Perfume branding or scent marketing involves the use of fragrances and aromas to evoke positive associations with your brand in the mind of the customer.
While this is effective in the physical world through the use of a fragrance diffuser, it would be natural to presume that digital marketing cannot really make use of this technique since it takes place in the digital realm. After all, one cannot send a scent across the Internet without the use of highly specialised and expensive technologies that most people do not have access to.
However, scent marketing can indeed be cleverly used in digital marketing through the use of something called scent-related imagery.
Scent-related Imagery
Scent-related imagery makes use of evocative pictures and videos to visually illustrate something that represents the smell that you wish to evoke.
A good example of this might be a cup of coffee, the image of which can elicit a similar set of mental processes that might occur upon actually smelling the wonderful aroma of freshly ground coffee beans. Although you can’t actually smell the coffee in reality, the brain’s reaction to the visual stimuli is similar in that it recalls the scent and then responds to how that scent might make you feel.
Scent-related imagery uses visual cues like these to elicit the memory of certain scents and then associate those scent memories with the brand in question.
Scent-related Audio
Scent-related audio works in much the same way as scent-related imagery, except instead of using visual cues to elicit scent memories, audio cues are used.
This can be a little more tricky and somewhat less effective than visual stimuli, although it can still be quite powerful. It is especially effective when used in conjunction with visual imagery ‒ as in videos ‒ to convey the idea of the smell.
To go back to the coffee example, the unmistakable sound of hot water bubbling through a percolator can have a fairly visceral response in the customer’s mind, as the imagined smell of freshly brewed coffee begins to take shape.
Mild Hyperphantasia
Using scent-related imagery and audio to trigger the memory of a smell in the mind of the customer is making use of something called hyperphantasia.
While true hyperphantasia is a rare condition, mild olfactory hyperphantasia is more common and can be used to trigger fairly vivid recollections of smells. This technique can be experienced by anyone, especially when they see an evocative image that elicits memories associated with a certain smell.
Even if the person cannot physically smell anything, their brain will still undergo similar mental processes as it would if they could actually smell the scent. The reason for this is that the olfactory system is closely connected to the limbic system, which is where the brain processes emotional responses and memories. When we smell something or even imagine the smell, memories and emotions associated with that smell are automatically linked in our brain.
Therefore, an image that evokes a memory of a certain smell can trigger the same connections to memories and emotions. By using carefully selected scent-related imagery and audio, you can effectively trick the minds of your customers into imagining certain smells, which can then evoke the feelings you want customers to feel.
For more scent marketing insights and for access to one of the widest ranges of fragrance oils in South Africa from our perfume factory in Johannesburg, contact us at Scent.ology today!
