Marketing Tomorrow
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'It is not the strongest of the species that survive, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change.'
(Charles Darwin)

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Potent New Marketing Technology - The Sweet Smell of Success?

Bottom Line: Smell, according to psychologists, "is the most powerful and emotional of all the senses" ... a fact discovered and exploited since 1921 by the legendary Paris fashion designer and parfumier Coco Chanel. Ninety-one years later, brand marketers are also beginning to exploit the potency of smell.


Smell - the last  of humanity's six senses [relatively] unexploited by the ad trade - is finally gaining traction with brand marketers. Now, thanks to the development of electronic scent diffusers, as reported in MarketingTomorrow last month, the "me-too" pack is enthusiastically leaping aboard the olefactory bandwagon, according to today's Advertising Age. Environmental psychologist Eric Spangenberg of Washington State University calls it "a huge trend" ...

[Estimated timeframe: Q2 2012 onward]

... "[in which] the technology has advanced to the level where anyone can do it.” 

It seems Mr Spangenberg is not exaggerating. For example:

  • Singapore Airlines uses a scent called Stefan Floridian Waters to perfume the cabins of its airplanes.
  • Samsung has reportedly pumped the summery scent of honeydew melons into its New York flagship store.
  • British Airways diffuses the fragrance of meadow grass in business-class lounges.
  • The Mandarin Oriental Hotel in New York greets guests as they step in from the street with the aroma of Sequoia, a scent designed by Lorenzo Dante Ferro. 
  • Victoria’s Secret and Juicy Couture customers just walk into the stores and sniff the air, no longer having to hunt-down a sample bottle of the stores’ branded perfumes to experience their aroma.

Says Andrew Kindfuller, ceo of ScentAir, the largest manufacturer of scent diffusers in the US: “Brands realize now that this is a part of doing business. We’re implementing these systems in many different environments—not just hotels and retail—but funeral homes, retirement villages, and medical and dental and law offices.”

Reports AdAge: "According to Zev Auerbach, executive creative director for Miami-based Zimmerman Advertising, an ambient scent works best when it evokes imagery that’s tied to the merchandise.

“If you see a bathing suit in a store, and you smell the scent of ocean, you’re more likely to want to buy the suit and go on vacation,” he says. “It’s the combination of the see and the smell.”

Auerbach points out that such a connection isn’t just anecdotal. “This is pure science,” he says.

Factual data only is sourced from the original attributed article. The data is then enhanced by additional research and comment.

Email this article Source: AdWeek.com
MT article URL: http://www.marketingtomorrow.com/article.aspx?id=5785



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