Taking a Whiff
Article in Sunday's NYT real estate magazine--Key--about aromatherapy in commercial real estate. Inspired by retailers such as Pottery Barn and Starbucks at creating distinctive environments through meticulously chosen lighting, woods, background music, and fabrics, scent design is now the new frontier.
Scent marketing is becoming increasingly pervasive--Advertising Age named it one of their top ten trends to watch in 2007. Starting with a development's traditional architecture and interiors vocabulary--the identity is expanded to include aromas and auditory elements to tell a story, reinforce the project's position and seduce the target demographic.
Smell is the primary way most creatures identify mates, food and home--our most primal and deeply rooted sense.
"The ambiance that scent creates is critical"
"People will make quicker decisions, be willing to pay more for the property and most likely be so emotionally engaged that they are removed from the rational part of their behavior"
Now companies like ScentAir and AromaSys promise to help you and your project tap into the power of a memorable aroma.
Time for me to wake up and smell the coffee [ugh] on this tool--can't wait to put it to work on my next project.
