Logos, tone of voice, a color palette—these are all elements businesses spend time and much of their marketing budgets fine tuning. However, as important as these aspects are, research finds that the more senses a marketing strategy engages, the greater its potential for success. This is especially true with scents and fragrances when applied to advertising, promotions, packaging, and much more.
What Dunkin’ Donuts Can Teach Us
In the article, The Science of Sensory Marketing, the Harvard Business Review explored how marketers and researchers have been exploring the influence aromas have on the decisions consumers make. Among the case studies cited is one involving Dunkin’ Donuts. The company used an atomizer as part of a transit ad campaign in Japan. The ads ran inside municipal buses, and periodically emitted a whiff of fresh coffee into the air. Visits to Dunkin’ outlets near the bus stops increased 16% while sales rose 29% during the campaign. The reason this worked: science.
Science of Scents
When we encounter an aroma with a pleasant association, we reflexively breathe it in. That deep breathing lowers our heart rates and promotes a relaxed feeling. The impact is significant enough that hospitals have begun experimenting with the use of comforting smells to help reduce their patients’ sensation of pain. The aromatherapy people have known this for years.
For a business, the science of scents offers an opportunity to create a similar association of well-being with your products and services.
Inhaling Your Brand Promise
When scents are infused in specialty papers, UV coatings or ink, prospective customers can literally inhale your brand promise when they open an envelope or a handle your packaging. Whether it’s a hint of lavender to calm someone reviewing a loan offering or the air of confidence evoked by the smell of fine leather accompanying a luxury offering, aromas offer subtle opportunities to reinforce your messaging. Scents can also useful at adding value from subscription boxes, reducing buyer’s remorse.
To infuse your marketing strategy with an air of success, contact us. We can suggest the right mix of scents and other special effects screen printing to turn your next campaign or product into a multisensory experience that achieves your sales and marketing goals.
