Scent Marketing: One system that works

With the increase in online shopping, retailers who actually want to see their customers are working harder than ever to attract and keep them. Ambiance is vital, as every store and hotel owner knows. When it comes to determining our experience of a space, all of our senses are engaged. This is where scent marketing comes in: if it smells good, not only will they come, but they will stay longer.

Milwaukee-based company Prolitec is partnering its services with stores, hotels, casinos to create a positive scent experience for customers. Its patented, micron-sized droplets are distributed quietly and subtly throughout a space. And from the retail perspective, it seems to be working. According to Andy Ginsberg, facilities director of the Mirage hotel and casino, where “This is by far one system that actually does work. Not the cheapest system out there, but it’s a quality product.”

Read more at the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel

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Prolitec Named ‘Scent Marketer of the Year’ for Its Retail Innovations

Prolitec, Inc., the global provider of ambient-scenting technology and services, along with Abercrombie & Fitch, the internationally known fashion retailer, were named “Scent Marketers of the Year” at the 2011 ScentWorld Expo, a major international conference sponsored by the Scarsdale, N.Y.-based Scent Marketing Institute (SMI).

The conference was held Dec. 7-9 at the Gansevoort Hotel in Miami Beach. In a statement following the announcement, SMI said it jointly gave the award to Prolitec and Abercrombie in order to recognize the two companies for their “ground-breaking in-store scenting program” and “as acknowledgement of their leadership in the use of scent in merchandising and in-store communications.”

“When it comes to using scent in merchandising, Abercrombie is a true pioneer,” said Prolitec CEO Richard Weening. “Abercrombie’s CEO Mike Jeffries and his leadership team are superstars in retail merchandising and masters of the art of engaging all the senses in the store. They are key contributors to ambient scenting’s emergence as one of the hottest trends in retailing.”

From MarketWatch

For further reporting on ScentWorld Expo, check out the NY Times: Scent Makers Sweeten the Smell of Commerce

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Reaching Out to Customers, Through Their Noses

Via Fox Business:

Whether you realize it or not, a lot of businesses stink.

OK, so perhaps “stink” isn’t the right word; “have a scent” is more like it.

For the better part of the last decade, retailers, casinos and hotels have experimented heavily with “ambient scenting,” a fancy term that describes the process of using scent distribution technology to give a space a unique and inviting smell. The goal for businesses is to enhance the customer experience, increase brand recognition and ultimately drive sales.

Sound too farfetched to be mainstream? It’s not. In fact, if you’ve sat in the lobby of a Westin hotel or shopped at an Abercrombie & Fitch sometime in the last few years, you’ve likely experienced it yourself.

What’s fascinating about ambient scenting is that it’s a trend that hasn’t worn off during these tough economic times. Like a good perfume, it has staying power…

Read more at Fox Business.

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Smell: the unsung sense

Catherine de Lange wanted to explore the limits of the human sense of smell, so she put hers to the test. Blindfolded on hands and knees, she attempted to emulate the sensory skills of a sniffer dog by trying to follow a trail of cinnamon oil. See the experiment in the video below.

Catherine was actually repeating a project in which UC Berkeley scientists tried to train people’s noses.  Researchers are learning that the human ability to smell is actually far more sensitive than they’d previously realized. One study found that humans can detect some chemicals diluted in water to less that one part per billion — that’s a few drops in an Olympic-sized swimming pool.

What’s more, smell affects human mood and behavior even if people don’t consciously register what they’re smelling.

Check out the Sept. 2011 issue of NewScientist to read the full story.

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Goodwill jumps on the scenting bandwagon

Goodwill Industries of Southeastern Wisconsin has joined the retail scenting movement,  placing Prolitec’s ambient scenting services in all 44 of its Wisconsin and Metropolitan Chicago retail locations.

While many chain stores across America are stalling growth in today’s economy, Goodwill thrift-store locations are thriving, and the company is expanding. Ambient scenting is part of a move toward making the thrift store shopping experience more like a mainstream retail experience.

The 44 stores will utilize a signature scent featuring hints of sweet orange and honeysuckle, custom-designed by Milwaukee-based Prolitec to create a clean, crisp atmosphere.

More at Marketwire.

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Can Ambient Scent Enhance the Nightlife Experience?

Dutch scientists recently found that when they dispersed pleasant fragrances into a nightclub, the people in the club danced more, rated their experience as more enjoyable, and even thought the music was better when compared to evenings without the added fragrance. Fragrances tested were orange, seawater and peppermint. No significant difference in results was found between the three scents.

[Can Ambient Scent Enhance the Nightlife Experience? in Chemosensory Perception, June 2011]

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Flawless fragrance in Ben Bridge stores for Mother’s Day

Ben Bridge jewelers will add a signature scent gift at its stores ahead of Mother’s Day as an add-on to a jewelry purchase. Named “Flawless,” the scent is sold in a distinctive diamond-shaped bottle, and its packaging opens similar to a ring box. The fragrance will be dispersed throughout stores using an ambient scenting system from Prolitec, Inc.

Flawless incorporates a blend of cucumber, pear and citrus along with magnolia and verbena, and is finished with rich saffron and cocoa.

Ben Bridge assembled a dynamic team to create Flawless, including renowned perfumer Raymond Matts, who helped create Clinique’s “Happy” and Elizabeth Taylor’s “White Diamonds,” and Prolitec Inc., whose  system enables a scent experience without  spritzing.

More at diamonds.net

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