Arrive Magazine - July/August, 2008

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Too Much Information

So how can firms deploy fragrance to seduce rather than assail? First, technology has forsaken the traditional scent strips and cards that reeked in magazines whether you liked the odor or not. Instead, drops of oil are embedded in printing ink and are released only when rubbed.

In stores, machines placed in air-conditioning ducts keep a scented mist light—not heavy and sticky. They also release intermittent and varied amounts so our olfactory mechanisms won’t tune them out.

“If you vary the fragrance levels, the olfactory system is more likely to pay attention to it,” says Pamela Dalton, senior research scientist at Monell Chemical Senses Center in Philadelphia, Pa.

Even then, results aren’t guaranteed, says Mark Peltier, president of AromaSys Inc., a firm that creates such equipment—and is challenged by older buildings and their drafts. “Light and noise will go where you aim it. That’s not true with aroma. Air flow is in charge.” And chaos would erupt if every product in a grocery or electronics store emitted its own aroma.

Match Point

Further complicating the quest to make scent into cents are our personalized preferences. Experience creates the associations that lead us to love or loathe an aroma. To sway us, a scent also must be appropriate to surroundings.

“If it’s just a smell, it can be annoying, even when it’s pleasant,” says Peltier. The heavy seaweed and wet rock odor along Oregon’s coast would be nausea-inducing on a Florida beach, where citrus, coconut and vanilla seem right. “And if you took that aroma and put it in a Vail lodge, instead of a woodsy scent, it would be ridiculous. Context is critical.”

The best fragrances evoke a brand’s best attributes. Thus, a clean linen aroma befits Thomas Pink menswear clothiers, says Rachel Herz, Brown University psychologist and author of Scent of Desire ( William Morrow, 2007). “A chocolate smell would have no impact on shoppers, because it’s irrelevant to the product.” But add that smell to a

vending machine and it triples Hershey’s candy sales.

A less tangible connection works for DeBeers Diamond Jewelers in Beverly Hills, whose citrus cocktail aroma simply symbolizes the product. “Bright, sparkling and rich. In that store, I’m feeling

The Nose Knows

“The future is limitless,” says Mark Peltier, president of AromaSys Inc., a firm that creates scent-sending equipment. Among future projects are those that:

• Use distinctive wood and leather notes for each luxury car brand.

• Suit conventions’ themes.

• Ignite spectators’ passions—and taste buds—at sports arenas.

• Calm passengers during flights— and delays.

diamonds,” Herz says. “It augments the products’ perceived value.”

Heaven Scent

A retailer also can generate a scent trail. Most obviously, fudge stores and bakeries send out a lure in malls. A Florida hotel, frustrated with sluggish business at its tucked-away ice-cream stand, piped in the scent of fresh-baked cones. “People found it and sales went up dramatically,” Vogt says.

Other successful ads included a recent Sprite campaign with a lemony fragrance and the playful slogan, “SubLemonal.” And fragrance strips still work, if they are mild. Westin placed an ad in magazines that was so successful the chain added candles and lotions to its unique aroma within six months. Last year, Omni placed blueberry-scented strips in the USA Todays delivered to rooms, to seduce guests into ordering coffee—and muffins.