Olfactory marketing: 5 examples of retail stores and luxury hotels

Marketing strategies increasingly focus on the sensory identity of a brand, communicating messages directed to the emotions of its audience. Olfactory marketing is a form of communication that is able to express corporate values, goals and culture through silent but powerful scents.

The olfactory notes we perceive and process through the limbic brain enrich our experience of the world, making it an indelible memory. We are influenced, above all, by the scents we smell, which help us map the outside world through sensations that the rational mind struggles to realise.

The power of olfactory marketing resets the gap, offering brands alternative strategies to communicate their uniqueness. Scent Company’s expertise in the field of olfactory branding can help you creating the fragrance that will turn your brand into a unique experience for your target customers.

 

Examples of olfactory marketing for retail stores and hotels

In his famous 1985 novel ‘Perfume’, Patrick Süskind describes the world of fragrances, saying “Odors have a power of persuasion stronger than that words, appearances, emotions, or will.“. This explains why so many companies are now choosing to communicate through the scent, and to invest in creating multi-sensory experiences.

The retail and hotel industries are two of the sectors that have been most keen to embrace the irresistible charm of exclusive and bespoke fragrances.

 

The vital role of multi-sensory experiences in the hotel sector

More and more hotels and hotel chains are opting for exclusive fragrances in their environments that can be combined with their design, furniture, lighting, music and culinary offerings.

Captivating guests by appealing to their senses allows them to enjoy an enveloping experience that can be transformed into a feeling of pure well-being.

 

What are the main benefits of scent marketing for the hotel industry?

 

  • It creates a familiar atmosphere and transmits positive experiences of well-being
  • It establishes an indelible link between the scent, the hotel and the guest.
  • It influences purchasing behaviors on site.
  • It persuades guests to stay longer in the hotel.
  • It invites guests to return to the hotel, to repeat the experience.
  • It boosts guests’ level of satisfaction.
  • It generates a sense of elegance, care to the details and luxury.
  • It amplifies the brand’s quality in the eyes of the customer.

 

Some examples of scent marketing?

 

  • Luxury hotel in Zermatt:

The most forward-looking luxury hotels in Zermatt decided to work with Scent Company to create special bespoke ambient fragrances for each hotel. The exclusive feel of the scents diffused in the public areas, rooms and wellness centres invite guests to enjoy the time spent in the hotel, and return soon to repeat the experience. In this case, to design a customised olfactory journey we partnered with Puriami, Scent Company’s official distributor for the Swiss market.

 

  • The Mandarin Oriental Wangfujing

The Mandarin Oriental Wangfujing in Beijing pursues an idea of beauty based on balance of forms, details and multi-sensory perceptions. The property is the first hotel of the luxurious chain to open in Beijing and has integrated numerous precious and sophisticated elements into its ambience.

The latest of these is the customised fragrance diffused by Scent Company, which now welcomes guests in the lobby and guides them around the hotel, always making them feel enveloped in a cloud of fragrant exclusivity.

 

Immersive in-store experiences

When designing a retail store or shopping mall, the focus is often on the visual communication (interior design, lighting etc), on the sounds or music, or the tactile sensations of the furnishings or marketing material. Until recently, olfactory communication was generally overlooked.

However, recent researches in the fields of perfumery and neuromarketing have shown that the element with the most power to influence visitors’ purchasing behaviour is indeed the presence of fragrances in the commercial spaces.

A bespoke scent logo, artfully diffused through the space, can significantly boost visitors’ wellbeing and achieve numerous tangible results. For example:

 

  • It encourages purchases and increasing sales (up to 80%, according to the most reliable research);
  • It extends the time spent in the store, leading to upselling or cross selling;
  • It transforms the visit to the boutique or shopping mall in a truly premium experience;
  • Il builds customer loyalty, encouraging them to repeat their positive shopping experience;
  • last but not least, it boosts the staff productivity, serenity, empathy and energy, while improving their mood and their loyalty to the company.

In our Case Studies section you can explore some of our most successful examples of olfactory marketing. Here are a couple of inspiring examples.

 

  • Les Galeries Lafayette Katara Plaza, Doha

Based on the finding that as much as 75% of the emotions we feel daily are influenced by what we smell, Les Galeries Lafayette in Doha invested in the persuasive power of olfactory marketing, creating real sensory sceneries to serve as a communication tool. There are several ambient fragrances that can be discovered within the retail spaces, following the inspiring guideline of the sillage, the scented trail left by the wearer of a fascinating fragrance.

 

  • SKP South in Beijing.

One of China’s most famous luxury shopping malls, SKP South in Beijing chose Scent Company to for its journey through the olfactory marketing.

The goal was to diffuse a fragrance in the mall’s spaces that recalls SKP’s brand values and creates a welcoming atmosphere for the visitors.

The bespoke fragrance allows to breathe in innovation, minimalism, avant-garde and extreme elegance: exactly the right channels to communicate with the shopping mall’s target audience, the Millennials and Gen-Z.

 

Would you like to develop a scent marketing project for your store or hotel? Contact us to start on a multisensory journey that fits perfectly with your brand identity and communication strategy.


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