Scratch and Sniff
by Global Administrator on the 15/03/2011 16:41:27
We all know that brand and branding is a sensory experience, we as designers and marketers devise shapes, images, colours, words and sounds to inspire loyalty and trust in the brand. Done well it can turn basic product into a premium product – with a premium price. But we are sensory beings and perhaps we are forgetting an important sense – the sense of smell.
We’ve all been there. Smell can evoke fond memories – that lost romance, our favourite bakery, that holiday, etc. Unfortunately we can’t always bottle those memories. We can design an aroma to differentiate – a hotel in London uses scent to differentiate the different floors (remember wandering around on the wrong floor?). Some people, viewing a colour say they can smell and taste that colour. Take that a little further. What would/could IBM smell like? Could it be used in the reception area of each IBM office to confirm your feeling for the company? What would your favourite (sic) low-cost airline smell like? How do blind people differentiate products and services?
Certainly smell could and should be included in the brand palate – even if we use it simply to help describe our feelings.
Filed under: senses, smell, brand