The Dramatic Success of Theatrical Scent Branding

German filmgoers were in the dark as to the purpose of the minute-long spot that preceded the feature–showing a sunny beach and lounging sunbathers and breaking waves–right up until the final seconds, when the scent of Nivea sun cream filled the theater, accompanied by the onscreen legend, “Nivea. The Scent of Summer.” Then, the purpose came to them. More importantly, it stayed with them. Cinema exit polls showed that the theater patrons exposed to this ad had an astounding 515% higher recall of the Nivea ad than those who saw the same spot without the scent!

Cinescent works by pumping smells through the theater’s air-conditioning system to distribute a scent that evenly covers other odors without being overpowering. The process allows much finer fragrance molecules to reach the audience, minimizing the allergy and irritation problems encountered by previous attempts, when smells were dispensed via boxes located among the audience.

“We are talking to a handful of clients, including sun cream, bread, coffee, perfume, air fresheners and chocolate manufacturers,” says Mike Hope-Milne of the cinema advertising company Pearl & Dean, who was so impressed by the German test that he is bringing the technology to the U.K. “We are entering into a tough ad market so we do need to try new things and find new ways to appeal to advertisers.” This type of Endorphin Branding™ may be just the ticket. “It’s encouraging people to reappraise the medium,” says Hope-Milne, noting that three of the companies now showing interest in Cinescent have never previously advertised in movie theaters at all.