Can You Smell the Popcorn: What Scent Marketing is All About

Scent marketing is a very intriguing and abstract form of marketing compared to conventional advertising. Companies around the globe use this form of marketing to attract consumers and make sales, but the thing is this subtle approach is very much less noticed. Typically, one would be bombarded with visual, audio and even physical advertisements such as t.v. and radio ads., or ads from the local newspapers with thousands of coupons to be cut out and taken to the local market. However, what is this little known approach that is scent marketing and how exactly does it work? Let us first become a bit reacquainted with the traditional forms of marketing very briefly.

T.V. Marketing & Advertising:

With television, the obvious lies within commercials. Commercials are the way businesses get the word out about things they are selling or services they are offering. The airwaves are flooded with t.v. adds just about every 8-12 minutes of a program one is watching. Did you know that a half-hour sitcom is actually only about 18-22 minutes long. The rest of the half-hour lies with commercials. Of course, these shows wouldn't exist without the rude interruptions of these drawn out and repeated annoyances, so the two work hand-n-hand.

Radio Marketing & Advertising:

Radio ads can seem even more annoying than t.v. commercials for they are drawn out even longer. The average radio commercial bit lasts for about 1.8 minutes but can easily last for over 3 minutes. It can be quite a headache to sit through countless repeated commercials that infiltrate our subconscious which is why many stations have developed commercial free listening. It seems that just when you think the music is about to come on, another set of heartbreaking commercials sing their tune. However, these commercials work in the same hand-n-hand format as with television programs & commercials. Ever hear a radio dis-jockey say: "It's time to pay some bills", just before taking a commercial break?

Physical Marketing & Advertising:

This is where a lot of paper gets wasted if we do not have the discipline to recycle. Especially on Sunday's, the newspaper can be filled with an abundance of coupon offers from just about every retailer known to man. It can become an arts & crafts project trying to cut and organize all those coupons. Of course there are also banner ads and billboard ads along city streets, highways and other facilities that allow solicitations where these physical ads may be noticed.

As a whole, many of us are well aware of these forms of advertisements, mainly because they are so saturated within our daily lives. Yet, when it comes to scent marketing, one can be a victim of the sale and not even know it.

Scent Marketing:

Scent marketing deals with just what it sounds like; the use of scents to market one's business. It involves a strategic formula of factors such as scent machines, brand fragrances and of course people. Think about your last trip to the movie theater. What was the first thing that you may have noticed, or perhaps smelled upon entry? If you said the smell of popcorn, then you have been victimized by the advertising scheme that is scent marketing. Not so much a bad thing, scent marketing is simply a method of attracting consumers by way of their sense of smell. The idea is that a company will release a fragrance of some sort in the air to allow it to travel to the subconscious minds of consumers. This aroma is hoped to have a lasting effect on the consumer even when they are nowhere near the facility in which the brand fragrance originated. Given that the fragrance was a pleasant one, the consumer will be reminded of the business in a pleasant way which will then lead them back to do business with that company again. This type of marketing is widely practiced amongst companies who have physical business establishments. It will be of no use nor possible to advertise this way, say through the internet. Although, others methods like magazines samples of perfumes or sample fragrances shipped through the mail are ways to use this form of advertising without an actual facility or setup.

The use of scent machines is the method at deriving these brand fragrances and it is vigorously worked at by a company's marketing department until a successful brand fragrance is reached. The aroma must be pleasant, tolerable and of course non-threatening on one's health. Once a satisfying and distinct scent has been reached, a company will then test it out on their consumers. Yes, the consumer in this case is the guinea pig without knowing it much of the time, but once again-these scents must be environmentally safe or else big-businesses would be in serious trouble. Releasing this brand fragrance isn't just done at some random point in time. Careful and strategic planning is comprised for this step too. A company will generally wait until their facility is packed with shoppers before they release their brand fragrance. Also as backup, the company concentrates on providing the best experience to all of its visitors throughout their shopping experience with them. If the consumer leaves the establishment with big smiles and is seemingly happy about their shopping experience with a particular company, then this thought will stick, for when they may smell a scent that reminds them of the place from which they finished shopping in the future, they will potentially return for more business dealings with that company. The consumer may not even realize their sudden urge to simply go out for Mcdonald fries after an employee randomly walked passed them, but their subconscious mind says: "Mmmmm! It smells like french fries. Hey! Suddenly, I think I want to go out for some Mcdonald fries. I am hungry!."

Pretty nifty and clever is this old, but seemingly new tactic toward advertising and marketing. It will only enhance with time, as companies are constantly thinking of new ways to attract and lure the consumer. Next time you are out and about, take notice to any distinct smells around you, particularly when shopping. Just be sure to do it in an inconspicuous manner, as people may think that you had been hypnotized into thinking that you are actually a dog.