You can experience a multitude of sensory events whilst running, the weather, diesel fumes, shouts of ” Run Forrest Run” (yes that really happened to me) fried breakfasts cooking away and on occasion the pungent overpowering waft of aftershave.
If it’s the worker waiting for the no. 53 commute or a group of teenage boys the vapour trail can be choking.
So what’s the point of this Davidoff, Paco ramble of old spice and hugo boss?
Isn’t it obvious? To appeal to others, make yourself more attractive or stand out from the crowd. Just look at the adverts that spray across TV, poster sites and magazines especially at Christmas. You too can be a chisel chinned, six pack adonis or is it the wife or girlfriend hoping for that effect by popping the apres rasage in your stocking?
Fragrances can evoke a range of emotional responses, depending on your preference and past experience and marketers have long known its effect on humans.
Take a trip into your local supermarket, actually with some you don’t have to step inside, the smell of freshly baked bread or donoughts hits your olfactory organ before you can say Cyrano de Bergerac. And what glorious emotions do those smells tap into? Comfort, home, warmth, childhood and good food. Bingo the supermarkets have you like Jerry to Tom’s trap of over ripe cheese.
What of other retail smelling techniques?
Freshly mown grass in the DIY store selling mowers
Leather in shoe shops – sounds obvious but it’s better than smelly feet alternative
Vanilla Manadarin and Whisky are smells used by Sony
Beware though…a casino in Las Vegas created a pleasing smell around its slot machines and income grew there by over 40%.
Science has apparently told us that vanilla essence makes women more relaxed and men respond positively to a musk scent – might explain my eclectic wardrobe.
So can smells help your business? Even if you don’t have the footfall of a retail space ofices many companies have adopted a corporate pong to ping staff into productivity, only question might be – do we want to be manipulated in such a way or is it an acceptable tool for the marketers kit bag.
That’s all from me for now, smell you later :-0
