The sense of smell is the only one of our five senses that is directly connected to the part of the brain that processes emotion, memory and associated learning. All other senses are processed by the thalamus (the part of the brain responsible for "thinking").
It has been said you are 100 times more likely to remember something that you smell than something that you see, hear or touch. Savvy marketers are now starting to utilize this fact by creating an olfactory logo for their business.
So what exactly is an olfactory logo?
In the marketing world, creating an olfactory logo is also known as "scent branding". It is the process of creating a custom scent that the brand devises to embody its unique brand characteristics. Similar to a graphic logo, the olfactory logo is used wherever the brand is present. After repeated exposures to the olfactory logo, the smell becomes strongly associated with that brand.
Some examples of companies that have created olfactory logos are Abercrombie & Fitch, Westin Hotels, W Hotel and Sony retail stores.
