Scent marketing has become the ace up many brands’ sleeves, and with good reason – who knew a good scent could be so powerful! In a world where companies and products compete to stand out like rock stars, the use of unique fragrances is like the perfect chord in a song that won’t leave your head: it leaves an impression, generates emotions and creates connections with customers that last longer than a good perfume.
But what are emotions?
We all think we have our emotions under control, but have we ever stopped to think about the huge role they play in our lives? Emotions are like the secret engine that drives everything: from what we think to how we act and relate to the world. If we experience positive emotions on a daily basis, the result is akin to turbo-charging our well-being and our relationships.
This is where emotional intelligence comes in, that superpower that helps us to detect, understand and manage our emotions and those of others.
Can marketing touch our emotions directly? The answer is ‘yes’. Think, for example, of Coca-Cola’s Christmas adverts, with their classic message of togetherness and happiness. They often strike a chord to make us feel the magic of the holidays. Something similar happens with IKEA’s campaigns around the idea ‘Nothing like home to furnish our heads’. The Swedish firm has created advertising pieces that show the importance of home in our lives, connecting with the emotions we feel towards our personal and family spaces.
Not all campaigns aim to change the world, though; sometimes a simple purchase is the result of an emotion we don’t even notice. Who hasn’t fallen for those irresistible menus that win us over with mouth-watering images of food? Shiny, springy cheeses, perfectly toasted bread, creamy ice cream… We’re not savouring them, but is anyone else getting hungry around here?
We are very used to visual and tactile marketing, but what about the scent marketing trend? Today, companies are challenged to stand out from the competition and occupy a privileged place in the minds of consumers. Scent is one way to do this.
The rise of scent marketing
In the world of techniques to improve strategic communication, scent marketing is gaining prominence. It is based on using specific scents in your business to connect with emotions. As mentioned before, the idea is to influence the buying process and even the mood of employees.
Although it is the least exploited within sensory marketing, it is probably the most powerful, capable of staying in the memory for a long time. Who hasn’t had a flashback to their childhood when smelling candyfloss at a fair? Or walking into an Abercrombie Fitch shop, where the scent is so distinctive that it is impossible not to associate it with the brand. Even when you pass a Lush shop, the smell of fresh, natural products envelops you and automatically transports you into their personal care universe. These fragrances are so distinctive that you recognise them instantly, without even needing to see the logo or the shop.
So we come to the end of this aromatic journey, where we have discovered that scent marketing is not a passing trend, but a real secret weapon in the arsenal of brands. So the next time you walk into a shop and are enveloped by a delicious scent, remember: it’s not chance, it’s strategy. And if you find yourself buying more than you planned, don’t worry: it’s not you, it’s your nose that has decided to take over – who knew a good fragrance could be so convincing!
Now, go and conquer the world, one puff at a time – we’ll smell more later!
