Sensory marketing: an innovative patent opens up new prospects for brands

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Everyone knows about the smells that tickle your nostrils as you stroll through the stores. Olfactory marketing is not new, and has already proved its worth. To take sensorial marketing a step further, 15-1 diffusion has filed a new patent that opens up an infinite field of possibilities for brands.

Using scents to create an emotional connection with customers and influence consumer behavior is nothing new. The strategy dates back to the 1970s, with the first research into the impact of odors on the human brain. Parallel to this research, Las Vegas casinos, observing the repellent effect of cigarette smells on non-smokers, began using scent diffusers to create more pleasant atmospheres. Today, sensory marketing is (almost) everywhere. "Customers stay with us a lot longer than when we didn't have the diffuser, up to 30 or 40% longer", says the manager of a supermarket in northern France, who opted for a gingerbread scent at the entrance to her store (to whet the appetite) and a mulled wine scent at the checkout to encourage patience, speaking to TF1 . "We even did some tests with GoPro cameras a while back. When the store is scented, customers are much more cheerful when they come in, and they accept contact with sales staff more easily," adds Stéphane Arfi, CEO of Émosens, the company that sold the diffuser to the chain. We're often asked if we don't feel we're manipulating people. So yes, but that's the point of marketing."

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Micro-encapsulating fragrances

Didier Janot and Antoine Quinzin, co-founder of 15-1 Diffusion, take the concept a step further. How do they do it? By encapsulating odors directly in products. With Aloha, the company - which has been offering innovations in technology and materials for a number of years now - offers brands extended creativity to develop their sensory and olfactory marketing. The concept enables the integration of odors (aromas and fragrances, aromatherapy...), various types of protection (UV, dust, repellents...) on the surface or in the mass of materials and products, and even anti-counterfeiting processes. Based on the principle of micro-encapsulation, this technology can be applied to a variety of substrates, including paper, cardboard, fabric, leather, wood, metal, glass... . "We can decide on permanent diffusion with acceleration by touch or temperature. The microcapsules are impermeable to oxygen, guaranteeing that the integrity of the active ingredients used (juices, essential oils, etc.) remains intact. Effluents are diffused thanks to the low porosity of the walls." The technology also makes it possible to decide on the mode of diffusion, which can be either continuous, by the action of friction or according to a defined temperature at which the diffuser starts to work.

Present at the Silmo international optics show in Paris at the end of the year to unveil its new "Aloha Matériaux Augmentés" technology, 15-1 Diffusion made a big impression. What kind of innovation are we talking about? Frames impregnated with a repellent capable of repelling mosquitoes or even lice "with an efficacy rate of over 75% and soon 85%". A convincing process. "We are much in demand from major brands and manufacturers to combat counterfeiting, but also on dust protection or on flavors and the last meter on the shelf, in sectors we sometimes didn't even suspect," confides Didier Janot. To offer active packaging, after all. Concrete projects and applications are already in the pipeline. These include the integration of a perfume's fragrance on its cap, labels or packaging to develop olfactory marketing on the shelf, the integration of customized aromas on leather or other materials, experiential projects based on the diffusion of aromas and fragrances to encourage consumer orientation, and the creation of solid or textile supports to replace disposable sampling. "Many of the major brands, particularly in the luxury sector, think about an application based on their needs or issues. All projects need time to be validated; it's more complicated than applying a brush. There's a whole process involved in finding the right molecule, looking at its ability to be microencapsulated, studying how it reacts on the substrate, and so on. All these elements help to give an idea of the effectiveness of the rendering and the duration of the experiment. This can range from several months to several years, depending on the concentration", says Didier Janot in Premium Beauty News. The wine and spirits sector is due to begin a test phase before the end of the year.

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