The Role of Scent in Building a Brand Identity through Scent Marketing

When we talk about brands, people often picture logos, fonts, and colors. Sound sometimes comes next, like a jingle or a voice. But smell reaches us differently. It is primal, tied to instinct and survival, and it connects directly to the brain regions for memory and emotion. No other sense has this kind of access. That makes scent marketing a powerful, if often overlooked, tool for identity.

Memory, Emotion, and Instinct in Emotional Branding

Smell bypasses conscious filters. It can pull someone into a memory or trigger a feeling before thought has time to catch up. A familiar scent from childhood, like Play Doh, can instantly unlock entire scenes. That is why the brand trademarked its smell. The same is true for airlines and hotels that create signature fragrances to link emotion with experience. Singapore Airlines is a prime example. Since 1990 its cabins have carried a fragrance called Stefan Floridian Waters. The scent was chosen to feel clean and calming, and over time it has become part of how passengers remember the airline itself. The scent here is not decoration. It is a brand memory.

Products with a Signature Fragrance for Emotional Branding

Some products carry an olfactory identity by nature. Crayola crayons, Tide detergent, and Nivea cream are recognized not only by sight but also by smell. Others, like Melissa shoes, build it intentionally. The Brazilian footwear company adds a fruity sweet bubblegum scent  to its shoes, a scent strong enough to be trademarked. This kind of design shows how smell can turn into a defining product feature. The key is relevance. If a scent does not connect with the brand’s story or context, it risks feeling artificial. When it fits, the scent deepens recognition and loyalty. This is a clear example of emotional branding, where scent plays a pivotal role in connecting customers emotionally to a brand.

Scent and Culture in Sensory Branding

Smell is not just biology. It carries cultural meaning. Citrus may suggest freshness in one market but something entirely different in another. Incense can feel spiritual in some places and overwhelming in others. For this reason, creating a brand scent is as much about anthropology as it is about chemistry. The fragrance must align with values, cultural associations, and the expectations of the people who will encounter it. When it does, scent becomes a cultural signal as well as an emotional one. This highlights how sensory branding connects deeper with the values of your target audience.

A Multisensory Identity & the Power of Scent Marketing

We rarely experience smell on its own. It blends with sight, sound, and touch to shape how we judge spaces and products. A fragrance can make fabric feel softer or cleaning products seem more effective. Because of this, brands that succeed with scent marketing usually work across senses. A hotel lobby’s lighting, music, and fragrance reinforce one another. A car company tunes the sound of its doors along with the materials and finishes. Singapore Airlines again shows how discipline across all senses builds a coherent system. Smell is powerful within this mix because it operates on memory and instinct, anchoring the rest.

Looking Ahead

The future of scent branding should not only focus on recognition and status but also on care. Smell has been shown to lower anxiety, support relaxation, and make environments feel safe. Hospitals and clinics are already exploring how certain fragrances can ease stress for patients. Workplaces can use scent to create a sense of calm, while schools might use it to support focus. When brands use smell not just to impress but to genuinely improve the atmosphere for people, the impact lasts far longer.

The smell is invisible, but its influence is immediate. It can help a passenger feel cared for, a shopper feel at home, or a patient feel less afraid. When scent marketing is used with purpose, it builds trust and creates memories that are remembered not only as “branded experiences” but as moments of comfort. For brands, that may be the most powerful legacy of all.