Scent Branding Sweeps the Fragrance Industry

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He claims the research, which IFF declined to provide on account of contractual agreements, showed that not only did customers under the subtle influence of his creation spend an average of 20 to 30 percent more time mingling among the electronics, but they also identified the scent—and by extension, the brand—with characteristics such as innovation and excellence.

Although independent research remains scant, the number of companies testing the waters is indicative of a broadening phenomenon. Perfumer Coty's upcoming release of a new Guess fragrance, which will also be used for in-store "spot scenting," is intuitive enough. But Credit Suisse, De Beers, and Sony have all been experimenting with ambient scenting in their retail spaces, too. This month Salisbury (N.C.)-based Bloom grocery stores made history by erecting the first-ever scented billboard, which sprays a charbroiled smell over a highway via a giant fan.

Not surprisingly, many businesses are skeptical about the benefits of investing in a signature scent, while others prefer their olfactory experiments remain a secret. Still, Big Fragrance, which includes companies such as Firmenich, Givaudan, Symrise, and, in particular, IFF, predicts an enlarging market if it can gather enough research to make a definitive case that scents evoke specific emotional responses that prepare consumers to spend. And while there has been a lot of intra-industry discussion about engineered olfaction's potential benefits to various products—scented cell phones are a hot topic, as is improving the airline experience—fragrance companies have been given few opportunities to put their talents to the test. (Visa's collaboration with IFF on a forthcoming scented credit card is a notable exception.)

That may be about to change, as evidence of the powerful relationship between the olfactory bulb and the brain's limbic system, the part that handles memories and emotion, appears increasingly compelling. In 2007, in collaboration with IFF and the nonprofit Cosmetic Executive Women, the Raymond Poincaré Hospital in Garches, France, experimented with scent on patients suffering serious trauma resulting in the loss of memory and, in some cases, speech. One patient, who lost the ability to speak after a motorcycle accident, uttered his first words after being presented with the smell of tar. (After nine months of not being able to talk, his first word was "tar.") Another patient, who had emerged from a 12-month coma, was moved to words after the staff exposed him to the smell of a certain bread that had left an imprint from his childhood.

Advances in scent harvesting and dispersal technology, or the ability to deconstruct scent compounds and recreate them, means perfumers can now produce virtually any scent. As documented in Martin Lindstrom's book Brand Sense, a Rolls-Royce investigation into customer complaints that the luxury cars had lost their feeling of excellence fingered scent as the culprit. The automaker responded with "a chemical blueprint" for the smell of the 1965 Silver Cloud. "In total, 800 separate elements were found," Lindstrom writes, including fuel, underseal, and felt. The smell is now applied beneath the seats of each car as it comes off the line. As of 2003, Cadillac began processing scent into the leather of its seats. They called it Nuance.

Starting this fall, you can even get a master's degree in scent design. In April, Parsons New School for Design in New York hosted a conference to honor the launch of an transdisciplinary master's program that includes olfaction. As part of a "Scent as Design" seminar, organizers enlisted luminaries from various fields to collaborate with fragrance experts. Among the first explorations is furniture: a butcher block that suggests the meaty whiff of being inside a butcher shop. Another is the South Bronx housing project imbued with the scent of happiness.

While the residents of Sister Thomas appear to be guinea pigs for an emerging industry, Carter sees ambient scenting as a "no-brainer," a practical tool to be used in the national effort to re-green America's inner cities. Jovanovic may have said it best while spritzing L'Eau Vert du Bronx du Sur in a communal bathroom: "It's impact on behavior on a social level!"

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