Smell = A Competitive Advantage
We love the new blog by “5 Blogs Before Lunch” talking about the power of smell in 2007. According to the blog, consumers in 2007 will need to take a deep breath and get ready for an olfactory onslaught: nostrils are becoming a target for marketers. Advertising Age has just named scents as an expected top ad trend in 2007.
The blog goes onto cite recent examples of where the power of smell will be used to sell.
1. Kraft Foods – one million People Magazine subscribers got a special holiday issue featuring “rub and smell” ads for products such as cherry Jell-O and white fudge Chips Ahoy.
2. Pepsico promotions have included print ads, coupons and store signs infused with the new soft drink’s fruit and French vanilla fragrances.
3. Verizon Wireless stores in the Northeast used chocolate “scent strips” to hype LG Electronics new mobile phone and music player named Chocolate.
We have also recognized the power of scent and believe that we will see an increasing number of companies using “smell” to not only sell products, but to create better customer experiences.
As mentioned in our previous blog – the Mandarin Oriental is using the five senses, including smell, to create a differentiated customer experience.
We recently visited the Marriott Hotel in Miami and were flooded with scents, that were not very appealing, but it was obvious they were trying to appeal to the senses.
We believe that more and more companies will try to appeal to consumers' sense of smell. Having said that, they need to be careful that they are creating appeal for their customers - unlike our experience at the Marriott, as all we wanted to do was to exit the hotel and get a "breath of fresh air"!
What is your comany doing to appeal to your consumers’ sense of smell?