Scent sells products – but clever use of images amplifies the effect

Such images, the researchers conclude, are particularly effective if manufacturers and marketers choose pictures that are more likely to stimulate a stronger sense of the imagined smell – for example, cut lemons rather than whole lemons. This suggests that as well as seducing our eyes, the images are stimulating our sense of smell. 

The study, published online in the International Journal of Research in Marketing, could provide manufacturers and marketers with a cost-effective way of promoting the ever-expanding range of scented products. 

Despite rising recognition of the power of scent, the researchers say that much product branding does not include an image evoking an appealing smell. Sometimes, companies even choose images that actually reduce consumer appeal. 

Examples of the latter include objects whose unpleasant odours the product is designed to disguise, such as old running shoes or ash trays. The new study confirms the negative impact of such images. 

As part of the study, participants were asked to choose between two fruit-scented hand wash products with and without pictures of the relevant fruit on packaging or advertising. As expected, the presence of an image was more important in determining consumer choice than whether the hand wash was scented with clementines or pears. 

A rose by any other name… 

Similarly, when considering products described as having a floral scent, images of yellow roses scored better with participants than sunflowers, almost certainly because the latter does not have a strong smell. 

“Marketers and their clients have sought for some time to infuse packaging, and even print advertisements, with appropriate pleasant fragrances. There is strong evidence that appealing scents can boost sales in shops,” says research paper co-author Zachary Estes, Professor of Marketing at the City University of London. 

“However, for individual products that process is costly and not always particularly practical. It also has limited impact; research suggests that just 11% of customers sniff fragranced magazine ads, for example. 

“Our study suggests there is a less expensive route to the olfactory senses – one where people’s imaginations almost do the marketer’s work.  

“It is no surprise that attractive images of flowers or fruit with pleasant smells will attract customers if they are relevant to the product. However, that impact can be magnified by using specific images (such as cut lemons rather than whole lemons) that intensify stimulation of the olfactory senses as well.” 

The research paper is co-authored by Varun Sharma, Assistant Teaching Professor at Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar. 

You can find out more about the study here.