Olfactory Fact #11: Savvy Marketers Aim for the Nose

While our DNA contains 3 receptor genes for vision and 5 for taste, smell has 350 odor-receptor genes, suggesting that nature designed us to be not only more receptive to scent but more affected by it as well.

New Baby Smell!

Expectant mothers leaning toward natural childbirth but not toward the pain associated with labor may find the solution right under their noses.

At Southmead Hospital in Bristol, U.K., 24 midwives have been trained to employ aromatherapy as natural pain relief for patients giving birth at the hospital and in their own homes. Bergamot, jasmine, lavender, peppermint, grapefruit, clary sage and frankincense are being mixed and administered by the midwives via massage, bath, or smelling stick.
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The Greatest Gift to Loved Ones might be the Shirt Off Your Back

There was an almost terrible beauty to that most memorable scene in the film Brokeback Mountain, that single moment when the gruff cowboy veneer of the Heath Ledger character cracked beneath the weight of his grief as he buried his face in the plaid shirt of his dead lover, desperate to catch his scent. (I’m by no means alone in thinking so–that shirt, worn by Jake Gyllenhaal, sold on eBay in February of 2006 for $101,100.00.)

We’ve known for some time that women are inclined to seek comfort in snuggling with the clothing of a dear-but-not-near loved one. Even Nancy Reagan admitted to sleeping with one of Ronald’s shirts during his hospitalization after the 1981 assassination attempt (see Olfactory Fact #87). But it wasn’t until December of last year that we got the data on men. According to a study published in December’s issue of the Journal of Applied Social Psychology, fictional-cowboy-Ennis is representative of a full 2/3 of men who have cuddled with the body-scented apparel of their loved ones.

121 students at the University of Pittsburgh were asked a series of questions, such as whether they’d ever deliberately smelled or slept with the clothing of another person, or given an unlaundered article of their own clothing to a loved one, for the sole purpose of evoking memories of the wearer in the mind of the sniffer. Not only had the majority of the volunteers–male and female–performed this ritual with the apparel of a romantic partner, many had also comforted themselves by smelling the clothing worn by a child or other close relative.

These results might seem bizarre, in a culture obsessed with masking body odor with deodorants and breath mints, but the study’s lead author, Melanie Shoup, has been familiar with the phenomenon for quite some time. “When I was going through high school and college, I would wear a boyfriend’s shirt to bed when I was separated from him. And when I asked my friends, they said they had done similar things.”

The explanation is aptly tucked into a succinct nutshell by Whiff-Guy C. Russell Brumfield: “When we smell, we feel.” Our sense of smell is the most direct expressway to our brains, leaving all other senses in the dust. When the other senses (sight, sound, taste, touch) reach our receptive centers, they are first routed through the interpretive reasoning centers of the left brain, needing to be identified and assimilated before circuitously making it to the emotional centers which tell us how we feel about the information. But when the olfactory bulb detects a smell—while we are eating, drinking, making love, having an emotional experience, or simply shopping for shoes—it alerts the cerebral cortex and sends a chemical message directly into the limbic system of the right brain, before any left-brain analysis can muddy the waters.

Likewise unsurprised by the results of the study is Philip R. Muskin, a professor of clinical psychiatry at Columbia University, who points to the close proximity of the olfactory bulb and the limbic system (the part of the brain responsible for processing emotion) in the most ancient region of the brain, and freely admits his standing in that 2/3 ratio of men who seek comfort in the smell of absent loved ones. “I had an aunt who wore very heavy perfume,” he says. “When she passed away, her sister gave us one of her jewelry cases. Whenever you open it, the scent of her perfume just rushes out. And for an instant, it’s like she’s there.”

A Landmark in Endorphin Branding™

New York City’s elegant Plaza Hotel has thrown its iconic hat into the scent branding ring with a striking new signature collection, exclusively available for purchase at “>The Plaza Beauty located on the concourse level of The Shops at The Plaza.

The Plaza eau de parfum includes notes of bergamot, amber, iris, leather, and grapefruit, and will be available in two sizes, 1.7 ounces for $95.00 and 3.4 ounces for $140.00.

Lisbon Multisensory Conference

MY.SENSYS and the SCENT MARKETING INSTITUTE look forward to seeing you on June 22 in Lisbon for the Multisensory Conference! Presenters from all 5 Senses will provide their perspective on how sensory marketing can be applied to products, advertisement, entertainment and retailing.

Patently Alarming Olfactory Developments

“Fee! Fie! Foe! Fum! I smell the blood of an Englishman!” Thus begins Chapter 6 of Whiff! The Revolution of Scent Communication in the Information Age, Danger, Will Robinson. The familiar line from Jack and the Beanstalk draws a perfectly clear picture of how scent acts as a warning signal. The giant had obviously experienced some prior encounter involving light-fingered Brits and golden goose eggs, a negative experience which generated a lifelong dislike for the smell of Englishmen and imprinted a permanent danger or warning response which would be triggered by their natural aroma. This danger scent phenomenon is indeed a figurative goose that will lay endless golden eggs for enterprising entrepreneurs in the years to come…notably, inventors Richard E. Krock, Karl F. Rauscher, Stuart Owen Goldman, and Carlos Curtis Solari, who applied last week for Patent #20100117828. Their alarm scheme with olfactory alerting component is “an alarm system integrating the sense of smell (i.e., an olfactory component) as an alerting modality is described. The olfactory component is uniquely recognizable and distinguishable from traditional visual or audible alerting components and can be used to increase the number of separate alarms that a person can respond to and/or decrease the reaction time for responding to the alarms.”

Olfactory Fact #112: Impatiens Oil Foils Impatience

Feeling fidgety, irritable, or overly-impetuous? As the name implies, essence of Impatiens promotes patience and prudence.

Do Different Ethnicities Smell Different?

Angie Lowe: I don’t believe a dog can smell Indians. I mean, as different from anyone else. You and me, for instance.
Hondo Lane: Well they can. As a matter of fact, Indians can smell white people.
Angie Lowe: I don’t believe it.
Hondo Lane: Well it’s true. I’m part Indian and I can smell you when I’m downwind of you.
Angie Lowe: That’s impossible.
Hondo Lane: No, it isn’t impossible, Mrs. Lowe. You baked today. I can smell fresh bread on you. Sometime today, you cooked with salt pork. Smell that on you, too. You smell all over like soap: you took a bath. And, on top of that, you smell all over like a woman. I could find you in the dark, Mrs. Lowe, and I’m only part Indian.

It’s a memorable exchange, from the 1953 John Wayne classic, and an intriguing point: Do different ethnic groups have characteristically different body odors?
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A Rose is a Rose is a Marketing Tactic?

Laura Lippay, Director of Technical Marketing for Yahoo! Media, recently discovered the world of scent marketing via Whiff Solutions. Catch the full story at Laura Lippay - Lip Service!

Guests Love the Fresh Scent of Omni

In 2006, Omni Hotels & Resorts was a pioneer in offering sensory branding as part of their public space amenities with the use of a green tea and lemongrass infused scent in their lobbies and cappuccino and mochaccino-infused scenting in their Morsels coffee cafes. During the summer of 2009, Omni Hotels & Resorts selected Ambius to be their new scent branding partner, effective December 2009. It’s turned out to be a partnership heaven-scent, according to Stephen Rosenstock, Senior Vice President of Brand Standards for Omni Hotel & Resorts.

“Of the five senses, smell is the most powerful trigger of emotions and memories,” says Rosenstock. “Since the implementation of the Ambius Microfresh scent branding program at our hotels, we have received positive feedback from our guests. Guests continually comment on the cleanliness and freshness of our lobbies, hallways and meeting rooms. While most guests cannot put their finger on the origin of the scent, some guests attribute the fresh aroma in our lobby areas to the lush foliage.”

“Our ambient scenting system results in a holistic, inspiring and memorable atmosphere which complements and reinforces Omni’s mission to exceed the expectations of guests,” says Jeff Mariola, Ambius divisional managing director. “We’re extremely pleased to partner with like-minded companies who understand the role that scent can play in creating a unique experience.”