Smell is the sense most connected to memory, and many marketers are taking advantage of that connection to make a lasting brand impression.

Clothing retailers have utilized scent marketing for some time, but now, hotels, car manufacturers, and even hospitals are getting in on the olfactory action. The idea that we can attract someone’s attention by appealing to the senses isn’t new. Visual and auditory branding techniques are staples in any brand’s tool box, but until recently, the nose has been ignored.

In his 2005 book, Brand Sense: Build Powerful Brands Through Touch, Taste, Smell, Sight, and Sound, branding expert Martin Lindstrom writes that 75% of the emotions we generate on a daily basis are affected by smell. And according to the Sense of Smell Institute, people can recall smells with 65% accuracy after a year, while the visual recall of photos sinks to about 50% after only three months.

The results speak for themselves. In a 2005 post at Fast Company, Linda Tischeler recounts the scent ventures of Florida Hospital's Seaside Imaging Center in Celebration, Florida. Facing a high cancellation rate among patients scheduled for an MRI, Sally Grady, Director of Imaging Services, set about designing and exam space that would change people’s minds about their experience.

"We created an entire virtual beach environment in this area," she says. The unit's flooring is like a boardwalk; changing rooms look like cabanas; patients change not into backless nighties, but into surfer shorts and tops; barium is served, straight up, in a turquoise glass with an umbrella; the MRI unit is disguised as a sand castle; and a sound machine plays tapes of waves and birds.

Several ScentAir machines diffuse the smell of the ocean in one room, and the scent of coconut oil in another. The fragrance of vanilla infuses the MRI room, since the scent reportedly helps people feel less claustrophobic. "We know this isn't an amusement park. We're here for something serious," says Grady. "But you can almost see a patient start to relax when they start hearing the music and the waves and you hand them a pair of flip-flops. An amazing number say, 'This doesn't smell like a hospital.'"

The results have been dramatic. In 2000, when the facility opened, 6% of patients needed sedation, upping the expense of the procedure. By last year, the sedation rate had dropped to 2%. What's more, the cancellation rate for the test dropped 50%. And the time spent coaxing people to submit to the exam has also fallen dramatically.”

Tischler also discusses the experiment conducted by Dr. Eric Spangenberg, Dean of the College of Business and Economics at Washington State University.

[He] ran a test in a clothing store in the Pacific Northwest to determine how scent affected customers by gender. He diffused a subtle smell of vanilla in the women's department and rose maroc (a spicy, honey-like fragrance that had tested well with guys) in the men's. The results were astonishing. When he examined the cash-register tapes, he found that receipts almost doubled on the days when scent was used. However, if he reversed the scents, diffusing vanilla with the men, rose maroc with the women, customers spent less than average. "You can't just use a pleasant scent and expect it to work," he says. "It has to be congruent."

Similarly, he says, the fragrance has to make sense with the product or environment it's supposed to enhance: "When you go into Starbucks, you don't expect to smell lemon-scented Pledge." And that, perhaps, is the most important point. Lighting a random candle won’t help you create a lasting sensory impression. The scent must make sense to your product, brand vibe, and space design. Its presence must be constant, but subtle, and the “flavor” should appeal to a wide variety of people.

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