I'm officially making my next shindig a Pheromone Party in honor of Judith Prays' ingenious social experiment. Prays' Pheromone Party was essentially a way for people to meet one another based solely upon how they smelled.
Forty guests were invited and told not to wear deodorant or perfume to bed for three nights in a row. Guests were also told to wear the same shirt for those three nights and then to bring that shirt to the party. The shirts were then sealed in a plastic bag and color coded. Guests smelled each shirt during the course of the night and, if they were really taken by a shirt's scent, their photograph would be taken with it. Photographs were then projected onto a wall creating an awkward/awesome icebreaker.
According to Prays, the Pheromone Party was a success with 12 out of 40 guests "hooking up" and six out of those 12 forming long relationships. If you're upset at not being able to attend the party, don't despair as another one is planned for 2012.
Social Scent Shindigs
The Pheromone Party Lets You Find Love via Smell
Trend Themes
1. Pheromone Experiments - Opportunity for hosting pheromone experiments as unique social events
2. Scent-based Dating - Disruptive innovation opportunity for scent-based dating services
3. Multi-sensory Experiences - Trend towards multi-sensory experiences in social events and dating services
Industry Implications
1. Event Planning - Opportunities to incorporate unique and experimental elements into event planning services
2. Online Dating - Opportunities for online dating services to incorporate scent-based matching algorithms
3. Perfume and Fragrance - Opportunity for perfume and fragrance industry to capitalize on trend towards scent-based experiences and dating services