When we start to plan an event, it’s easy to just focus on the visuals and the practicality of an event. Do we have enough tables and chairs, are there any bathrooms with easy access? Will it look interesting and engaging, and will it get people’s attention and get them raving about the event.
We often focus on 4 of the 5 senses, but leave the smell element and sense to chance and put minimal thought into it.
In reality though, this often-over looked sense can create unforgettable emotions, draw on past experiences and potentially drive new behaviour.
For all its positives, it can be a much harder sense to master, than your typical look and hear, but when done well, it can work with the other senses in your event design to create a truly immersive event experience.
We recently worked alongside the team at Gennue Lab for their new brand and product launch, and were tasked with the job of transforming the office into an immersive rainforest experience.
The product focuses on all natural ingredients, and the brand has a heavy emphasis on sustainability and being one with nature. Their product photography and website focuses on being in the outdoors.
Why Scent Matters In Events?
Scent is one of the most powerful elements because it activates your limbic system, this is the part of your brain that is responsible and in control of your emotions and memories. This means with the right plan and levels, scent has the ability to do many things that drive our emotions.
Let’s take a quick look at hour our event for Gennue Lab used each of the following principals to elevate the event.
Set The Mood
You will have noticed yourself when you walk into a day spa, or a beautiful homewares store and an incense is burning, or a natural scent has been sprayed. You instantly feel relaxed, and more at peace. You will often find yourself taking a deep breath as you sit down and take it all. The same can be said when you step into a sterile hospital, the detergent smell can often cause feelings of panic and dread.
Scents in events have the same ability, the ability to be able set the mood for everyone involved.
The brief for the Gennue Lab event was to transform everyone into an immersive rainforest, but more so, make them feel relaxed, energised and ready to take part in a yoga session.
From the minute the doors were opened, the guests took a deep breath and took in the relaxing rainforest scent. This coupled with sounds of a running stream, and bird noises, had guests getting into the mood for yoga much faster than site alone.
Enhance Memory
Scent is so closely tied to our memories. How many times have you driven past a local fast food joint, or been somewhere that has the same candle burning that your mum always has at home? It instantly sets the scene and takes you back to that exact moment in time, how you were feeling and what you were doing.
Whilst the guests on our event may not have smelt the particular scent before, the ingredients in the scent will have raised memories of being in any rainforests themselves, or even a spa or another relaxing environment.
By activating the limbic system, we are now creating an emotional link (without the guests knowing) between the event, and that smell, that they will take with them long after the event.
Boost Brand Recognition
We know that using scent creates these much stronger emotional pathways, but how does that translate to an increase in brand recognition, and ultimately an ROI on the brand.
The simple answer is, every time the guests now smell this particular scent, they will be triggered to remember your brand. It’s a pretty straight forward connection, and acts as another form of brand recognition.
Choosing The Right Scent
One of the hardest parts of incorporating scent into an event and associating it with a brand, is picking the right scent.
Choosing the wrong scent can result in bad responses on the event day. Afterall, no one wants to the scent of rubbish or sewerage floating through the event.
Likewise, we need to think carefully about the scent associated with a the brand, and what the brand stands for. Utilising a pretty, light floral scent for a men’s fashion brand, is likely going to confuse consumers and have adverse impacts on the brand recognition.
We really spent time focusing for Gennue Lab to ensure the scent smelt uplifting, to make sure it smelt natural and in the end, we went with an incense provider that uses no nasty chemicals in their scents to ensure the brand ethos was carried through this element.
How To Physically Incorporate into your event
There are limited options when it comes to incorporating scent into an event. When it comes to the other senses, the options are essentially endless, when it comes to smell, we have less options.
Diffusers and Scent Machines
This was the solution we went for with Gennue Lab, installing 3 diffusers around the space to dispense throughout the event. This worked well for this particular event as it was a controlled indoor space, with clear sealable doors to help contain the scent.
Room sprays and incense burners also fall into this category, relying on the incense to be burning through the event, and the spray to be topped up.
Scented Décor
A great subtle way to get scent into an event is through the décor, picking scented flowers and candles to help bring in the scent. Whilst these can be more cost effective, as they are already factored into the décor budget, and not an extra line item – they can be a less reliable solution. Some flowers smell a lot, some candles burn really well – you often won’t know until the day of.
Scented Giveaways
Little give aways and take home packages can be a great way to get the scent to individuals, and create something that lasts after the event. These are easier to execute on the day, but can be a more expensive option, and difficult to ensure consistency throughout.
Overall events, experiential marketing and brand activations are the only form of marketing that a brand can undertake that engages the scent sense. Anything online and in digital form, lacks this extra sense and are limited to only the see and hear sense, meaning an event with a smell, will always be more likely to engage.
Afterall, who doesn’t remember that signature scent cascading out of the store every time you walked past and Abercrombie and Fitch store?
Do you want to use scents in your events to elevate them to the next level? Make sure you reach out here so we can chat more about using smell to elevate your brand.
