Wednesday, October 15, 2008

Psssst! That Building Isn't Wearing Any Perfume!

I remember when it was enough to do sheetrock, add paint, furniture, rugs and drapes. At that point, you considered your building to be fully dressed. I also remember typewriters and telephones that didn't take messages for you. Come to think of it, I remember when you couldn't type any old string of words into Google and...

But I stray from the topic of indecent exposure in public spaces. This isn't about naked people, it's about naked spaces. Go downtown, to your favorite resort, casino or theme park and smell the chocolate or fresh laundry. So you thought it came from the merchandise or the goodies grandma was cooking in the back?
Uhn, uhn.

Avery Gilbert, psychologist, smell scientist and entrepreneur devotes the Zombies at the Mall chapter of his new book, What the Nose Knows - The Science of Scent in Everyday Life to this issue: "Nasal persuasion is happening everywhere." MGM Grand in Las Vegas has up to nine scents going around the property all at once. At its own peril, Starbucks switched from fresh-ground to vacuum-sealed coffee. Something was missing from the consumer experience and sales slumped. Another Classic Coke story - Starbucks reversed course.


Marketers know that smells are a direct route to emotional connection with consumers. But is it true that all good smells will promote commerce? Gilbert explains "the congruency problem." Female students purchased more satin sleepwear in a lily of the valley scented experimental setting than they did when a sea mist spray was deployed. We want to connect what we see with what we smell. Scent must convey meaning related to the product or service for sale. The success of scent campaigns to encourage people to stay in a store longer, perceive the goods as trendier, or try a new product, according to Gilbert, depends on style, taste and culture. He comments that "marketers need a Nielsen rating for the nostrils."

What The Nose Knows chock-full of cultural, psychological, and smell-ogical insights conveyed in zesty, flowing prose. Avery Gilbert's style is erudite yet warm and friendly as your favorite uncle. Enjoy a great read extending far beyond the topic of this post!


Other good books dealing in scent marketing are: Whiff! The Revolution of Scent Communication in the Information Age, by C. Russell Brumfield and Brand Sense: Build Powerful Brands Through Touch, Taste, Smell, Sight and Sound by Martin Lindstrom. Raise your hand if you remember The Hidden Persuaders, by Vance Packard.

Scent Branding Notes

Oh, you want to know the notes? In her address to Fragrance Business, 2008, Sue Phillips, President of Scenterprises, Ltd. reported that hotels, casinos and retailers are using these notes and blends to delight their patrons and brand the experience: linden, green tea, geranium and cedar, ginger and white tea, bergamot and jasmine, lavender and sage, and hyacinth.

Sue suggests that businesses consider building materials, archictecture, colors and geography when considering a scent theme. Most importantly, she adds, the target customer mood must drive fragrance development.

Tuesday, October 14, 2008

Candle Therapy, Yankee Style


Home scenting goes upscale as your new taper exudes tobacco, fig or green bamboo.


We are ever-more-hip to the great mood a good smell can launch and home scenters now deal routinely with our mental health.

Rick Ruffalo, CEO and the marketing face of Yankee Candle, explained the new possibilities to a group of fragrance experts in September, 2008. Fragrance is used to enhance and remember events, to create environments and moods. Florals and musks for romance, vanilla and spice as invitations home, ozone and pine to relax, licorice and cinnamon to promote alertness and lavender for sweet dreams. Yankee Candle has innovated with No-Smella, the new anti-citronella that expels mosquitoes but refrains from competition with the scent of your favorite hot dog, hamburger and sausage. Highbrow stuff.

Last November, I had occasion to watch gifted scent critic Luca Turin's face as he smelled a votive of Yankee's Macintosh for the first time. "A date with Macintosh" was in order, he allowed.

Yankee Candle’s flagship store in South Deerfield, Massachusetts, affectionately dubbed The Scenter of the Universe, is a Disneyworld of home decorating products and scent experiences. This winter, you can buy candles in a room where it snows every four minutes.

The Future of Home Scent – Dieters Beware

Despite the rise of sophisticated notes like leather, sage, geranium and white tea in our ambient aromas, the gourmands reign supreme. Make no mistake, vanilla is here to stay! Home scent developers are expanding the dessert palate with fruit salad, marshmallow, crème brulée and butter cream. I was all nose, er, ears, as Karen Young from The Young Group shared her outlook on the smell of my house, and yours, at Fragrance Business 2008, an industry conference held last month.


How did Karen know I'm not spending as much time cleaning as I used to? She was ready with solutions. There are some home scenting jobs too tough for even the butteriest, creamiest vanilla. Bring the outside in to cover the smell of pets and children. That’s what purchasers of candles, diffusers and plug-ins are doing these days. Greener, less floral scents, clean and ozone notes fill the air. And for that touch of "haute candle-ture," expect new combinations of sweet and sour, fruits harvested from remote global locations, spice, wood and wine.

L'Artisan Parfumeur Coaches the Fragrance Industry

I recently heard François Duquesne of L'Artisan Parfumeur speak on the urgent need for aromatic reforms of all sorts. He urged a revival of authenticity, artistry and genuine personal engagement with fragrance consumers. What is the best way to develop and market scent? Kill the focus group, he commanded, and live with a few flops to staunch the flow of scents that are "too perfect to make a difference." Down with newness for its own sake. Stop training sales clerks and asking them to recall and recite marketing literature. Instead, forget the party line and take them to the fields where ingredients are grown, have them meet the perfumers and tell their own personal stories. Some distinctions that we make today may not be helpful. What is "niche?" In his native France, François explained: "niche is where the dog sleeps."

Dessert, Not Just for Dessert - More Ways to Satisfy that Sweet Tooth

These days, grown women gleefully adorn themselves with eau de cotton candy. Perhaps this does not conform to your standards for olfactory refinement. Still, there's that urge to pig out without gaining weight. Fear not, Sephora can outfit you with dozens of vanilla variations in a choic of eau de toilette, bath gel or lotion. Decisions, decisions. Do you want your vanilla with a side of mocha, apricot, coconut or grapefruit? My theory on our love affair with vanilla: and the other yummy smells: Name one friend or relative who was ever mugged in a dark alley by a chocolate chip cookie.