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In the 1990s, olfactory marketing emerged in the United States as businesses began to analyze the potential of scents to influence consumer emotions and behaviors. More than 30 years after its discovery, olfactory marketing has become an advertising technique used by brands worldwide to provide complete sensory experiences for their customers.
At The Aroma Trace, we specialize in olfactory marketing or olfactory branding in the United States, and we want to explain what it is and the benefits of this strategy.
The sense of smell is powerful; it generates sensations, evokes memories, and allows for a deep emotional connection with consumers. As specialists in olfactory marketing, we use scents as a cornerstone to develop a unique brand identity that attracts customers, retains them, provides memorable sensory experiences, and influences their behavior.
The sense of smell is highly complex. When we breathe, thousands of molecules floating in the air enter the nose and stimulate receptors that, in turn, send messages to the brain, producing a reaction interpreted as a smell.
The olfactory nerve is closely related to the limbic system, the part of the brain that controls emotions and memories. Therefore, when we perceive a scent, our emotions change, we may feel happy, have a clearer mind, relax, and perceive our surroundings differently.
Did you know that 75% of the emotions we experience daily are generated by our sense of smell? Thanks to the relationship between smell and emotions, we are more likely to remember something we see and associate it with something positive than to remember something we only see, hear, or touch.
Olfactory marketing uses special fragrances at specific contact points to provide sensory experiences for consumers, promoting products, attracting customers, driving purchases, influencing consumer behavior, and increasing sales.
If you’re still skeptical about the benefits of olfactory marketing, think about how many times you’ve entered a coffee shop because of the delightful aroma of coffee. Or maybe your favorite bookstore attracts you with its woody smell. Or you’ve noticed that the scent at your dentist’s office or favorite spa makes you feel relaxed as soon as you walk in.
There are many benefits to implementing an olfactory marketing strategy:
While it may seem like a relatively new technique, olfactory marketing has existed since the beginning of humanity. Scents have been used throughout history, making it a technique with proven benefits because it utilizes the one sense that cannot be turned off: smell.
One reason why olfactory branding is a successful strategy is that consumers have learned to ignore visual or auditory stimuli, but the nose continuously captures scents, making it impossible to ignore them.
Olfactory marketing generates positive, pleasant sensory experiences that consumers perceive on an unconscious level, associating fragrances with luxury, sophistication, relaxation, and the values the brand wants to convey.
Moreover, the use of scents makes consumers associate places with pleasant experiences, sensations, and memories. This not only attracts customers but also increases their dwell time in stores, coffee shops, or specific areas of department stores.
Scents can improve mood due to the physiological reaction they trigger in the body. For example, citrus scents stimulate the production of serotonin, the happiness hormone, and reduce levels of norepinephrine, the stress hormone.
The use of scents not only induces happiness in consumers but also in employees, thereby increasing productivity, improving customer service, and fostering good humor in establishments.
Brands can create an “odotype,” a unique olfactory logo that consumers associate with their products and services as a point of differentiation or added value, which can foster customer loyalty.
American consumers are constantly seeking new shopping experiences. Olfactory marketing is a customer-centric technique that provides memorable, personalized experiences that captivate through the most powerful human sense: smell.
Olfactory marketing is applied across various sectors. For example, the aroma of freshly baked cookies is classic in real estate, while the scent of flowers is common in services targeted toward women, such as beauty salons, spas, and clothing stores.
Hotels use scents in different areas to create a sense of luxury, relax guests, improve their rest, and motivate them to return. Restaurants and coffee shops, on the other hand, use scents to whet the appetite and attract consumers.
In department stores, scents are used in different areas to attract potential customers. For example, the smell of talcum powder is used in baby clothing and products sections, while aquamarine scents are used in men’s clothing sections.
In medical, dental, or gynecological offices, scents like lavender are used to relax patients. Meanwhile, in law or accounting firms, woody scents are used to induce a sense of wisdom and experience.
Virtually any type of business can take advantage of olfactory marketing to create emotional sensory experiences.
Do new cars really have a “new car smell”? Car dealerships and manufacturers use artificial, long lasting scents to make buyers enjoy the “new car smell” of their vehicle.
Rolls Royce owes much of its success to introducing a fragrance in the 1965 Silver Cloud model, which is still sprayed under the seats to recreate the scent and give drivers a sense of luxury.
Another example is Burger King, which disperses the scent of burgers in its sales points to induce appetite and attract customers.
Perhaps one of the best examples of olfactory branding is Starbucks, which scents its coffee shops with the aroma of freshly brewed coffee so that people passing by can smell it and feel compelled to enter and experience the brand.
If you want to start implementing olfactory marketing strategies, you should work with The Aroma Trace, where we have specialists in sensory architecture to offer much more than just a good smell: a comprehensive, personalized aromatic experience that meets your company’s objectives.
At The Aroma Trace, we are a leading brand in space aromatization. Since 2006, we have been creating sensory experiences for consumers. We create personalized fragrances that reflect the essence of your brand and captivate your customers.
Do you want your business to be unforgettable? The customized fragrances from The Aroma Trace create environments that invite customers to stay, stimulate the senses, and generate positive emotions, thereby strengthening your customers’ connection with your brand.
Contact us today to discover how the power of aroma can transform your space!
The relationship between scents and marketing has been researched for at least two decades, although their benefits have been harnessed since ancient times. If you don’t believe us, check out these facts:
- Adults can distinguish more than 10,000 different scents.
- The limbic system that processes smells is very close to areas related to memory and emotions. That’s why scents can remind us of people or moments experienced many years ago.
- The sense of smell is more developed in women than in men. Additionally, men and women perceive scents differently, which is why women prefer sweeter fragrances.
- Scents influence the perception of flavors.
- The Egyptians were pioneers in the use of scents, as they used aromatic oils in rituals because they believed they had magical powers and connected them to another world.
- In ancient Greece, perfumed oils were used in places like baths because they were believed to have therapeutic properties.
- A study conducted at the Hilton Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas showed a 54% increase in gambling revenues when a slot machine area was scented.
- Vanilla is the most recognized scent in the world. It is used in powders, coffee shops, clothing stores, and hundreds of personal care products.
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At The Aroma Trace, we specialize in olfactory marketing in Spain. Through experiences that awaken people's senses via smell, we reach the subconscious of buyers to forge a powerful bond that encourages purchases, loyalty, and repeat visits.
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Olfactory marketing in Mexico is a strategy that has been winning hearts through the sense of smell for over a decade. Hundreds of companies have found that scents create closer relationships with customers by providing unique and memorable experiences. Today at The Aroma Trace, we'll tell you what olfactory marketing is, its benefits, strategies, and successful cases of brands that have embraced aromatic experiences for their customers.