Endorphin Branding™ on an Operatic Scale

This opera stinks. No…really!

Through their joint business venture, Aeosphere LLC, entrepreneur Stewart Matthew and veteran perfumer Christophe Laudamiel have created a 40-minute “operatic” work that features 23 carefully-composed fragrances as its cast of characters. Green Aria: A ScentOpera, an olfactory odyssey in which scent takes the place of voice, will premiere in a pitch black Lewis Theater at the Guggenheim on May 31.

For opera aficionados, the “opera” label may seem inappropriate, but–in fragrance parlance, where the story of a scent is told through a “top note, middle note and base note”–the ScentOpera strikes just the right chord. “A lot of people get pilloried for attempting things with scent, mostly because there’s been such awful technology,” says Matthew, who believes Aeosphere has perfected the technology which will set them apart from their less-effective antecedents. Each audience chair will be outfitted with scent “microphones” linked to the central organ that will discharge a litany of time-controlled scents. This delivery system was specifically designed over the past two years for this event in collaboration with Flakt Woods, a global leader in integrated ventilation.

Matthew and Laudamiel have also done their homework into the workings of the human olfactory and limbic system, by the way, and are keenly aware of the phenomenon of “scent recall”–or endorphin branding™, in Whiffology terminology. Green Aria’s all-natural scents are “scents that have never been smelled before” which will offer audience members no point of reference to associate the 23 new fragrances with any past experience.

The Fresh New Image of a Trusted Old Brand

“The Holiday Inn Grand Rapids Airport is looking good and smelling good!

The latest of some 3,200 “Fresh New” Holiday Inns slated to open worldwide by the end of 2010, the newly-renovated Grand Rapids hotel features a spiffy new logo, higher-end room amenities, and the hotel’s very own White Tea and Citrus Signature Fragrance!

There’s a scent machine in the lobby,” says General Manager Donn Thompson. “It’s appealing to the eyes, the ears. And then you have the smell. It will be similar to every other Holiday Inn that is relaunched.”

Holiday Inn executives expects the Fresh program to generate an enhanced return on investment for their owners and franchisees, who will invest up to $1 billion over a three year period. “As always, we have worked in close collaboration with our owners around the world on these efforts to ensure we have their buy-in every step of the way,” said Mark Snyder, Senior Vice President of Worldwide Brand Management for Holiday Inn. “They agree this is the right thing to do to make this great brand fit for future generations.”

Thompson, who believes that people have tended to associate the Holiday Inn brand with their parents or grandparents, couldn’t be happier about the fresh new approach. “I think the brand was smart to recognize that and say we want to be a leading brand of choice for today’s traveler.”

Introducing Olfaprint!

Congratulations to our friends at ScentAir and their consumer products partner Envirodine on the addition of the new Olfaprint scented paper line by Cascades Fine Papers Group to their product line-up!

Olfaprint scented paper incorporates a patent-pending technology that features superior fragrances embedded into the paper during the manufacturing process. Fragrance is diffused directly from the paper, requiring no external activation such as scratching or peeling as with other technologies. The result is a stronger, longer-lasting and highly-accurate scented paper that is compatible with high-quality professional printing and finishing options.

“Olfaprint is an exciting addition to our comprehensive scent delivery product portfolio,” says Tom Conroy, CEO of ScentAir. “Businesses now have the option to extend their scent marketing communications well beyond the in-store experience. The potential creative applications for this new technology are endless.”

Through the partnership, ScentAir and Envirodine will serve as the exclusive distributors of Olfaprint in the U.S. and Canada for all non-cosmetic industries. Customers may scent the paper with any of ScentAir’s existing fragrances or with a custom fragrance.

“We are very pleased to bring Olfaprint to North America through this partnership,” says Yvan Girardin, Market Development Manager for Cascades Fine Papers Group. “Our high quality paper and patent-pending scenting technology combined with the customer base, global reach and comprehensive scent portfolio of ScentAir and Envirodine is an ideal match.”

Olfactory Fact #82: Noses Work 100-X Harder than Eyes

The human nose has about 350 to 400 different kinds of functional receptors, compared with just 4 types of receptors in the eyes.

Olfactory Fact #142: Mama Sheep that Can’t Smell Can’t Tell

When a 2009 study at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine blocked the olfactory pathway of mama sheep, the confused ewes were unable to form selective bonds and indiscriminately adopted the lambs of other mothers as readily as their own.

Olfactory Fact #100: Essential Oil can Foil a Superbug

A 2007 study carried out during ten-months in a Manchester area hospital burn ward released the vapors of a proprietary essential oil blend called BioScent into two patient rooms but not into a third control patient room. Even though MRSA carrying workers and visitors were continually re-contaminating the wards, the scent-treated rooms showed a 90% reduction in infectious microbes from the control room, and no MRSA outbreaks whatsoever for the duration of the study.

Celebs still piling onto the Endorphin Brand-Wagon

Perhaps the most flagrant-fragrant proof of the effectiveness of endorphin branding™ in advertising can be found in the tsunami of celebrity signature fragrances literally flooding the perfume market in recent years. If offerings such as Apple Bottoms by Nelly Eau de Parfum (in development by Romane Fragrances for rapper Nelly) seem a trifle bizarre, you might be missing the point.

The signature scent phenomenon is not just about selling perfume, it’s about solidifying brand recognition and loyalty–that’s endorphin branding™! Just as a whiff of their proprietary White Tea scent is designed to instantly summon sweet memories of that fabulous getaway at the Westin Hotel where the memorable fragrance wafted through the lobby and restaurant and even your guest room, subtly but permanently stamping the association onto your brain–so should an expertly blended signature scent, once the association has been established, trigger an immediate recollection of your favorite celebrity.

So, just how many celebs have embraced this final frontier of self-promotion? Thanks to Wikipedia for this most complete list I’ve been able to sniff out:

Musicians: Ashanti, Beyonce Knowles, Britney Spears, Celine Dion, Carlos Santana, Cher, Christina Aguilera, Cliff Richard, Deborah Gibson, Enrique Iglesias, Gwen Stefani, Jennifer Lopez, Jessica Simpson, Julio Iglesias, Kiss, Luciano Pavarotti, Kylie Minogue, Mariah Carey, Michael Jackson, Prince, Sean John, Shania Twain, Usher, Victoria Beckham, Alejandro Sanz

Actors: Amitabh Bachchan, Alan Cumming, Antonio Banderas, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Charlize Theron, Eva Green, Milla Jovovich, Elizabeth Taylor, Gloria Swanson, Hilary Duff, Isabella Rosselini, Joan Collins, Joan Crawford, Kate Winslet, Uma Thurman, Mary Kate & Ashley Olsen, Nicole Kidman, Keira Knightley, Sarah Jessica parker, Shahrukh Kahn, Shilpa Shetty, Clive Owen, Henry Cavill, Ewan McGregor, Monica Bellucci, Scarlett Johansson, Rachel Weisz, Ioan Gruffudd, Gwyneth Paltrow, Liv Tyler

Athletes: David Beckham, Derek Jeter, Maria Sharapova, Michael Jordan, Carlos Moya

Miscellaneous: Calum Best, Danielle Steel, George Kurdahi, Jade Goody, Joan Rivers, Kate Moss, Katie Price, Kimora Lee Simmons, Lata Mangeshkar, Naomi Campbell, Prince Nicolo Boncompagni Ludovisi, Svetlana Stalin, Zeenat Aman, Paris Hilton, Alex Curran, Chanelle Hayes, Ed Hardy

Even Fictional Characters have leapt into the scent marketing age: Miss Piggy, Barbie, Dora the Explorer, Marvel Comics, DC Comics, Strawberry Shortcake, Powderpuff Girls, Austin Powers, Desperate Housewives

And even this breathtaking list is by no means complete. Let’s not forget some of the Whiff-Guys’ own favorites, including: Grace Kelly’s Fleurissimo, Matt Miller’s Ironman, Tony Sirico’s (aka Paulie Walnuts) Paulo per Umo, that disturbingly creepy Burger King-Guy’s Flame, or South Korean President Lee Myung-bak’s Perfume of the President.

More on Birmingham’s Multisensory War Games

It was last November that the Whiff-Guys first sniffed out the smelly new Virtual Battleground being pioneered by the Human Interface Technologies team at the University of Birmingham and funded largely by the UK’s Ministry of Defense. Now twelve months into the three-year project, the Birmingham team is extensively testing the accuracy of the software and peripheral set-up. One such tester is PhD student and former Royal Navy sailor Mark Blyth. “The smell is activated when the virtual soldier walks past something like a market or a tiny side street, and the computer triggers the scent. What we are trying to discover is if smell enhances a person’s perception.”

In November, Professor Bob Stone, lead researcher on the project, suggested that the device might be up for sale to the general public within two to three years if an affordable version could be devised, stating, “There is no doubt in my mind that the games companies are looking for an inexpensive version for the domestic market.” It was a potential hurdle that could have prevented the system from being considered for mass market and recreational game production.

Now, with the current prototype costing as little as $25 per unit, Professor Stone’s team appears to have leapt that hurdle nicely. The device consists of eight chambers to hold and mix over 100 types of scented wax and a a boxed odor fan which attaches to the PC.

“It’s a way of capturing feelings,” says Blyth. “Sometimes people have a sense that something is wrong, but we have to find out how they know that. Is it smell? Is it someone running through the marketplace? Is it the silence? If smell is one of the main factors then there is a lot of scope for this to be used to help train soldiers’ noses.”

The game software is now demonstrating several different scenarios, from a ‘sniper position’ to a swelling crowd of people, and the Whiff-Guys look forward to further developments in this exciting project.

CPL Aromas Makes a Big Stink in Dubai

British fragrance house CPL Aromas, specializing in “Fine Fragrance, Personal Care and Household & Air Care,” is opening in new facility in Dubai’s Jebel Ali Free Zone. This new facility is home to a dedicated sales and marketing team and hosts creative perfumery and applications laboratory with two resident perfumers including the group’s Director of Perfumery.

CPL Aromas has been active in the Middle Eastern market for some thirty years in which time the company has developed significant expertise in the specific olfactory tastes of the region. The company has had its own site in Dubai for five years. However, in order “to realize the full market potential,” a much larger site was required, allowing the company to introduce additional R&D chemists, analysts, evaluators and other technicians to work with the creative perfumery team.

Located on a 5,000 square metre plot, the facility utilizes a large warehouse which stocks a range of fragrances suitable for a variety of applications that can be delivered to CPL’s customers in the region.

The Dubai site also serves the Indian sub continent region and certain East African countries.

Olfactory Fact #414: Germs Recoil from Essential Oil

Essential oils that contain phenols–including oregano, eucalyptus, thyme, cinnamon, and clove–are particularly effective against viruses and bacteria.