The Sweet Success of Smell!

Not only has the Scent Marketing Industry managed to escape the negative impact of a crumbling retail economy, it has skyrocketed! While historical declines in US retail sales are being reported by the Commerce Department, record numbers of retailers are turning to alternative methods of merchandising to boost sales. “Strategic scents have been proven to increase the shopper’s dwelling time by as much as 40 percent in a retail environment,” affirms Whiff-Guy C. Russell Brumfield. “Since the economy started to tail-spin in recent months, we’ve heard from some very big companies wanting to adopt scent strategies”

Case in Point: EcoScent, the latest product of special effects giant SnowMasters, is generating such rapid growth that the company is building a new 10,000 square foot plant and hiring an additional 75 workers just to meet the 500-per-month demand for the scent delivery devices.

The EcoScent machines are available in various sizes, and utilize fragrance cartridges either chosen from the over-100 in stock or specially created at the client’s request. Each cartridge lasts about a month, according to SnowMasters owner Francisco Guerra, so there is a constant need to fill orders for both new and existing customers.

The new plant will soon provide a phone line so applicants can contact the company or fax resumes, according to Mike Umberg, director of sales and marketing for EcoScent, and a deal is in the works for an intern program with the University of North Alabama which will train and pay students in the marketing and business fields to help promote and sell the product.

While enthusiastic about the astonishing success of EcoScent, Umberg admits that he didn’t expect such rapid growth in the current economic atmosphere. “We’ve been up and running with this product for eight months. We’re going so fast, we’re petrified.”