Brazil Embraces Endorphin Branding™

How important is the sense of smell to Brazilians? Well, for the Bororo, body odor is associated with the very life force of a person, and breath odor with that person’s soul. The Desana believe that
all members of the same tribe share a like-smelling odor, and ensure the genetic health of future generations by allowing marriage only between people with different body odors.

It’s no surprise, then, that the scent marketing phenomenon should take off in this highly scent-sitive region, and taking off, it is. From fashion brand Le Lis Blanc (which linked its olfactive logo to its consumers’ positive experiences) to baked goods company Bauducco (whose highly successful campaign diffused a chocolate fragrance into movie theaters in conjunction with a visual ad), the scent marketing phenomenon is taking off in Brazil. Janice Zanatta, olfactive marketing consultant for Good Smell Consultoria in Curitiba, Brazil, believes her country’s growing interest in scent branding is a direct reflection of the Brazil’s diverse and complex culture. “Our culture is highly sensorial in many aspects,” says Zanatta. “Its colors, rhythms, textures and forms require a great spectrum of scents to express and communicate all this diversity.”

“Big global brands set the trend which spurred scent marketing in Brazil,” says Elaine de Oliveira, olfactive marketing consultant for Biomist, one of the pioneers of scent marketing in São Paulo, Brazil. “Brazilian brands, big and small, are now creating their olfactive logo, a scent signature which helps generate brand recall.”

Marcelo Ginzberg from Air Berger, a French consulting firm that established an office in Brazil in June 2008, wholeheartedly concurs. “A wide variety of businesses have been adopting olfactive logos—hotels, spas, medical facilities, pharmacies, gyms, restaurants, banks and supermarkets have capitalized on scent marketing to attract consumers.”