Olfactory Fact #14: The Sensory Input Race is Won by a Nose
July 28, 2008
Sensory input to the eyes, ears, or skin takes roughly ten steps before reaching the emotional limbic system, but input to the nose takes only one.
No-NonScents Video Games
July 27, 2008
Exasperated parents of gaming junkies may have to shelf that oft-repeated battlecry, “Go outside and get some fresh air!” as the latest gaming technology may provide console-locked teens with a whiff of fresh air right at their computers. Or, at least, a whiff of whatever passes for fresh air in the galaxy of Alien vs. Predator.
Back in May, we discussed Virtual Iraq, a modified version of a popular video game intended to treat veterans suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder by adding that most potent of memory triggers–smell. To the delight of gaming geeks worldwide, amBX, a gaming special effects company owned by Philips, is looking to bring the technology mainstream.
Their system will enable game makers to add trigger points which instruct external PC devices to perform specific actions at appropriate moments, including the release of scent. A player prone to war games would likely find himself immersed in smells of gunpowder and diesel fuel scents like those used in Virtual Iraq. Grand Theft Auto junkies might catch a whiff of burning rubber or a whiff of a passing corner bakery as they screech through city streets. The sky is the limit, according to Jo Cooke, chief marketing officer at amBX. “The first level of sensory experience is light and sound. We make it possible for any effects to be produced, and this includes smell.”
AmBX, which has pioneered such reality-enhancing auxiliary devices as rumble generators, ambient coloured lights, and desktop-mounted fans to supplement the audio-visual experience of movies or video games, does face one obstacle in their latest endeavor, according to Cooke. “It’s easy to introduce a smell into a room. The problem is how to remove an odour quickly in order to create the next one.” This issue has actually been successfully addressed in recent years, notably by AromaComposer, which dissipates scents within 5 seconds of the stop-command, but AmBX is testing several types of scent delivery technologies of their own, including odor-impregnated wafers and machines which emit fine sprays of fast-evaporating fragrance.
Olfactory Fact #51: A Nose Job is Hard Work
July 25, 2008
Each day, we breathe about 23,040 times and move around 438 cubic feet of air.
Catch a Whiff of the Future on July 27!
July 25, 2008
The Advertising Show is America’s only globally distributed weekly program focusing on advertising, media, marketing, sales and customer relations. Co-hosted by Ray Schilens and Brad Forsythe, the show discusses advertising issues, marketing trends and strategies, and features weekly interviews with prominent industry experts.
You won’t want to miss this week’s edition (July 27), when Brad Forsythe will be interviewing our very own Whiff-Guy C. Russell Brumfield to learn about up-and-coming marketing tactics in scent communication and how to trigger a patterned, feel-good response in consumers everytime!
AdAge Quotes the Whiff Guys!
July 24, 2008
“The technique was dubbed ‘endorphin branding’ by C. Russell Brumfield, author of ‘Whiff!’ and a keynote speaker at the Scent World Conference and Expo in New York earlier this month. He claims scents provide a dynamic psychological and emotional trigger that can be invaluable to brands.”
The Suspect is Described as Smelling Nice
July 23, 2008
The South African burglar who broke into the home of Nelspruit mayor Lassy Chiwayo and made off with over 100,000 rand in electronics, clothing, and personal effects might have made a clean getaway–if he just hadn’t taken a shine to the mayor’s exquisite taste in aftershave.
Frustrated by the indifferent investigation of local police, Chiwayo sent his own bodyguards on a street-by-street search, and they literally smelled the culprit before they saw him. “He was wearing my very expensive cologne, boldly walking through the streets. My guys smelt him first, and then noticed that he was wearing my takkies. We shadowed him and called in an officer from the KaNyamazane police, who interrogated the suspect. He quickly confessed,” said Chiwayo, adding, “This fool must be one of South Africa’s dumbest criminals.”
Olfactory Fact #179: Good Smells Generate Good Deeds
July 23, 2008
People in the presence of pleasant scents like coffee brewing or cookies baking are more likely to help someone.
Flies That Can’t Smell just Can’t Tell
July 23, 2008
Just how important is a good sense of smell in matters of romance? Well, for male fruit flies, it’s so vital that the absence of just a single olfactory gene renders them as indiscriminate in matters of courtship as my cousin Freddie (no offense, Freddie).
Scientists at Duke University Medical Center have found that male fruit flies without the gene Gr32a, a critical pheromone receptor, were sexually outperformed by four to one in comparison with normal male competitors. They also tended to court females which had been doused with male pheromones, behavior not observed in normal fruit flies because females which smell of male pheromones have presumably already mated. In fact, the hapless Gr32a-impaired flies were just as happy to court the male competitors themselves.
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First Annual SMitty Award Winners!
July 21, 2008
Hearty Congratulations to the first-ever winners of the first-ever ScentWorld Conference & Expo SMitty Awards, honoring groundbreaking individuals and companies who have been instrumental in shaping the future of the Scent Marketing Industry!
The McCarthy Award, for Best New Proven Technology, went to Steven M. Landau, CTO/CMO of ScentSational Technologies in Jenkintown, PA, for groundbreaking work on scented and flavored packaging technologies for food, beverage, pharmaceutical and licensing olfaction consumer products.
The Bradbury Award, for Best New Concept, was taken by Juan Miguel Antonanzas de Toledo of A de Aroma in Madrid, Spain, for his efforts to build a European network of “scent system operators” that enables scent delivery equipment manufacturers to retain a group of trained professionals to service markets that they weren’t able to operate in otherwise.
The Nero Award, for Most Unique Implementation, went to Clément Jeanjean, CEO of Presensia in Paris, France, for unique implementation of scent marketing technology by incorporating scent delivery systems in state of the art digital presentation devices - the SCENTYS line - creating a multisensory experience at the Point of Sale, for product and sales training and special events.
Harold H. Vogt, founder of the Scent Marketing Institute and presenter of the awards, calls these innovative winners “proof that Scent Marketing is not a fad but a viable solution to engage the consumer, improve product perception and generate sales.” The Whiff Guys wholeheartedly concur!
Burning Calories
July 20, 2008
Entenmann’s, the only baked goods company responsible for tempting more Americans from their diets than Krispy Kreme, is lightening the calorie count significantly with its newest venture: Bakery Scented Candles.
“The scents will be reproduced based on the most popular flavors of the Entenmann’s baked goods line,” said executive vice president Joanne Loria of the proposed fragrances, which will include such Entemann’s classics as Butter Loaf, Raspberry Danish, and Pumpkin Pie. The tantalizing candles will come in a three-wick 10-ounce jar for $5.99, and a 20-ounce jar for $9.99, and are expected to hit the shelves by September. Just in time to put the edge on those holiday appetites.
