Guerlain Sniffs a Winner: Using Scent to Sell Product

Guerlain has introduced a new fragrance that will have us smelling like a baby. According to Sylvaine Delacourte, Guerlain's creative director of fragrances, L'Instant Magic is "built around white musk and these notes are very powdery and soft. I am especially fond of these notes because they remind me of my children's scent and soft skin when they were babies."

According to psychologists, scent is a powerful way of linking our thoughts and emotions to memories. Perhaps the smell of a BBQ reminds us of happy times spent as a family. The scent of apple pie is associated with comfort, happiness - and overall well being. Baby scents are powerful in that they take us back to a time of innocence - a time when everything was new and we were being nurtured by someone else. It's a comforting scent, and as adults we're willing to pay top dollar to bring that memory and feeling back again.

Who doesn't remember the scent of Johnson's baby shampoo or powder? Fred Tewell, group product director at Johnson's says that the smell from Johnson's baby powder "became ubiquitous and that's the underpinning of the baby smell in the American psyche." Tewell says that the baby scent is "calming, nurturing, not sharp - and doesn't immediately grab your senses. Instead, it wafts."

Do you think that scent links us back to experiences and memories? What are examples of specific scents that bring you "back" in time? How does the scent make you feel? What are examples of ways in which other companies have used scent to market their products?

Comments

[Lewis Green]

Karen,

Excellent post. One of Starbucks challenges brought about by technology is that the aroma of coffee is missing from most stores. That aroma increase both the experience and sales.

[Karen Hegmann]

Thanks for your comment Lewis. I can see how the coffee aroma helps sell product. I bet they sell more coffee when those Espresso machines are running full tilt.
Another example where scent sells is when you walk by a bakery. I don't know about you, but if a bakery leaves its door open, I'm almost always guaranteed to walk in there. Who can resist that kind of experience?
There's something primal about the scent of freshly baked goods that makes the experience irresistable.