Can you imagine a life with anosmia?
Probably not, because you have no idea what anosmia is, and if you do – we’re impressed. For those of you that don’t know, it means you can’t smell. Think for a moment what it would be like to lose this sense. No aroma of freshly baked cookies, cut grass, or roses; no detection of sour milk, a gas leak, or smoke from a fire. Our sense of smell is important to our other senses of as well. When we have a cold or stuffy nose, we lose up to 80% of our sense of taste.
It’s clear that our sense of smell is useful, but how does it relate to business? Using smell in branding can really help a brand stand out. The sense of smell is most closely linked to our memory – probably because it influences 75% of our daily emotions. Think about an up-scale open house. The sense-savvy realtor may have put cookies in the oven just before the showing was about to start. The scent of freshly baked cookies probably evoked a positive memory in every person walking through the house, whether they noticed it or not. Those potential buyers may not remember the realtor’s name or what the neighborhood was called, but they will remember how walking into that house made them feel, and that feeling will stay with them long after they leave the house.
So, what does your brand smell like? Some are easy, Starbucks smells like coffee and Crayola crayons have a distinct smell; but some are more difficult. What is the scent of a landscaping company? It doesn’t have to be as cut and dry as an actual smell, a brand’s scent can be more abstract. It might be a feeling of relief that comes from freshly cut grass – something that has a scent. You can use this aspect of your sense profile to develop marketing collateral and find imagery, colors, and other designed aspects that are consistent with your brand.
Still skeptical? Think of a baby, it has a very distinct “baby” smell. Now answer this: does Johnson and Johnson smell like a baby, or does the baby smell like Johnson and Johnson? Talk about being sensitized!