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Shantelle Nagarajan

posted on Jan. 09, 2026 at 5:15 pm

How Bath & Body Works turned fragrance into a Gen Z experience at e& MOTB

Shantelle Nagarajan

posted on Jan. 09, 2026 at 5:15 pm

The experience moves beyond spectacle into participation through gamification. Visitors are invited to sample hero fragrances and vote for their favourite using a physical ball-drop mechanic – transforming preference into action.

Bath & Body Works’ activation at e& MOTB in Dubai offers a compelling answer to a question many brands are grappling with: how do you make retail feel culturally native to Gen Z?

Rather than approaching MOTB as a traditional brand presence, Bath & Body Works reimagined its role as a content-first, experience-led journey – one designed around participation, sensory immersion and social storytelling. Running from January 1–11, the activation has been strategically designed to place fragrance at the centre of an environment built for engagement with younger millennials and Gen Z.

“e& MOTB is one of the most culturally relevant, youth-driven platforms in the region today,” said Mona Faris

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Tags:activation Bath & Body Works creative e& MOTB experiential fragrance Gen Z marketing Mona Faris Shaun Fernandes

the authorShantelle Nagarajan

Shantelle Nagarajan is Campaign Middle East’s Reporter who covers marketing news which focuses on FMCG, real estate and brand retail industries. Her features delve into brand strategy, appointments, trends in consumer behaviour and CX. Shantelle also contributes to social media coverage, editorial event programming and print content work. She previously worked in PR and marketing, most recently at Edelman, where she was part of the Brand team. When she’s not writing for her day job, you can find her with her nose buried in a book, playing at a weekly open mic night or doom-scrolling the latest make-up challenges on TikTok.