We use our traditional senses (sight, sound, taste, touch and smell) to help make decisions and navigate the world of consumerism. Most brands focus their relevancy strongest on only two of these – sight and sound. It is through the use of imagery, design, texture, colour and rich sounds that strong emotional ties are built between a brand and its customer. But the strongest sense for evoking an emotional reaction is smell. Let’s take a look at who’s made the best scents of it.
“When we think about any experience, whether it’s personal or commercial, our sense of smell so profoundly plays into how we perceive and make judgments on the experience,” says Ed Burke, director of training and communications for ScentAir, a company that develops scents for other companies.
People are using their nose more acutely as we have become more sophisticated in many aspects of our lives. Today, we are all culinary experts; we have embraced new cuisines and use many new exotic spices, thanks in part to our noses. We have all become wine, beer and scotch connoisseurs as we swirl our glasses and stick our nose into the vapors. We are refining our sense of smell in many areas of our lives and are more aware of what we like and what we don’t like.
According to a report published by Kline & Company, a New Jersey-based market research firm, home fragrance retail sales reached nearly $5.6 billion in 2012. But Unity Marketing believes this market is growing so quickly that it may well surpass $10 billion.
According to Aradhna Krishna, a professor at the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business, scent marketing falls into the category of sensory marketing. In her book, Customer Sense: How the 5 Senses Influence Buying Behavior, she defines sensory marketing as “marketing that engages the consumer’s senses and affects their perception, judgment and behaviour.” Krishna says that “no other cue is as potent as a scent-based cue,” and explains that the structure of the human brain is responsible for the close link between memory and smell.
Experts have suggested the special impact of odour on our memory could be related to the proximity of the closeness of our olfactory bulb, which helps us process smells, and the amygdala and hippocampus brain regions which control emotion and memory.
A well-known idea called the "Proustian Phenomenon" proposes that distinctive smells have more power than any other sense to help us recall distant memories.
Everyone has a library of smells that trigger memories like the scent of fresh cut grass, hot apple pie, vanilla ice-cream, someone’s perfume or after-shave, baked bread, balsam fir tree, and a dirty diaper. Pew!
Scent marketing is made up of two specific categories:
- Ambient scenting, which uses pre-existing smells, such as movie-theatre popcorn, to recall consumer memory, and sets the stage
- Olfactive branding, which creates signature scents based on a brand’s qualitative traits and specific clientele.
Bloomingdale's uses ambient scenting throughout their stores. They use the soft scent of baby powder to trigger mother's memory in the infant department, soothing scent of lilac in the intimate apparel department and coconut in the swimsuit department. During the holiday shopping season you will find the scents of sugar cookie, chocolate and evergreen to incite the shoppers into a festive mood.
Any business that has the ability to control the customer’s environment in relationship to their brand experience can use ambient and olfactive branding. High-end retail chains, hotels, airlines, stores, banks and, even cruise ships are using signature scents to build their brands.
After touring the mall with my nose front and center, the most obvious and somewhat irritating use of distinctive fragrance is Abercrombie & Fitch and Hollister as they pump their musky and masculine colognes through their ventilation systems. But I need to hold my nose, as I’m not their target audience of 12- 24 age youth who desires a heavy-duty stimulus of smells and loud music to get a reaction.
Other brands like Anthropologie, Aritzia, American Eagle Outfitters, Urban Outfitters and Old Navy all had subtle, unique fragrances that resonated with their environments. Standing out was the fashionable Hugo Boss store with their signature-scent of citrus, tamboti wood and tonka bean, Lululemon with its grassy and rosemary fragrance and the posh Tiffany& Co jewelry store with is cotton-candy scent. I am not sure that was a fit. But maybe it helps with the sticker shock of the $100,000 ring. Love can be such sweet sorrow.
Ed Burke’s says the upscale hotel chains have embraced scent branding in a big way with the Westin Hotels utilizing the scent of White tea and Kimpton’s Hotel Monaco chain using a blend of soft citrus, green tea, black pepper and cloves. Good enough to drink.
Carnival Cruises, Qantas Airlines, home-builder Jayman Homes in Calgary all profess to use unique fragrances specifically chosen and designed to enhance the brand experience for their customers. Jayman’s director of marketing, Careen Chrusch says, “It doesn't take away from the visual experience, and helps solidify the positive memories [consumers] have when they think of our brand.”
A study conducted by Chicago’s Smell & Taste Treatment and Research Foundation claimed the amount of money gambled at a Las Vegas casino slot machine increased by 45 per cent when the site was odorized with a pleasant aroma.
But is this invisible brand enhancing ethical?
While marketers say they are just beautifying the consumer experience, critics would argue that consumers are being unknowingly manipulated.
The Canadian Marketing Association’s code of ethics states that marketers must not knowingly mislead consumers. In the United States, the Federal Communications Commission says it is unethical to transmit information below the consumer’s threshold of awareness.
Brand identity is more critical today than ever before, as more and more businesses and products compete for consumer attention across an ever-increasing variety of channels. Our senses play a vital and complex role in forming our thoughts, impressions and behaviors. By targeting the senses, brands establish a stronger and enduring emotional connection with their consumers. As online shopping continues to skyrocket it becomes even more important that every face-to-face brand time with customers become even more memorable.
Many brands fail to make use of their customers’ sense of smell. So harnessing the power of scents is an excellent opportunity for you to differentiate your brand from your competitors. As human memories are closely tied to smell, the longer you build your olfactive brand the more positive memories will be associated to your brand down memory lane.
Start smelling your brand today.
FAQs
Success smells sweet on women, but men need a musky smell with notes of spicy black pepper in order to give off a whiff of accomplishment, according to a new study.
What is the sense of smell in branding? ›
Scent branding is much more than filling a space with a nice fragrance. It is the science behind creating a targeted, Signature Scent that is associated with a particular brand. By linking a unique scent to a brand, a strong bond is created with the consumer, thus becoming an extension of the brand's identity.
What scent promotes sales? ›
Study carried out by Washington State University showed that shoppers spent 20% more when surrounded by a citrus scents like orange.
What scents attract customers? ›
Aromas of lavender, basil, cinnamon, and citrus are relaxing, whereas peppermint, thyme and rosemary are invigorating. Ginger, cardamom, licorice, and chocolate tend to stir romantic feelings, while rose promotes positivity and happiness.
What scents are motivating? ›
FIVE SCENT TO HELP IMPROVE OUR MOTIVATION AND BOOST OUR ENERGY
- Mandarin can relieve stress. ...
- Lemongrass improves our mood and lifts our spirits. ...
- Bergamot gives us that uplifting feel you love. ...
- Basil helps stimulate our mind and improve our focus. ...
- Nutmeg helps support our motivation. ...
- Breathe. ...
- Calm. ...
- Uplift.
Citrus (Orange, Grapefruit, Lemon, Bergamot, Lime) – citrus fruits (orange, grapefruit, lemon, bergamot, lime) are thought of as feel-good, mood lifting, and energy boosting. Citrus scents promote mental alertness, enhancing positivity and confidence.
What are the 5 senses of branding? ›
The Journal of Brand Strategy explains five strategies for vision, sound, smell, taste and touch, and we've added specific examples to help you get ideas for your own brand.
How scents make a difference in brand? ›
Memorable scents cause customers to remember your store. Communicates value and drives sales. Customers spend more in a store that smells good. Builds brand loyalty and image.
Why is scent important in business? ›
The scent evokes mood and the experience of positive emotions translates into higher sales, increased customer loyalty, happier and more motivated staff, and ultimately higher business profits.
What scents boost creativity? ›
7 Essential Oils to Awaken Your Senses, Focus, and Creativity
- Frankincense. This is a very popular essential oil for enhanced creativity and people who suffer from brain injuries. ...
- Peppermint Oil. ...
- Jasmine Oil. ...
- Lavender Oil. ...
- Tangerine Oil. ...
- Eucalyptus Oil. ...
- Bergamot Oil.
The power of scent
Ginger, cardamom, licorice, and chocolate tend to stir romantic feelings, while rose promotes positivity and happiness. Simple smells, as opposed to complex blends of scents, are powerful motivators when it comes to spending, researchers at Washington State University found.
What scent increases productivity? ›
Scents like jasmine, ylang-ylang, rose, and peppermint decrease certain alpha and beta activities, which results in an awakening effect that improves productivity when doing monotonous work.
What is most people's favorite smell? ›
A study conducted by researchers from the Karolinska Institute in Sweden and the University of Oxford has found that vanilla is the world's most universally-loved scent.
What smells do most people like? ›
They found that most people, despite coming from different cultures and backgrounds, find vanilla to be the most pleasant smell on the planet more often than not.
What gives people their unique scent? ›
While it can change depending on our diet and health, a lot of what makes our smell unique is determined by our genetics. Our body odour is specific enough, and our sense of smell accurate enough, that people can pair the sweaty T-shirts of identical twins from a group of strangers' T-shirts.
What is the most powerful scent? ›
“Parfum”, “Parfum Extrait”, “Extrait de Parfum”, “Perfume Extract”, “ pure perfume” or “Elixir” is the strongest concentration of fragrance and can have between 15% and 40% of aromatic compounds.
What is the most powerful smell? ›
Let's take a look at some of the world's worst odors!
- Surströmming. This Swedish delicacy literally means “sour herring”. ...
- Durian. Durian is a fruit native to Southeast Asia, with an odor that has been described as turpentine, rotten onions, and sewage. ...
- Nattō. ...
- Skunk.
Lavender is one of the most popular scents, and for a good reason. It's known to be relaxing and calming, making it an excellent choice if you want to unwind after a long day. The scent of lavender has also been shown to help with stress and anxiety in some people.
What scent is best for focus? ›
Peppermint
A known energy booster, peppermint invigorates the mind, promotes concentration and stimulates clear thinking. It is one of the best scents for focus. Find uplifting peppermint in our Onsen collection, along with eucalyptus and mandarin.
What is the smell of good mental health? ›
Lavender oil has a relaxing scent, which acts as both a sedative and a stimulant. Studies conducted at the Sense of Smell Institute indicate that peppermint oil has mood-elevating properties that make it useful for alleviating symptoms of anxiety and depression.
A had a foul smell and B had a pleasant smell.
...
| I like the smell of | I do not like the smell of |
|---|
| Rose | Rotten Eggs |
| Petrol | Foul Breath |
| Paint | Cow Dung |
| Wet Soil | Crackers after they are burnt |
The 3 Cs of Brand Development: Customer, Company, and Competitors.
What are the 7 P's of branding? ›
These seven are: product, price, promotion, place, packaging, positioning and people.
What are the 6 C's of branding? ›
His six Cs are content, commerce, community, context, customization, and conversation.
Why are scents so powerful? ›
The ability of scent to trigger emotions and memories can be attributed to it entering the brain through the frontal cortex; a feature unique to scent. This property of scent is so powerful that even a vague whiff of vanilla or jasmine can take us back to a fond memory or evoke a strong visual image in our minds.
What scent smells the best? ›
- Vanilla. Known as the world's favorite flavor, vanilla was first cultivated and harvested around 900 years ago by the ancient Totonac tribe in Mexico. ...
- Rose. Symbolizing romance, passion, and ethereal beauty for more than a thousand years, roses are the perfect scent to show how much we love someone. ...
- Lavender. ...
- Coffee.
Smells activate emotions and memories in consumers, prompting them to recall specific brands that are part of the emotion or memory, leading to potential purchase. Whether the smell is simple (just one type) or a complex one (multiple flavors) can have differential effects on consumers.
What is the impact of scent? ›
The sense of smell plays an important role in the physiological effects of mood, stress, and working capacity. Electrophysiological studies have revealed that various fragrances affected spontaneous brain activities and cognitive functions, which are measured by an electroencephalograph (EEG).
What is the significance of scent? ›
Understanding the sense of smell
Smell is an important sense as it can alert us to danger like gas leak, fire or rotten food but also is closely linked to parts of the brain that process emotion and memory. Unpleasant and bad smells actually send pain signals to the brain to warn us of possible danger.
Why is scent important? ›
Your sense of smell enriches your experience of the world around you. Different scents can change your mood, transport you back to a distant memory, and may even help you bond with loved ones. Your ability to smell also plays a key role in your health.
Self-esteem is a complex concoction of factors. But spritzing on your favourite smelling scent—or one that has positive memories attached to it—can help you feel like the most confident version of you, even on days when you don't particularly feel like it.
What smell stimulates the brain? ›
Peppermint.
The scent is known for boosting attentiveness. In a brainstorming session, use peppermint oil to invigorate the mind and soon your team could have all the right ideas.
What smells increase productivity? ›
Scents like jasmine, ylang-ylang, rose, and peppermint decrease certain alpha and beta activities, which results in an awakening effect that improves productivity when doing monotonous work.
How smells are associated with memories? ›
Although we often look at pictures to remember the past, odors are actually better at helping us remember. Brain scans show that odors bring on strong memories because of the brain regions that process them. The group of brain areas that are best known for processing emotions, learning, and memory also process odors.
What are the most recognizable smells in the world? ›
While we do not have the entire list, the twenty most recognizable, in order, are:
- Coffee.
- Peanut butter.
- Vicks VapoRub.
- Chocolate.
- Wintergreen oil.
- Baby powder.
- Cigarette butts.
- Mothballs.
| I like the smell of | I do not like the smell of |
|---|
| Rose | Rotten Eggs |
| Petrol | Foul Breath |
| Paint | Cow Dung |
| Wet Soil | Crackers after they are burnt |
