragrance giant teamed up with integrated advertising agency Syrup to create a new online and mobile concept designed to cut through the highly saturated and celebrity-driven fragrance market.

Rather than focus on Stefani's image and celebrity for an online campaign, Syrup instead created an interactive Web site at http://www.hlfragrance.com -- accessible via PC or mobile phone (see story).

Why are luxury brands increasingly moving to the mobile space?

"Brands today need engagement, and luxury brand are not to be excluded. It's not simply about getting hundreds of thousands of consumers to see your ad," said Patrick Mork, vice president of marketing at GetJar, London. "It's more about building a relationship with them, which brings them closer to the brand in a way that is fun, innovative and personal."