To increase the appeal of houses and apartments to prospective buyers, real estate agents in New York have begun using scent marketing techniques to evoke cozy feelings that remind them of home.
Rather than house that smells like dog breath, cat food, hamster cage or the dinner cooked the night before, the agents infuse the house with fresh scents like lavender or citrus in the warmer months and light a fire for the comfortable smell of burning wood in the winter. The smell that wins over hearts year round? Baking cookies!
It's the same concept grocery stores use -- ever notice how enticing the smell of freshly baking bread is from bakery? When I was a kid, a local supermarket would not only have the smell of baking cookies wafting through the store, they gave out free cookies to kids. That was more than enough reason for me to beg my mom to shop there than at the competitor's.
Jacqueline Urgo, the president of Manhattan real estate company, Marketing Directors, offers cookies to clients too.
"It gives our sales offices a homey, comfortable environment and we're able to offer our visitors some wonderfully warm, fresh-baked cookies," she said.
"We have no way of tracking sales from our cookies," Urgo said. "It's a little something we do because it leaves people with a good feeling. The smell of freshly baked cookies reminds people of home."
Targeting the olfactory senses when marketing a product is a technique being utilized by an increasing amount of marketing professionals, particularly in the last year.
Sniff your way through these other neat scent marketing campaigns:
Cookies Sell Homes
Real Estate Scent Marketing
Trend Themes
1. Scent Marketing - Using scents to evoke specific emotions and create a more appealing atmosphere for buyers.
2. Olfactory Marketing - Targeting the sense of smell to enhance the overall customer experience and create positive associations.
3. Emotional Branding - Using sensory cues like scents to create emotional connections between brands and consumers.
Industry Implications
1. Real Estate - Opportunity for real estate agents to enhance the appeal of properties by utilizing scent marketing techniques.
2. Retail - Retailers can leverage scent marketing strategies to create a more immersive and memorable shopping experience.
3. Hospitality - Hotels and resorts can use scent marketing to create a welcoming and comforting atmosphere for guests.