The perception of smell is one of our most primal senses. It can reach deep into our brain and draw out the most obscure memories, those of which we didn't even know existed. Scent is such a powerful tool; it can identify, warn, detect, measure and locate. According to Harvard University's research on smell, the average human can identify more than 10,000 scents. While from a biological perspective that is an interesting statistic, from a marketing point of view 10,000 scents is a gold mine of opportunity.
Any good marketing expert will agree that creative innovation is the key to successful marketing. Always being on the lookout for a new hook, a different perspective, even a new take on an old method can be effective. Scent marketing is no exception. Banking on the positive associations scent can cause, retailers can use the association to help create an environment where consumers wish to purchase or continue purchasing. Plus, since our sense of smell is closely linked with emotion and memory, retailers can manipulate the consumer's emotional opinion of the environment.
The International Fragrance Association (IFRA) has done extensive research into the human experience with scent. One of the main functions of the IFRA is to provide a regulatory process for the fragrance industry. However, through that mandate the organization has made some interesting discoveries. They have identified several cognitive reactions we experience after being exposed to particular scents, and the results are quite fascinating from a marketing point of view. For example, talcum powder invokes feelings of safety, security and nostalgia. Not surprising really, but good for confirming assumptions in brain-storming meetings. Peppermint and citrus apparently make us feel more alert and for relaxation, its lavender, vanilla and chamomile.
On a more provoking avenue, the IFRA found the scent of barbecue smoke invoked a sense of enclosed spaces. Apples and cucumbers had the opposite effect. The smell of fresh baking made people think of purchasing a home, yet the odor of leather or cedar made people think of buying expensive furniture. For retailers wanting consumers to stay in the store longer, tailored florals and citrus scents are recommended. Of course the one caveat to the IFRA findings is memory. If someone had a negative experience involving peppermint, then feeling alert with anxiety may be a more accurate reaction.
While the findings of the IFRA are indeed thought-provoking, how can businesses make it work for them? What can be done beyond plugging in a designer air freshener? How can the business reach further than the store front, using scent on a large scale? This is where creative innovation comes in. If the aim is to draw consumers to your business based on the product providing the scent - such as food - then it will be important to get right to the nose of the consumer. Ideally every person waiting at a bus stop, walking down a busy city street, strolling through a park, or waiting in line outside a movie theater should take in the heavenly scent of a fine meal. It is up to the individual business to choose the actual kind of odor, but how to get it to the public is a cinch.
Scenting systems have been around for a while, but only recently have they hit a point of high performance and durability. Due to the flexibility in shape and size, these highly engineered units have the ability to be mounted in a variety of spaces for maximum exposure. All those people waiting at the bus stop every evening are already feeling the first pangs of hunger for dinner; why not entice them to your restaurant with a scenting system coupled with the bus stop billboard? Or for those late night movie-goers, install scenting systems outside the theater to encourage concession stand purchases.
The opportunities are quite endless if a dash of creativity is thrown in. Just about any scent can be produced, including the intoxicating aroma of fresh baked apple pie, popcorn, vanilla, chocolate, even hamburgers! On the other hand, if food is not the item for sale, then there are other scents to use. A spa, resort or ladies boutique may prefer to use a signature scent to remind their clients to return. Lavender and Jasmine are very popular for those applications. Fine furniture businesses, interior design studios or landscape architects may choose to identify with their clients with the use of more natural fragrances such as cedar, leather, rainforest or freshly cut grass. Really, it is all up to the creativity of the user.
Any good marketing expert will agree that creative innovation is the key to successful marketing. Always being on the lookout for a new hook, a different perspective, even a new take on an old method can be effective. Scent marketing is no exception. Banking on the positive associations scent can cause, retailers can use the association to help create an environment where consumers wish to purchase or continue purchasing. Plus, since our sense of smell is closely linked with emotion and memory, retailers can manipulate the consumer's emotional opinion of the environment.
The International Fragrance Association (IFRA) has done extensive research into the human experience with scent. One of the main functions of the IFRA is to provide a regulatory process for the fragrance industry. However, through that mandate the organization has made some interesting discoveries. They have identified several cognitive reactions we experience after being exposed to particular scents, and the results are quite fascinating from a marketing point of view. For example, talcum powder invokes feelings of safety, security and nostalgia. Not surprising really, but good for confirming assumptions in brain-storming meetings. Peppermint and citrus apparently make us feel more alert and for relaxation, its lavender, vanilla and chamomile.
On a more provoking avenue, the IFRA found the scent of barbecue smoke invoked a sense of enclosed spaces. Apples and cucumbers had the opposite effect. The smell of fresh baking made people think of purchasing a home, yet the odor of leather or cedar made people think of buying expensive furniture. For retailers wanting consumers to stay in the store longer, tailored florals and citrus scents are recommended. Of course the one caveat to the IFRA findings is memory. If someone had a negative experience involving peppermint, then feeling alert with anxiety may be a more accurate reaction.
While the findings of the IFRA are indeed thought-provoking, how can businesses make it work for them? What can be done beyond plugging in a designer air freshener? How can the business reach further than the store front, using scent on a large scale? This is where creative innovation comes in. If the aim is to draw consumers to your business based on the product providing the scent - such as food - then it will be important to get right to the nose of the consumer. Ideally every person waiting at a bus stop, walking down a busy city street, strolling through a park, or waiting in line outside a movie theater should take in the heavenly scent of a fine meal. It is up to the individual business to choose the actual kind of odor, but how to get it to the public is a cinch.
Scenting systems have been around for a while, but only recently have they hit a point of high performance and durability. Due to the flexibility in shape and size, these highly engineered units have the ability to be mounted in a variety of spaces for maximum exposure. All those people waiting at the bus stop every evening are already feeling the first pangs of hunger for dinner; why not entice them to your restaurant with a scenting system coupled with the bus stop billboard? Or for those late night movie-goers, install scenting systems outside the theater to encourage concession stand purchases.
The opportunities are quite endless if a dash of creativity is thrown in. Just about any scent can be produced, including the intoxicating aroma of fresh baked apple pie, popcorn, vanilla, chocolate, even hamburgers! On the other hand, if food is not the item for sale, then there are other scents to use. A spa, resort or ladies boutique may prefer to use a signature scent to remind their clients to return. Lavender and Jasmine are very popular for those applications. Fine furniture businesses, interior design studios or landscape architects may choose to identify with their clients with the use of more natural fragrances such as cedar, leather, rainforest or freshly cut grass. Really, it is all up to the creativity of the user.
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