ODM attended the June 23rd seminar at the Retail Asia Expo 2010, in Hong Kong: Scent in retail environment: How to increase brand recall and create a more pleasurable shopping experience by Elma Klistsie, director of Business Scents Solutions, Brand Visionnaire Ltd,

A few key points from this seminar:

  • First of all, consumers are bombarded visually with ads, however using a scent strategy in marketing is uncommon, triggers emotions and a higher recall rate. Indeed, the scent is linked to our limbic system, the part of the brain that processes emotions and memories.
  • Secondly, by focusing on the scent aspect when promoting a product, consumers are more likely to notice and buy the product. Elma Klistsie argued that according to a Canadian study, a consumer is three times more likely to buy a product promoted with scent than a product promoted without.
  • Thirdly, scent adds value to a product i.e.: scented toilet paper is thought to be of better quality than basic toilet paper. Furthermore, if the room is scented, consumers spend more time shopping, and purchasing and revisiting become more likely . IKEA noticed that its sales increased by 6% in a scented environment, consumers stayed longer and became loyal.

However, you may ask: why is the use of a scent strategy in marketing so uncommon? Adding a fragrance to a product can harm its image if it is too strong, too weak, or if it is not appropriate. Hence it is necessary to develop the “right” one, bearing in mind that a global scent that would appeal to a worldwide audience does not exist.

Adding the right scent factor to the promotion of a product clearly changes in a positive way its perception made by potential consumers: the product appears more valuable, more uncommon, the brand is more remembered and associated to emotions, and finally the purchasing rate increases. Hence the scent marketing strategy needs to be further explored…

ODM have vast experience manufacturing with scents in Asia thanks to experience with wine aroma games, scented pens, and aroma diffusers..