Olfactory Branding

Olfactory branding is gaining momentum.  Last week in New York, many shows used scent to set the mood and pull their show together.  The fashion world's first olfactory branding company, 12.29, was founded by twin sisters Dawn and Samantha Goldworm (read their interesting profiles here), who debuted their branding in 2010 at the Rodarte show by scenting with wood and spice to evoke an "apocalyptic landscape".  Since then, they have worked with Jason Wu, Thakoon and many others to produce seasonal fragrance experiences.  In addition to designers, they develop unique branding scents for retail spaces, hotels, and nightclubs, as well as for weddings and individuals.

The 12.29 website describes olfactive science with the below bullet points:

OLFACTIVE SCIENCE

FACT: “Seventy-five percent of the emotions we generate on a daily basis are affected by smell. Next to sight, it is the most important sense we have.” (Martin Lindstroem, Brand Sense: Build Powerful Brands through Touch, Taste, Smell, Sight and Sound, Free Press, 2005).

FACT: “A human is able to recognize approximately 10,000 different odors and more impressively, recall smells with 65% accuracy after a year, in contrast to only 50% of visuals after three months.” That means that a brand with an olfactive logo has a 65% chance of being remembered by a consumer while an unscented brand has a 50% chance of being forgotten within the first three months.

STUDY: Dr Alan R Hirsh, the founder and neurological director of the Smell & Taste Treatment and Research Foundation, did a study of Americans where they found that people’s favorite childhood smells varied on when they were born. Those people born after 1930 were more likely to remember Play-Doh, Crayola Crayons, Keds and Sweet Tarts, suggesting that nostalgic childhood memories are based on artificial and brand related smells. Thus, if a brand can associate a smell with a positive emotion, they can transfer that feeling or olfactive memory to their product and thus their overall brand experience.

Here is the Goldworms' video explaining the art of olfactory branding.  

The video may come off as a little hippy-dippy-do, but the concept continues to be an interesting premise.  What would influence your unique branding scent?