Scent Branding and How it Works

 

The Science: Research studies show that scent can enhance the way we evaluate objects, environments, people, and our willingness to spend.

This is biological and linked to our survival. Almost instantly our brain notifies us if a smell should be avoided or not as it could be dangerous. While our other sensory input must first be interpreted, olfactory information evokes an instant emotional and physical reaction and thus influences our experience on a deep biological level.

This feeling evoked by olfactory stimuli then extends to environments, products, services, even people, forming an association between the scent and our surrounding world.

 
 

Scent Branding: Scent branding is the intentional linking of a brand to a specific scent. When this is done successfully, the scent alone can recall the memory of the brand.

Enhancing a brand with a pleasant scent already has great benefits, but linking the right scent to a brand can augment the experience further. By making sure that the scent reflects the emotion that the brand is looking to evoke in their customers this emotion can be accentuated, by stimulating the same emotion through more than one sensory channel. Furthermore, when the scent works in unison with visual, auditory and textural brand elements it becomes more emotionally impactful and memorable…

yup, its subtle and invisible and can transform the experience of a moment, a product and even a service.

 

 The Process of Developing a Scent "Logo"

 

Olfactive Analysis & Design

Future of Smell’s approach is deeply rooted in research and analysis based on years of work designing scent strategies for brands across categories around the world.

Brand attributes, values, customers, and goals are first studied and then translated into a fragrance story. This story can then be brought to life by a master perfumer to reflect all aspects of the brand olfactively or closely matched to a scent in an existing scent library.

The more unique the scent the better as it is unlikely that people will already have an association to it – allowing the scent to be linked emotionally to your brand alone.

 
 
 
 
 

Implementation of Brand Scent

Once a scent is developed, it is crucial to use the scent at key brand touchpoints across a customer's journey in order to form the emotional scent-bond between brand and customer.

A branded scent can be diffused in environments, activated with sensors, and embedded in products and packaging. We work with world leaders in scent diffusion, material science to bring your unique scent experience to life.

 

What does your brand smell like?

Scent Branding for the Future

As products and services become embedded in our environments, their visual logos become increasingly invisible. Currently, Alexa speaks to us and sensors in our homes can automatically understand and regulate our spaces. A haptic sensation, a blinking light, a sonic melody…Branded cues identify when an interaction has taken place, when something works or when there is an issue. However, beyond these functional cues, how can brands further tap into our emotions and accompany us more intimately on our journeys in the future?

“A scent alone can alter our perception of the efficacy of products like shampoo, detergent or disinfectant. ”

Our sense of smell is the only sense that is directly linked to emotion and memory. We can recall smells with 65% accuracy even after 12 months compared to visual recall which sinks to 50% after 3 months! It is also the only sense that we cannot turn off. When smell is used as a design element, it has the power to heighten the perceived quality of a product or service and form lasting emotional bonds. In a study , a scented product significantly improved consumers’ memory of the product, its features and other elements associated to it, i.e. its branding.


Yet, we don’t smell in isolation. Our brain combines sensory information from all our senses to create a complete picture. Even seemingly unrelated sensory cues link together in ways we would not expect. For instance: A scent alone can alter our perception of the efficacy of products like shampoo, detergent or disinfectant. Published studies even illustrate a correlation between scent and fabric softness and certain smells with certain shapes.

Scent Branding

Now imagine the smell of crayons… Did you know that the scent of Crayola crayons is among the most recognizable scents for American adults? And that the scent is actually a side effect of the material Crayola used for their crayons, beef fat?!

On the other hand, many scents today are intentionally designed. So much so that it is difficult to walk into a hotel and not encounter a branded scent. Some airlines have already jumped on the bandwagon and one of the earliest to do so was Singapore Airlines. The scent created in 1990 named “Stefan Floridian Waters” is still a part of the Singapore airlines experience. Probably the most globally recognizable signature scent is Abercrombie & Fitch’s, “Fierce” that up until a few years ago would waft through every mall in America and across streets all over the world.

““In a study , a scented product significantly improved consumers’ memory of the product, its features and other elements associated to it”

If our sense of smell is directly linked to memory, emotion and associative learning, can we just pick a scent from a generic library and merge it with a logo to create a brand scent? Theoretically it is possible. However, beware, studies indicate that when the scent is not contextually relevant, it does not have the same effect of enhancing consumer perception and sales in a retail environment.

It is also less likely that a generic scent will create an emotional and sensorial connection with the brand and what it stands for. The better the fit between brand and scent, the easier it is for our brain to perceive them as one. A stronger emotional bond makes the identity more impactful.

Translating a brand into an olfactory signature requires an analysis of a brand's values, history, emotional territory, the target market and the olfactory associations with each of these elements. Linking the findings together with current market research, a framework is developed upon which a master perfumer designs a brand’s personality and positioning into a scent. The process of unique scent creation connects brand and consumer on an olfactory dimension. It also allows for control and specifications of the quality of ingredients being used.

Once the scent is developed it should be present in all relevant brand touchpoints. Traditionally it would be embedded in materials, fabrics, and emitted in the air. In the future a branded scent or system of scents could go even further… 

Sensory Branding System

The auto and airline industries have developed multi-sensory brands for decades. Both build on their customers being in contained environments for a certain time period. A brand therefore has a large amount of control over the entire journey, including the look and feel, materials and fabrics, flavors, sounds, color, in addition to the air and scent inside these enclosed spaces. Entire teams are dedicated to each sensory experience of a consumer, not just for aesthetics and functionality, but also for safety reasons. No detail is overlooked. Everything has to work together to enhance and ensure the best customer experience.

““Each sensory element must work together to reinforce a brand promise.”

Not all brands have as much control of an entire environment as those in the industries mentioned above, but it does not mean they cannot create a sensory brand. Singapore Airlines created a brand that touches on every one of our five senses. Mastercard is on a mission to create a multisensory brand as well and has even developed brand flavors. In the case of sound, both Siemens and Mastercard not only designed sonic logos, but have created sounds for different touchpoints such as events, telephone holds, and at point of sale. These sounds are all unique and relevant yet clearly derive from the master sound logo; hence, they were developed as a system.

To create an integrated system for a brand requires sensory disciplines to come together and interpret a brand’s assets through each sensory lens with a thorough investigation into all existing sensory touchpoints. Each sensory element must work together to reinforce a brand promise and forge a powerful connection between a brand and a customer. The aim is to map the customer journey, leverage the legacy and connotation of each touchpoint, and discovery new opportunities for sensory enhancement.

How will you use the invisible senses to build trust and adapt to your customer’s evolving needs? Are you ready for scent, design and technology to come together and take your brand on a sensory journey?

 

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