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, Head of Marketing, Bath & Body Works & Boots Pharmacy. “It sits at the intersection of entertainment, gaming, music and fashion, making it the perfect environment for us to connect with Gen Z and young millennials in an authentic, experience-led way.”
The team delivered authenticity through scale, play and surprise. Visitors are invited to walk inside a giant candle – a large-scale immersive structure scented with Bath & Body Works’ top-selling fragrance using wall plug-ins, and crowned with flickering three-wick LED flames visible across the festival at night.
Bath & Body Works designed the activation to allow fragrance discovery to become a sensory moment rather than a shelf interaction, turning scent into something visual, physical and memorable.
For a category that has traditionally relied on counter-based sampling, Faris explained that this shift was intentional.
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“Fragrance discovery is emotional and highly personal, yet it usually happens in very predictable ways,” she said. “Our audience is increasingly drawn to unexpected, sensory-led experiences that feel playful, immersive and worthy of sharing. Turning scent into something visual and interactive was a direct response to that behaviour.”
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.
“Rather than simply sampling scents, people are invited to play,” said Faris. “That sense of involvement and choice creates deeper engagement, especially for Gen Z, who are used to feedback loops and interactive content in the digital world.”
The journey concluded with a Fine Fragrance Mist photo booth: a towering replica of Platinum, Bath & Body Works’ award-winning fragrance. What set it apart was a top-down camera angle inspired by current social visual trends – a deliberate design choice aimed at making content feel native, not staged.
“Gen Z consumers are content creators by nature,” Faris said. “They gravitate toward moments that feel bold, culturally relevant and designed with social storytelling in mind.”
Every touchpoint was built with shareability as an outcome, not an instruction. The result was organic pickup across Dubai Festivals, UAE Barq and multiple creator channels, driven by customer-generated content rather than paid amplification.
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For Bath & Body Works, the activation also reinforced its broader positioning in the region.
Shaun Fernandes, Vice President MENA, CEE and Turkey, said: “The activation plays a pivotal role in reinforcing Bath & Body Works’ positioning across the region. By delivering experiences that are fun, interactive and memorable, we bring the brand to life beyond the store environment – deepening engagement with loyal customers while creating meaningful touchpoints with new ones.”
Each interaction was designed to live on through social sharing, extending the experience well beyond the festival grounds. “Rather than separating offline and online, the experience allows the physical moment to continue digitally through user-generated content and ongoing conversation,” says Faris.
The activation’s success is being measured through a mix of hard and soft metrics – from footfall, dwell time and interaction rates to sentiment, share of voice and the quality of social content generated. But the real impact lies in perception. “We look closely at how consumers describe the brand post-experience,” Faris said, “and whether Bath & Body Works is seen as more playful, culturally relevant and experience-led as a result.”
Credits:
Bath & Body Works Team:
Amy Walker- Head of Visual Merchandising
Sandra Santos- Business Director
Rakitha Abeyagoonawardena- Senior Merchandising Manager
Hesham Khalil- Senior Operations Manager
Gladies Pantig- Operations Manager
Production Agency: Holdmar
Wafa Mardassi- Project lead
