Thanks to a friend with ample airline miles and a niece with an apartment in New York City, I went to the FiFi Finalists award breakfast on Friday. So, instead of the usual Monday perfume review, I’ll give you an inside peek at all the important aspects of the breakfast: what it is about, who was there, and what was in the goody bag.
The Fragrance Foundation bills the FiFis as the fragrance industry’s Oscars. At the finalists breakfast, the top five entries for each of the awards categories are announced along with the winners of the awards for editorial excellence and for technological breakthrough. Although both the Oscars and the FiFis incorporate celebrities and prizes for excellence, the FiFis are less about art and more about sales. After all, the Oscars don’t offer prizes for Best Packaging and Best National Media Campaign. As an executive for Cosmpolitan magazine said in her opening remarks at the breakfast, “The creative marketing talent in this room can create the sweetest smell of all: the smell of success.”
That said, for the perfume industry to survive, it needs to be strong. Plus, the FiFis do include prizes for best fragrances in several categories and for editorial excellence. I submitted work to be considered for an award, and that’s how I ended up receiving an invitation to attend the breakfast…
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