The culmination of Seinde Signature’s week-long launch campaign for Sarah Baker in Nigeria was a specially devised spectacular performance starring Deyemi Okonlawon, the country’s top-grossing film star—and his first ever brand collaboration.
Lagos- In a large event space decked out in dazzling red carpet style, the glamorous crowd of VIP guests guests watched as superstar Deyemi Okonlawon gave a showstopping performance heading up a cast of top talent in a special performance devised as part of the Nigerian launch tour for SARAH BAKER. The crowd were elated as the show reached its finale, the charismatic star clad in a black cowboy outfit with orange fringe, twirling a cigar.
So, just how did this happen?
The spectacular climax to the week-long launch tour was realised by SARAH BAKER and Seinde Signature, the upmarket retailer that now exclusively carries the brand’s luxury niche fragrances in its 16 physical stores in four cities and travel retail outlets in Nigeria. But, it didn’t just come about on a whim.
As an artist-run brand born of storytelling and the cinematic, the house produces a short screenplay for each of its fragrances authored by Sarah Baker Studios. These scripts reference different genres of film and television—everything from soap operas and thrillers to European art cinema and rom coms. Each script uses a specific genre to create characters and a story inspired by the notes to capture the spirit of the fragrance. The luxury presentation boxes for the fragrances include a printed copy of the relevant script in a design referencing the Golden Era of Hollywood studios.
Up until Lagos, only one of these scripts had ever been performed—at Jovoy, London. But, the unique performance in Nigeria changed all that.
Sarah Baker explains: “When I was discussing the scripts with Mr Seinde and how we see them, he was very interested in the idea of performing them as part of the launch. I had no idea that he would secure Nigeria’s biggest film star. It was like a dream come true. Even then, nothing could prepare me for how spectacular it would be. I literally shed tears.”
Deyemi Okonlawon is one the highest-grossing actors in Nigeria, where he holds supercelebrity status. Primarily known as the top Nollywood actor, he has worked in film and television internationally and recently completed a tour of three British cities performing in ‘Crown of Blood’ his vaunted Yoruba-language adaptation of Shakespeare’s ‘Macbeth’. This is the first brand collaboration he has ever undertaken.
Thus, an exciting project was born, produced by The Palm Tree Productions. Directed by Yewande Osamein—herself an established film actor—Flora Ayodele, Deyemi and a cast of talented performers realised the three adapted scripts originally authored by Sarah Baker Studios. Their choice of scripts was those for Jungle Jezebel, Velvet Vendetta and Va Va Vanilla.
It proved a perfect choice. All three scripts are set in bars of one sort or another. This made them the ideal choice for the venue. The performance area used clever projections and props to set the scene, while the overall cocktail event setting of the venue gave it an almost theatre-in-the-round atmosphere.
The scripts were adapted and directed in a manner to give it a uniquely Nigerian style that resonated with the local audience. Yewande Osamein, the director explained: “It (the performance) was partly in English and in pidgin English, the lingua franca used by us Nigerians to communicate with each other.”
Backed by live musicians, the music not only offered an original soundtrack but crescendoed as the show effectively became a musical at times with song and precision dancing by a talented cast. Flora played shady ladies created by Sarah Baker Studios for each fragrance, while Deyemi starred in his showstopping role as Baron Samedi, the quirky bar owner in the Va Va Vanilla script where a showdown with a pole-dancing assassin, the eponymous Vanilla, takes place. Deyemi, as the Machiavellian Baron was resplendent in a black cowboy costume complete with bright red fringe, which went down a storm with the VIP crowd.
Sarah Baker said: “It was so great to see what Deyemi and Yewande did with the scripts. As an artist-run studio, we’ve always wanted other creatives to play with them, to make them their own and interpret them in new ways. So this was so fantastic to experience. It was beautiful.”
The Full SARAH BAKER launch tour
In the week preceding the spectacular performance featuring top Nigerian star Deyemi Okonlawon there had been an ambitious schedule of launch events to mark the arrival of SARAH BAKER perfumes in Nigeria, a collaboration between Sarah and Olaseinde Olusola aka Mr Seinde, founder and CEO of Seinde Signature, Nigeria’s foremost luxury niche fragrance retailer.
Seinde Signature is noted for its unique success in bringing top international niche luxury fragrance to Nigeria. It has 16 physical high-end retail outlets—two with in-house upmarket cocktail bars—in Lagos, Port Harcourt, Effurun and Abuja. Olaseinde and his daughter Oreoluwa, a key part of the business, worked with Sarah to optimise the visibility of the brand’s arrival in West Africa with a busy schedule of in-store appearances, special events, and a VIP dinner in addition to the unique performance featuring the renowned actor.
Abuja - The launch tour commenced in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital. A glamorous launch event was held at Seinde Signature’s flagship store—it has three in the city—which is also home to Sen Bar, a stylish cocktail bar and where Seinde Signature first launched their concept for in-store cocktail bars.
One of the highlights of the event was the three different delicious cocktails created by their expert mixologist inspired by the notes in three of the house’s fragrances: Velvet Vendetta, Va Va Vanilla, and Peach's Revenge. Run with precision by Oreoluwa, it was an exciting opportunity for Sarah and the house’s team to meet local fragrance enthusiasts for the first time and answer questions about the fragrances and the house in general.
Port Harcourt - The following day, all involved in the launch schedule headed for the airport, travelling on to Port Harcourt. Sarah smiles when recalling what happened. “When we arrived, we were met at the airport by reporters and photographers and I immediately knew that this wasn’t going to be a lowkey launch.”
Port Harcourt is a bustling port and industrial city which has brought it affluence. It’s also known for its vibrant nightlife with numerous clubs, bars and restaurants. So, this “party town” proved the fitting location for a special dinner for invited VIP guests organised by Seinde Signature to welcome the arrival of SARAH BAKER following the launch event at their local retail store in the city’s upmarket GRA district.
Lagos- Nigeria’s largest city, is where the launch tour culminated in a dazzling launch party and spectacular live performance in a large event space decked out in dazzling red carpet style. One of the highlights of the party before the performance were five bespoke ice creams created by an artisan ice cream maker. Each took its inspiration from one of five SARAH BAKER fragrances: Peach’s Revenge, Pastel Rumours, Rococo Pie, Velvet Vendetta and Va Va Vanilla. Guests were also offered the chance of a giveaway if they could correctly guess which ice cream flavour had been inspired by which fragrance.
Then, when the lights dimmed, a Nollywood superstar backed by a talented cast of actors, dancers and musicians took to the stage with a performance that had the audience—and the national media—talking about it long after.
Sarah enthused: “I really want to thank everyone: Seinde, the performers and the Nigerian public; everyone. We had such a great time. We felt so welcomed and found the interest and enthusiasm for our fragrances so affirming, even moving at times.”
A grand entrance- With such a notable launch campaign, it’s not surprising it received a lot of media attention. The launch and performance were reported in more than 20 Nigerian media outlets, both local and national, including the country’s most respected titles such as The Guardian, The Nation and Premium Times.
One thing it certainly proved is a growing appetite for luxury niche fragrance in Nigeria. In an interview with Business Day, one of West Africa’s leading financial newspapers, Anthony Udagba asked Olaseinde Olusola about the brand’s reception. He explained that Nigerian consumers are “so artistic and open-minded that they really are interested in smelling unique”.
He went on to say that it was also partly down to how the fragrances perform in the Nigerian climate, how Sarah herself had noted that when in Nigeria her personal favourites were the stronger formulations such as Charade and Va Va Vanilla because of the way they thrived in the heat.
The third important part of the triangle is specialist retailers such as Seinde Signature that really understand luxury fragrances. Earlier in the interview, Olaseinde explained that understanding niche luxury fragrance was relatively new for Nigerian consumers and most still saw mass-market designer scents as the benchmark for luxury, something he knew he would have to address in his strategy for his store concept: “We are storytelling, education and everything; we are putting everything together so people can get to understand.”
If the initial response is anything to go by, this is a winning combination for SARAH BAKER in Nigeria.
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