Olfactory marketing and how to use it properly

Olfactory marketing, maybe you’re familiar with it or maybe you wonder what it is. But few people know how to use it properly.

During my visit to the design week in Milan 2019, I first came into contact with olfactory marketing. I have often been a "victim" of it myself but have not often enough thought about it. What I immediately wondered is why this is not used more often? ". The marketing tools you know are probably all visible through your eyes and/or ears. That's why I started doing research.

 

For those who don't know it yet. Olfactory marketing is the use of fragrance in your marketing. This can be done in various ways. Such as odor in an environment, odor of a product, but also effects of odor on our well-being, and the intensity of an odor. In this paper we will discuss everything, and you will find out how to correctly use olfactory marketing for your marketing goals. Because -SPOILER- you will want to use it.

 

The sense of "smell"

What, where, when and how does fragrance work?

Let's go back to basics first. With most senses, the stimuli enter through one side and end up in the other half of your brain. In addition, by merging the stimuli from both sides, we can obtain more information. For example, hearing where a sound comes from. What makes the nose a special sense is, among other things, that you can smell orthonasally (through your two nostrils) and retronasally (through the mouth). In this paper we will only talk about the orthonasal smell. In addition, the stimuli from the left nostril also enter the left half of our brain, and vice versa. And we cannot distinguish whether an odor enters through the left or right nostril. What we can do is distinguish where another substance comes from. This is because there are receptors in the nose that are sensitive to temperature, pressure differences or caustic chemicals.

To smell orthonasally is to observe chemical substances entering our nose on an air stream.

The psychology and brain activity behind it

There are about 350 types of odor receptors, but not everyone has all 350 odor receptors. Different people have a different collection of these receptors. In addition, your brain cannot distinguish all odors. Fragrances can better be seen as wholes and less as a composition of individual odors to be perceived.

 

When we smell a new fragrance, we will not be able to describe it because we don’t have the memory of that new fragrance. We will then try to categorize it according to previously smelled smells. Because everyone has a different "scent world", it is difficult to talk about scents. Everyone uses their own terms and smells something different.

 

Our ability to smell says a lot about our health. Actually, there is no diagnostic test that can measure how good your sense of smell is, because the sense of smell is subjective. In addition, our sense of smell is essential for our well-being. There is a strong link between memory and smell through the so-called amygdala. The amygdala is the center of emotion of the brain and sits at the top of the memory center. Odor information passes through the emotion center to the memory center, and together they create strong memories.

When you go through an experience, the medial temporal puts everything together. And if you relive that moment later, the medial temporal lobe helps bring the elements back together.

Your life story consists of moments that you can relive, and according to some scientists this goes even deeper. The medial temporal lobe weaves memories and dreams for the future to create your self-image. The future and the past seem to be connected in the brain. When you think back to the past, a certain network in your brain lights up. The same network is almost identically active when people imagine the future.

 

When some people suffer from amnesia, they can’t recall memories they had lost. When smelling an odor or combination of scents, memories can sometimes return. The emotions that come back here are very lively, but the visual/physical is often vague.

 

Where's the odor?

Odor was always supposed to be in our origin to determine if something was safe for you to eat, but it has recently been discovered that odor is actually more of a navigational aid. "where" is the odor.

Olfactory marketing

Neuromarketing, sensory marketing and olfactory marketing. What is it?

You have probably not heard of all these concepts or you may not know exactly what it means, understandably! Let me help clear up the biggest lie. Neuromarketing is not a form of marketing. It is a form of research into the brain. One of the marketing forms made possible through neuromarketing is sensory marketing. This is responding to the senses of the consumer through marketing. There are 3 layers within this:

• Sensor: the experience through means of communication;
• Sensations: the brand through identity and values;
• Sensory expressions: the human senses that give meaning to them.

Within sensory marketing belongs olfactory marketing. This is the use of fragrance in marketing.

 

Olfactory marketing can be used as a surrounding scent, product scent or marketing scent.

 

Because scent is in close contact with your emotions and memories, companies can make their brand feel. From a physical perspective, you can say that it creates a pleasant, memorable experience. From a mental perspective, you can say that it creates a good, memorable experience that has an effect on customer emotions and unconscious brand recognition.

 

In addition, it depends on the conditioning. If you're only around a fragrance for half an hour it never makes a link to that experience. If you've been there a few times or been there for a long period of time, it could be. But that depends on your brain and not the smell.

A fragrance should strengthen the brand. 

The brand must be recognizable in the fragrance otherwise it distracts from the story and purpose. Organizations should think through about what a company wants to create, how people should feel, etc. In addition, scent is very personal. What one person likes may find the other very unpleasant, and that's okay. Keep in mind all the aspects and the consumers expectations about the brand.

 

You have been influenced by olfactory marketing, consciously or unconsciously. 

There are several companies that develop and implement fragrances in shops, restaurants and other companies. They all offer a "unique" fragrance and take the process out of your hands. What still has considerable differences is the composition of the fragrances and thus also for whom it’s accessible. With composition we speak about botanical and/or synthetic, and about the originality of the fragrance.

 

Many companies in recent years have chosen to add a fragrance to their marketing. Some think it is good for their profiling. They often do this abundantly, while some try to lull the scent. A good example of a dormant smell is supermarkets that still bake their (factory) breads in the store so that the smell of freshly baked bread floats around. This makes the shoppers hungry, so they will buy more.

“In a lingerie store you want women to feel confident, not think about models and then feel insecure” Mariëlle Robbe, Executive and Inspirator at SOM -Tales of Perfume-

The disadvantage of a strong odor for your brand is that it can have negative effects on your brand if the smell is not to the liking of the costumer or has a negative effect in the well-being of the customers. With a dormant fragrance, you achieve roughly the same effect, but the relationship between brand and fragrance may be less strong.

 

It turns out that it’s the intensity that determines if a fragrance is perceived as nice. A fragrance can not only makes someone feel something different, but also makes the experience different. The smell must subconsciously enter the consumers mind, otherwise the it can create a defense mechanism. It is very interesting to see how much influence fragrance can have on our judgment of a brand or product. And even if you only sell something online, just imagining the smell ("smellizing") has the same effect on the brain.

 

Then there is a part of the olfactory marketing that is not much discussed. The products with the brand scent. This ensures that the customer comes into contact with the brand more often via fragrance. You may wonder whether the brand odor will develop multiple associations with the consumer or whether the consumer may not notice the smell anymore. Not much is known (yet) about the effects s of scent within marketing, which still leaves some questions.

 

What has been scientifically proven is that (a number of) (botanical) scents can have a positive effect on humans. It can help with irritation, stress, depression and apathy, and can increase emotions such as happiness, sensuality, relaxation and stimulation. In addition, it appears to have an impact on the well-being, purchasing behavior and the experience that people have with a brand/situation.

The future of olfactory marketing

Olfactory marketing itself is already a huge trend. The fact that so little is known about this trend is a huge opportunity, but it can also pose a threat. Nonetheless, more opportunities will develop the upcoming years before threats develop.

 

It is increasingly difficult to distinguish yourself for the customer. By getting to know the customer's interests, buying intentions and "guilty pleasures" in terms of age, gender and education level, you can gain an advantage over your competitor. It is difficult to find out about these buying intentions and interests based of a survey. For this you need to use neuromarketing.

"Try to find and answer the question behind the question." T. Pannekeet, 2019 

In "How does the senses smell work?" location was mentioned once. In addition to the function of smell to smell whether something is safe to eat, smell is also a navigation tool. This changes the whole fragrance experience because it is about "where is fragrance". A well-known example is the retail chain Lush. When you walk through a city and get closer to a Lush store, you can smell it. By following the scent, you know how to find the Lush. This increases findability and makes the shop stand out for passers-by. This works the same as a shop window, but you can smell it. You can avoid a normal shop window by looking at the other shops, but not an odor shop window. This gives the extra advantage that the passer-by must notice the brand. That is an opportunity for olfactory marketing.

 

Fragrance can also be used for the identity of a city. You have to take the resistant odors of the city into account. But if you have implemented a good fragrance, it can give people an extra sense of security, recognition and community.

 

Human psychological problems have risen enormously in recent years. This is partly due to the pressure that society feels and the excessive exposure to stimuli. Marketing is certainly part of the problem. Olfactory marketing can be a solution to this problem. People always smell, so they better smell something that fits the experience and is not too dominant. In addition, it has also been proven that scent can have a positive effect on the well-being of humans and that people should return more to nature. Fragrance can be an important player in this.

 

As mentioned earlier, the research into olfactory marketing is still quite recent and not everything is known yet. That is why it is also difficult to estimate what further developments are in this field.

 

The ultimate experience

Do I advise you to use taste and smell as a communication tool more than seeing and hearing? No, for the main reason that the scope is less. Nevertheless, I am convinced that you should use olfactory marketing. There are many benefits and the consumers always smell.

 

There are several ways to use olfactory marketing, and because not (yet) everything is known about it, you cannot say what is best. Still, I recommend using it in the following way.

 

You can use olfactory marketing for various purposes such as the experience, sales stimulating or brand strengthening. Whatever your goal is, it's important to analyze your goal, your customers and their needs, the identity of your organization and choose a fragrance that really suits your organization. Next you can decide which form of olfactory marketing is most advantageous for you; ambient odor, product odor or marketing odor.

In addition, the fragrance can complete the total experience and does not have to dominate. That scent can also make an impression if your customers come back more often or spend a long time in your organization.

Dosage is the key. 

I personally am an advocate of botanical fragrances. A disadvantage of this is that it’s expensive to work completely botanically and you are dependent on nature. It has not (yet) been proven that synthetic fragrances would have no effect on humans. So, this is up to you to make a choice.

 

And last but not least, you have to be creative to advance your brand and the marketing field. Creativity thrives when you take risks. Stimulating other senses is a good addition to this. Therefore, try to experiment with the unknown, such as using scent as a navigation tool, using scent on a large scale, using different scents within your brand, using scent in combination with taste, scent as a mindfulness tool for your brand, and so on. Keep in mind that fragrance does not run through ratio, so try not to create a fragrance for your brand from reasoning, but rather from feeling.

Literature

Dijksterhuis, G. (2017). Hoe smaakt het? Delft: Uitgeverij Eburon. 

 

Aromasolutions (z.d.) De wetenschap achter geurmarketing. Geraadpleegd op 31 januari

https://www.aromasolutions.eu/geurmarketing-onderzoek

 

Pannekeet, T. (10 juli 2019). Geef je klant een heerlijke klantreis. Geraadpleegd op 2 februari

https://www.frankwatching.com/archive/2019/07/10/klantreis/

 

Rimkute, Moraes & Ferreira (4 mei 2015). The effects of scent on consumer behavior. Geraadpleegd van https://www.frankwatching.com/archive/2016/08/25/van-geuren-tot- keuzestress-5-coole-onderzoeken-in-neuromarketing/

 

Henshaw, Medway, Warnaby, Perkins (14 december 2015). Marketing the ‘city of smell’. Geraadpleegd van https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/1470593115619970

Nikelski, M. (13 juni 2016). Sweet smell of success [PDF]. Geraadpleegd van de databank van Fontys. 

Donna Rose Addis (z.d.). Seizoen 1, aflevering 1 ‘The memory’ [The mind, explained]. Geraadpleegd van Netflix.

 

Professor Olivier Piguet en Dr. Renee Lim (z.d.). Seizoen 1, aflevering 11 ‘Senses’ [Ask the Doctor]. Geraadpleegd van Netflix

 

Mariëlle Robbe (23 oktober 2019). Interview met Executive van SOM -Tales of Perfume- [persoonlijke communicatie]. 

 

ScentAir (5 oktober 2015). 5 beroemde bedrijven die geurbeleving gebruiken zonder dat je het wist. Geraadpleegd op 31 januari https://scentair.nl/blog/5-beroemde-bedrijven- geurbeleving-gebruiken-zonder-wist/