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Stores smell success with scent branding

Will scent branding equal the smell of success for retailers?

Date published: 4/9/2006

By KELLY HANNON

he next time you're in a hotel lobby, take a deep breath.

You could catch a whiff of almonds. Or lemongrass.

It's not your imagination. It's scent branding.

Technically, pumping an aroma into a store to spark sales is not a new marketing concept.

Supermarkets have long placed fans in their bakeries, to waft the smell of freshly baked bread and cookies down the aisles, said Margaret Mi, professor of business administration at the University of Mary Washington.

Then there's the powerful allure of the new-car smell, she said.

"A lot of smells set off memories," Mi said. "So if you have a certain perfume or baked treat or coffee scent, people might associate that with good times."

But companies such as International Flavors & Fragrances and ScentAir are taking aroma marketing to new levels of sophistication and science.

Not content with pumping out generic scents like vanilla or lavender, companies are having firms concoct original fragrances. That way, customers eventually learn to recognize the perfumed smell and associate it with the hotel or store.

And scents are moving beyond air. New York-based International Flavors & Fragrance has the capability to imbue linens, carpet and paper products with a signature scent.

Frequent fliers might appreciate walking into a hotel room with an identical scent every night, even if they're in a different city.

"Whether you're staying in Shanghai or San Francisco, the comfort of feeling, smelling, like you're in the same place when you're never home is really appealing," said Melissa Sachs, spokeswoman for IFF.

In the Fredericksburg area, Paramount's Kings Dominion is a client of ScentAir, according to the company's Web site. International Flavors did not reveal specific clients except for two stores, Samsung and Foot Locker, although a spokeswoman said negotiations are under way with a major hotel line.

Travelers are bound to start encountering the phenomenon at theme parks, hotels, and department stores.

For instance, Bloomingdale's hired ScentAir to create matching scents for each department.

In the infant clothing area, shoppers smell baby powder. When they slip into swimwear, they detect coconut in the air. Lilac is wafted through lingerie. During the holidays, the smell of chocolate, sugar cookies and evergreen is piped into the store.

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Date published: 4/9/2006