Follow your nose
Selective use of scents at trade fairs and events can be very effective. A large variety of atomization hardware is available and is easy to integrate into trade fair architecture.
Share prices are hard to retain, but years later you can still conjure up the smell of grandma's chocolate cake in the oven. Fragrances are much more than just minute aroma molecules; they project moods - positive and negative alike: Used selectively they increase - and it's been proven - the motivation to buy. We need only think of the smell of freshly baked bread rising from a bakery's shop - a deliberate ploy to attract customers. At fairs, too, exhibitors are making greater use of the methods the retail industry has been employing for years: They have discovered the effectiveness of scent marketing.
Most trade fair visitors cannot abide the stale air in so many trade fair halls - but it needn't be so. Trade fairs, which so often are about technology and electronics, provide a perfect breeding-ground for a multitude of other unpleasant smells, material vapours and ozone which are compounded with the stale air in the hall. This is not an environment in which trade fair visitors want to spend longer than absolutely necessary at a stand. Air cleaning, which is offered by many scent marketing companies, is one solution. Methods include air washing systems that neutralise and bind pollutants and odious smells with essential oils. They also use vegetable agents whose clathrate or cage molecules enclose scent molecules which are then decomposed by bacteria and micro-organisms. Once the pavilion is pronounced "clean", the fine art of scent marketing can begin. Fragrances can be used to great effect to emphasise marketing messages, enhance concentration or motivation, promote relaxation - depending on the requirement or location, like, for example, wellness areas at trade fairs, in hotels or spas. A favourite at trade fairs, for instance, is to release artificial coffee aroma into the lounge or catering area to lure visitors to one's own stand - doing business over a cup of coffee, which the stand must actually be able to produce, is so often preferable to an inhospitable info desk. The scent of flowers, summer or the smell of freshly mown grass can help to create a natural and cheerful atmosphere. The release of carefully selected aromas in conference rooms can be beneficial to concentration. At the cpd fashion fair, the organiser used lime blossom in the foyer to put visitors in the fair mood with the smell of spring. In relax and wellness zones, the scent of vanilla and jasmine created a welcome environment for visitors seeking rest. An exhibition of photographic works by Reiner Metzger in Kempten called "Der Atem der Zeit" inspired visitors with a scent called "Waldeslust" or "love of the forest". As far back as 1998 Frankfurt Airport installed permanent scenting in the tunnel connecting gates A and B at Terminal 1. To abate any feelings of claustrophobia and oppressiveness passengers might experience, a scenario of light, sound and smell was installed to establish a feel-good atmosphere.
At CeBIT, the exhibitor PCS used scent marketing for the first time in the form of the "green" scent Calypso. The reasons stated for this choice were its association with the company logo and the quest for a scent conducive to concentration. Scent was also used to intensify the effect of Object Carpet's stand at Domotex. The manufacturer of floor coverings presented a green trade fair stand with fresh green apples on tables - the scent of apples transformed the stand visit into a sensual experience.
More and more companies are going in for their own "business scent": an olfactory composition developed especially for them and which joins the portfolio of various marketing tools.
Important factors that must not be overlooked are scent quality and sensitive dispensing of the aromas. The customer should ensure that the scents they use do not contain chemical or alcoholic perfume carriers. It's an advantage to use scents and aromas certified according to the guidelines of the IFRA, the International Fragrance Association. Their recommendations list fragrances that are safe for humans and animals. Not all fragrance distribution systems available on the market are precise when it comes to dosage or targeting, and dispersion is sometimes quite sluggish. This can mean that fragrances are unbearably strong at one spot and thus counterproductive, while they never permeate through to another spot. Many systems use a method whereby drops of the essential oil fall onto a warm vaporization pan and the fragrance is blown into the air by fan. If the distribution temperature is too high it can also have a detrimental effect on the scent quality. Other systems work on the principle of very fine cold nebulisation: the aroma oil is nebulised and dispersed using fans or the HVAC system. Some vendors will even integrate these systems into the stand structure so that the distribution system does not interfere with the look of the stand.
More sophisticated devices permit more precise dosage of the fragrances and distribution of several different scents. Dispersion can even be controlled with a DMX signal. A favourite method in lounge or cafeteria zones or similar confined areas are small plastic containers in which the scent is combined in a gel which slowly releases the scent from the carrier medium into the environment. Antje Peters-Reimann
m+a report Nr.4 / 2006 vom 15.06.2006
m+a report vom 15. Juni 2006