If you’ve ever been to Disney World, you may have noticed some overwhelming scents in different areas of the parks.
And I don’t mean just from the food carts—on the Soarin’ ride at Epcot, you can smell the pine trees and orange groves of California. On the Kali River Rapids ride in Animal Kingdom, the ‘burning logs’ smell like—well, burning logs. If you stay at the Grand Floridian during the holiday season, the enormous Gingerbread House actually puffs gingerbread smell out of its chimney. In general, there’s a sweet, floral smell on the streets of the parks that is just so quintessential of Disney.
We owe that delicious Disney smell to former Imagineer David Martin who had the idea of infusing attractions with aromas to enhance the park-goers overall experience. The scents were used first at special events but were slowly added to indoor rides, stores, hotels—basically everywhere on the Disney lot.
Today Martin is the brains behind ScentAir, the largest scent marketing company in the country. Martin is bringing the same concept from Disney ‘the happiest place on earth’ to other businesses. The goal is to engage all of the consumer’s senses and keep them in stores, hotels, casinos, bars and restaurants longer.
The company has partnered with a marketing company called Mood Media who help their clients attract consumers in every way possible: using music, colors, visuals decorations, look and feel, and now scents.
In hotels, scents come from air machines located near guest elevators and in the main lobby. “What we provide helps our clients more deeply connect with their customers by utilizing the power of scent,” director of marketing Ed Burke commented. Westin Hotels for instance has a signature fragrance of white tea. Hotel Monaco in Baltimore has a Kimpton scent—a cross between citrus, green tea, black pepper, and cloves all coming together in a musky smell.
ScentAir’s client list includes Ashley Furniture, Jimmy Choo, Bloomingdale’s, Lexus, Hugo Boss, and an extensive list of hotel chains. Some scents like in hotels are intended to set a mood—playful, upscale, sophisticated, or exotic. In stores, scents are intended to tempt people to purchase.
The Hershey Store in Times Square reeks of chocolate even though the candy is wrapped. In clothing stores, it depends on the season. When bathing suits are out, stores pump out a pina colada or coconut lime scent. During Christmas, evergreen, cinnamon, citrus and other spices get shoppers in the festive mood.
The payback for companies employing ScentAir’s servies is well worth it. There is a 60% recall for many businesses with scent, and sales have shot up.
Have you ever been aware of a particular scent while you’re shopping? A baby powder scent in the infant department, or lavender in sleepwear? I have to say, it seems like an extremely clever marketing tool!
Dr. Mike Malone and his team practice expert cosmetic dentistry in Lafayette, LA. Dr. Malone is the former president and current accredited member of the American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry. He is also the official Cosmetic Dentist of the Miss Louisiana USA and Miss Louisiana Teen USA pageants. Check out his website for more information.