Thehardsmell
Nexttimeyou're
outshopping
andyousuddenly
findyourself
overcome
bytheurgetosplurgestopandsnifftheair,saysSijalTrivedi
THEAIRin Samsung
s fl agship
individualexperience
aodscentiDg
yearsthatindependenhesearchers
bave
electronics
storeon theupper
publi. spacesis
regarded
as 'pollutin8tbe
begunmeasuring
theimpacton sales.
westsideof Manhattansmellslik€
atmosphere
and
However,severalstudieshaveshownthar
l saysvo8t.European
honeydew
perceptible
melon.It isbareLy
but, Americanretaile.swerealsoconcerned
tbat
pleasant
scentsencourage
shoppe6to linBer
togetherwiththesoft,constantly
pumpingchemicals
morphing
into storescouldSive
overaproduct,increasethenumberof
rimes
lightscheme,thescent
givesthestorea
soheshoppe6breathin8problems,
leaving theyexahineit andin somecases
increase
blissiullyrelaxed,
tropicalfeel.The
fragrance comp3nies
vulnerable
to prosecution.
thei.willingnesstopayhigherprices
too.
I m sniflingisthecompanytsignaturelcent
Theseworrie!
haventdetenedeveryone,
ln onerecentsiudy,accepred
for
andisbein8puft pedout fromhiddendevices though.Theappearance
of .beaptechnologiespublicationin the/oumalo/Burine$
in theceiljn8.Consumers
roamtheshowroom to dissehinatescentshasspurredcasinos,
neseorch,
Ericspangenberg,
a consumer
unawarethattheyareb€ingseduced
not iun
hotelsandspasto experimentwith pumping psycholoEist
anddeanof thecollegeoi
vjatbeireyesandearsbutalso
bytheirnoses. themoutto makeconsumers
feelmore
Business
andEconomi.s
atWashington
State
. pahpered.EarlythisyearWestinHotels&
Youcanexpectmorearomaticencounters
UniveBityjn Pullman,andhiscoileagues
asyou browsethestoresthk festiveseason. Reso!ts
beganscentjn8its hotellobbieswith
caftiedouta.experimentinalo.alclorhing
Scent,harketeerssay,isthefinalftontierin
a signature
ftaSrance
calledWhiteTea.
store.Theydiscove.edthat when "feminine
"sensorybranding'1
"Wewantedto makeanemotional
of all our fivesenses,
connectior!" scents'llikevanilla,wereused,salesof
5mellisthoughttobethehostcloselylinked saysNadeenAyala,seniorPRdirectorforthewomeDs clothesdoubled;asdjd mens .lothes
toemotionbecausethebrain's
olfactorybulb, chain.Theresponse
fromguestshasbeen
wbenscentslike rosemarocwereditrlsed.
"Mendon t liketo
whichdetectsodours,fast-tracks
signalsto
enorhous,shesays,promptinS
thecompany
stickaroundwhenit
thclimbi.system,whichljnksemotionto
to launch a line of WhiteTeascentedcandles. smelkfeminine,andwomendon't linger
'says
memones.Retailers
hopethatmakingthis
WestinandSamsunS
arenot alonein
in a storeifit smellsmascuune,
direcilinktoouremotionsmayseduce
usinto lsing scentto tapinto consunerspsyches. spangenberg,
wboledtheresearchand
has
choosinS
theirproductsovera competitor's.
beenstudyin8theimpactofambients.ents
"Branding
-t:
isall abouthowa cuslom€r
on consumeBfor morethana decade.
::l
product
ieehabouta companyor
itt an
Spangenbeig
saysihis mostrecentstudy
emotionalconnection
with thecustomer,"
underscores
the importance
of mat.hing
saysRandallStone,a NewYorkbased
gender-preferreds.ents
to theproduct.
'
marketingexpeftat brandingconsultants
.:,
r,l
Bothmeoandwomenbrowsedforlongerand
Lippinco$Mercer,whohelpedcreatethe
spentmoremoneywhena fragrance
specifi.
DiamondretailerDeBeersscentsitssparkling to theirgenderwas
usedtoscenithestore
Todate,there is no .on.lus've evidenceto
ManbattanandLosAn8eles
showrooms
with atmosphere.Scentmarketingisa viable
provetbat scenting
a p.oductwillpeBuade
a. aromaticblendthat
includesflo.al,citrus strategythatretailersshouldconsider,"
says
r shoppertobuyit,butit maytipthe balance andEreentea;ceUphone
companyVerizon
spansenberg."Buttheyreallyneedtotailor
in lavourora particularbrand
or producr.
Wireless
re.entlyusedchocolate
scented
thescentto theconsumer."
Asaresult,moreand
moretuarketeers,
displaysto marketthe newLCChocolate
Anticipatingwhi.h scentswill bemost
makersandretailersare
turningto
phone;andSonyis.aisingthestakes
by not
appealing
Sad8et
to theb.oadestaudien.eis tricky,
rent in thehopeit will helpforgelongterm
onlys.enringitsSonyStylestoresbutalso becausethere
isno su.bthingasapleasant
relationships
betweenconsumers
andtheir
sendingitssi8naturescenthomeinscented aromathateveryone
will agreeon,saysRa.bel
brands,and
ultimatelysellmorestufl
sachets
in shoppingbags.sonyis also
Herz,a visitinglecturerin psychiafyat Brown
Scenting
storesto sellproductssuchas
considerinB
impreg.atingthehardplastics
Univereity
MedicalSchoolin Providence,
eleclronics
or clothesnot normallyknownfor usedinilsgad8etswiththefragrance,
says
Rhodehland: AuniveKalhitd0e9notexist."
theiraromaisa recentdevelopment.
Therea.e DavidvanEpps,CIOofNorthCarolina.based Thatt because
therearedistinctgeographic
about20scent-marketinE
.ompaniesin the
ScentAir,
developerof
Sonyssignaturescent. andculturalpreferences
forcertainscents,
world,collectively
wortharoundS8omillion,
Thesecompaniesareamongthefewthat andahogenderspecifkpreferen.es
saysHaraldvogt,co-founderofthescent
haveEonepublicwith
thepra.tjce.Most
within eachcultureheeDiagram,page39).
MarletingInstitutein Scarsdale,
NewYork.
retailersarestillreluctanttoadmittheyuse Samsung's
signaturescenttooka yearto
Adecadeago,marketeers
bied to scent
s.entsintheirstores,saysVogt,soit shard
develo!andcandidatesw€retested
intheUS,
storesin Europe.
Theattemptbacl<fired
to getanyfim fi8ureson theimpa.t of s.ent Cermany,
China,Brazil,Tbailand,
Koreaand
in partbecause
fragrance
isconsidered
an
on profits.It is onlywithin thepastcoupleof
Rusia to find onewith b.oadappeal.
>
16lNewn
ent( 16oecnber2006
r5De@mber2006l
Newiri€n&t
t
':l:':
MaureenMorin ofthe schoolofbusiness
at Ruqe6, ThestateUniverity ofNew le.sey,
in Camden,and colleaguestestedthe effecrs
of smellon thespendinghabitsofmal
shoppe6.Theypumpeda 'pleasant,
citrusy"
odour th.oughout a mall in Montreal,Canada,
then interceptedshoppen on then way out of
the mallandquizzedthemon theirspending.
Theydivided the shoppeBinto rwo
categories:the"contemplative
oneswhosaid
they normally only pu.chasedplanneditems,
and "impulsive" purchasers,who.laimed to
bemore whimsical in their spending,Morin
Ms surprisedto find that the lighr, pleasant
odourhadno impacton the impuhe
buyer,but it did boostthe spendingofrhe
contemplativeshoppeBby about 14per cenr
.ompared to oihers who browsedwthout
the scent.While the result wasnot dramatic,
marketeec viewedit asa positivetrend
a (ented produd su.h asa shampoowe
aboretheir resting ratedunng the experiment
.heckifwe likethe smell,evaluare
Vouma|oJsetui.e Re'eorch,\ot8,p 181],.
whatothers theyareconsidereda
lesponder'lRespondeB
might thinl of it, and whetherit is wonh its
areinvitedbackto the chambe.to experience
the galba.um odour withour the hair{aising
Directlink to emotion
Isit possible
to geta scentto evokepos'tive videos.Daltonfinds that a secondexposureis
Exactlyhow scentexertsits effecrsh only
feelingsinthosewhosmellit?
Daltonisnow
enoughto setthe pulseraciDSsen without
beginninstobeundeBtood.Whenodour
trying to nnd this out. one of her ongoing
thejma8es."ourolfactorysystemisfi
rstand
information travelsftom the olfactory bulb
expenmeDtsinvestiSateswhetheran odour
foremosta mming systemfor things we
and reachesthe primary ofactory cortex it
initialiy pairedwith a stresful or relaing
should avoid,not things we should approach,"
activatesthe limbic systemat an earlier stage stimulus wil trigger the samephysiological
shesays.Thuswhen an odour is tied to a
of processingthandotheothersenses,saysresponrewhenvolunteersareexposedto rhe negativewent, th€ associationfoms quiclly.
PamelaDalton,who studies.og.itive and
smell the next dayor a few dayslater The
The sametype of experiment is alsodone
sensorypsychologyat the MoneUchemical
expenments
takeplacein a metal.hambe.
with reluiD8 stimuli. lchen the odou is tied
sensesCenterin Philad€lphi4 PeDnsylvania. containinga giant plasmascreen,a device
to a plea$nt erTerience dimmed lighrs,
Thistriggersanalmostinstantaneous
for tum'ng scentinto an aerosol,a heart-rate a .eclining .hair, relaxing imagesand deep
emotjonalresponse
in mammals,It istbis
monito. and . computer monitor to
breathing the asso.iationis much slower
initialreactionthat harketee.shopeto
communicatewith the participant. Dalton s
to fom: many more encounteh are neded
exploit by usinglcent in productsor stores.
testodourisgalbanumanaromati.oil
beforethe volunt€errespondsto th€ odour
Dalton 5 resea.ch,ori8inally tunded by a
de.ivedfrom the Ieruld gunmoro plant that
with a drop in heart rate blood pressue
Culfwar medicineprogramme,wasat ffrst
growsin notthern lran and is an in8redient
and breathing.Nonetheless,aen if
dire.ted at exploring how odou. could bigge. in many Asianpertumes-Tome,ii smellslike the participants didnl demonstratea
flashbacks
inwarveterans
andwhether
these wet dirt. Oncein the room, the participant has phyliological reactionto the odour alone
a$ociations .ould bealteredordecoupled_
a pulsemonitor clipped to th€ir finger and
after a pleasantexperiencethey stiil rated rhe
But the studiesarealsoofgreat interesrro
is left alonewhile the plasmascreeninflicts
odo'rr more favouhbly than on their initial
"Soodour canhave
MoneUs many corporatesponsoBbloody,violent s.enesfrom the hoEor film
salution.
an effet and
"Every
smelltriggeB a friend or foe
sawII on t}lem. ChancteB in the movie are
just one exposur€.an shift your p.eference,"
reaction,"saysAvery Gilbert,chiefscientist at sbappedinto hamessesand enduremindsaysDaiton.Thatl a promising,if preliminary
the scentMartetinS lnsritute. we shouldn t
warping rorms of physicaland pslthologi@l
result for manufacturerswho want to embed
underestihate our abilily to evaluatesmell3
tonure that is very st.esstulto watch.
siSnaturescentsin spe.ific products.
consciously
either,hesays.Whenwechoose
Ifa partici?ant'shean rate rises10per cent
lven though positiveasociations may
t3I newkien0nl16oeeobs2006
prcliminaryrcsults
takelo.ger toestablish,
lromMorrin s latestexperimentsug€est
that
scentenhan.cstheconsumelsmemoryfor
theproductbetterthanvisual
cuessuchas
colour,butonlyaft€rtwoormoreweekshave
elapscd.
Forexample,
ifvolunteersaregivena
jna blue
pa.daged
toothpasteorone
scented
wrapper,theyweremuchmorecapableof
.ecallingthe.bara.teristics
of rhesc€nted
late.thanoltheon€in the
froduct sixwe€ks
plaiDwrapper"Overtim€youa.ere exposed
to thatcolou.in manydifferenlconl€xis,
soirsconnection
to toothpasle
is weakened,
bur tbes.entwasprobablyuniquesoit is a
bettermemorytrigger,"speculates
Morrin.
DallonaBrees
thatthisexperimcntdocs
seemto supponthe ideaof scentingproducts
sotheywill sellwell,butcautionsthatit
doesnt prov€$aiodoursarenecesarjly
morepowerlulthanvisualcues.
th€imr nrddneyokr dilleredlerliiqrhdilLrenlolt!Er
smell,but don'ttell
Inmanystores,scentmarkct'neisfairly
crude.The
choiceof sceDtsG.atherhiior
miss,saysspang.nbcrg,
andis rarelytailored
torheconsum€.ortested
beloreitis used
inthestore'ltisalittlesnakeoilishinthat
r e s p e c t , ' hsea y sH. e e x p e c ittssp o p u l a r i t y l o
increase
all thesame.Sohe.ompaniesare
dev€lopinS
waysto rargetscentsat individual
consumcrs
scientirt,3 April,oo4, p ,2).
{,"{ew
sprngenberg
ihinksthats.entmarketinB
is alreadymuchmoreprevalentthanmost
consum€rs
realise.
Onereasoncompanics
keepitsecretisthat theywanttbeassociarion
betweenscentandbrandto fo.m almost
subconsciously.
Manyrefuseto acknowledge
thattheirstor€saresc€nt€d
forfearof
destroying
the effect.lnternaiionalFlavors
(lFF),
playes
andFragrances
oneofthebiSS€st
inthc industryconcocted
thesamsungscent
but hasrefusedto rcvealanycomponents
of
th€fng.anceo.whatfeatures
ofthe Samsung
branditwassupposerl
toreilect.
Muchof r€iailers"hush.hush"attitude
stemsfromlear thattheywillbeacusedof
subliminalmarketing,
sayscilbedTheydon t
wanttoadmittheyar€manipulatingthestore
environmentto triggeranalmostPavlovian
respons€
in customer,addsspangenberg.
Othersare.oncerned
thechemicals
used
orbu.ning
in thesescentsmaycauserunny
eyes,sneezing,
coughingandasthmain
jndividuals,
saysL€onard
!ielory an
sensitive
asthmaandeyeallergyexpertat NewJeney
MedicalS.hoolin Newarl."Scentmarketin8is
if don€
a greatideaforthegene.alpublicbut
sufeptitiouslyit couldcausediscomfoftor
G
j
I
/
u
,
harft. Thereshouldbesignsnoiiryin8
thatair is scented
to protectvulnerable
Another.aveat
to!sing s.entis that
because
its impactisnot immediatelyobvious
theremightbeconsumerprotectionjssues,
'Forexaftple ii a casioowereto
saysMoiiin.
stanpumpingin somepleasant
odourand
itdid havetheimpactofmakin8consumers
stayandplaylonger andpotentiallylose
more- tbentheyshouldbenotifiedwhen
soheof thesetypesof thinSsarebeingused.
MarkPeltier,cofounderoiiheMinnesota
basedAromasys,
whkh scentsmostolthe
casinosinLas
ve8asaswellashundredsol
hotekandspasaroundrhe
countrysaysthat
fearisunfounded.'Scentisnodifferentto
your
chairsor LightinS:
theymayincrease
comfo.tandmak€youstaylonger,but there
is no scentthatwill makeyou8amblemore."
''smellsdonl vork likedrugs, erplains
Hez. Theyonly haveeiiedsthroughlearn€d
andthoughth€reiscuhu.al
associations,
consistency
to a de8ree,
thereis also
individualvariation.Whatultinately
deteminesan individuals reactiontoa
pariicularrent dependslarBelyon their
initialintroductionto thataroma.
A spokesman
f rom IFFrevealed
thatthe
tech.olo8yto scent
companyha5developed
mat€riahfrom fib.esto plastic,sugSestina
that wecanexpecta morearomaticfutu.€,
with everything
from scented
erercise
.lothinSandtonelstoMP3playerswith
a
.ustomiseds.ent.Asmoreand
morestores
andhotehuseambientscents,
however,
rememberthattheirgoalis not justto make
yourexperience
They{ant
morepleasant.
to imprint a positivememoryinfluenceyour
luturefeelingsaboutparticularbrandsand
ultimatelylorgeanemotionallink to you
andmoreimponantly,yourwallet.a
stlllivedii5 a ni€n@writ€rbded
in
lb0{embs200
l e6w k e n n
l l39