Whiff, A Scent Revolution?

 I had cause to review the book "Whiff! The Revolution of Scent Communication in the Information Age", by C Russell Brumfield.   A good overview the concept of the idea, especially in retail.  Now somewhat dated, but nicely covers many of the concepts.  We tested in innovation centers as far back as 2016.  Scent is a powerful idea, but remains imprecise.   If anything comes of this mini-investigation will report on it here if I can.  If you can point me to work in the area, please do.  Be glad to talk it. 

Wizard Technical Events is Twenty Plus

Wizard Events announces that they have been around for twenty years.  I have scoped out some events with them.   Congratulations!  Their founder Russell Brumfield was an early innovator in this space, and is impressive in their ability to add technical components to meetings.    We also used some of his smell-sensory learnings, see his book on the subject.   Look at their global technical capabilities, Techno Chic events, and a new Planning App for setting up complex meetings.  Also add yourself to their newsletter.  Recommended.

Linking Small Business to Innovation

In Innovation Excellence:  How can small business spot innovation and connect to it?  " ... Our businesses evolve and go through so many changes on a regular basis. How do we know what ideas to stick with and which to move on from? Is it possible that we’re staring innovation in the face and we don’t even know it? Despite today’s turbulent economy and ever-changing technology, consider how your business can stop and smell the roses in an attempt to cultivate innovation in your company’s culture. ... " 

Technologies of Touch

From a recent TED:  A look at the technology of Touch.  We did a number of experiments with touch interaction with products.  The attempt was to include other senses in retail interaction.  Smell, Sound and Touch were experimented with as examples beyond the usual kind of interactions.   This is beyond the use of a touch screen, but the use of touch for deeper and more precise engagement beyond just indicating a place on a screen. Its good to see that others are still carrying this work further.

True Impact Neuromarketing

Recently connected with Diana Lucaci of True Impact Marketing in Toronto. A Canadian firm that does neuromarketing studies.   I was impressed with their list of clients and analytical perception of the problem.

See also, their blog for examples.

" ... Our company is a leading Neuromarketing firm in Canada, with two main businesses segments: Strategy and Research. Neuromarketing Strategy involves alignment with your marketing and corporate objectives, identifying the gap in customer understanding, and delivering actionable insights of customer emotional engagement.   Neuromarketing Research is conducted with a specific, target audience and studies communications that appeal to any of the 5 senses: sight, sound, smell, taste, touch. Research grade equipment and protocols are used to ensure the highest level of ethical standards. Our technologies of choice include functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI), Electroencephalogram (EEG) and Eye-Tracking.... " 

Five Senses for the Smart Phone

Looking forward to this development. Cognitive computing:   IBM wants to give the smartphone 5 senses.   " ... IBM believes technology's future lies in cognitive computing, which essentially means making computers think more like humans do. To IBM, that includes giving computers sensors that enable it to touch, see, hear, taste and smell - sensory input as one more piece in the puzzle to help solve problems. ... "

Persistence of Association

An interesting interaction between odor and sound in sleep.  Non conscious interaction between senses and the brain in contexts.    " ... Sleep appears to play a key role in helping the brain consolidate the memories it forms during the day. While past research has indicated that you can't form new memories during sleep, a new study has found that the brain can establish new associations while sleeping. There's a catch, though: its capacity may be limited to certain types of memories—in this case, ones associated with the sense of smell.... " 

Wizard Theatricals and Technology

Russell Brumfield, aka 'The Wiz', colleague who worked with us at the innovation center on aroma technologies has a new web site.  He is an expert on putting on events and now has pulled together dozens of technology specialists to effectively deliver drama, spectacle, technology  and results.  Check it out, contact me if if you want any thoughts on what he has done in the past, and potential for the future.

Tricks of Holiday Marketing

Martin Lindstrom is interviewed in Bloomberg on the complexity of holiday retail marketing. " ...  In an interview with Bloomberg.com’s Ben Steverman, Lindstrom explains some of retailers’ canniest techniques, including why stores suddenly smell like cinnamon during the holidays and what online retailers and casinos have in common. Edited excerpts of the interview follow.... " 

P&G Sports a Mobile Game

P&G's Downy plans a mobile scavenger hunt.  An example of brand oriented marketing gamificatition.

" ... Procter & Gamble fabric softener brand Downy will hold a smartphone-based scavenger hunt in Las Vegas next month to introduce a new product to a young, mobile audience. Downy Unstopables is a new line of scent beads that can be added to the wash to make clothes smell nice. On Dec. 3, smartphone owners in Las Vegas will be able to use their mobile devices to play the Downy Unstopables scavenger hunt for a chance to win a prize.    “With this promotion, Downy would like to dramatize the amplified sensorial experience that Unstopables delivers and leverage the city of Las Vegas because it is often seen as ‘the sensorial capital of the world,’” said Sherilena Strub, a spokeswoman at Procter & Gamble, Cincinnati, OH. .... "   Sign up with Downy here.

Smellit: Remotely Generating Smells

The remote digital delivery of smells and even fragrances was something we experimented with.   The intention was to be able to dial up an aroma at the shelf and selectively engage shoppers  in retail.  Unfortunately, despite the hype, the methods were unable to precisely deliver the smells.  Now,  another  attempt at the same idea.

Meeting Wiz Appears in Smart Meeting Mag

Russell Brumfield, 'the Wiz',  who we have worked with in the area of smart meeting technology and scent delivery strategies, appears in the August 2011 issue of Smart Meeting Magazine, page 54.  He is the head of Wizard Studios, which has continually reinvented meetings.  Click on the space below to see enlarged text.

RFID Badge Networking

Wizard Studios CEO C. Russell Brumfield, who we hosted at the innovation center for scent marketing methods,  is marketing a new people communications device for meetings, reunions and even the singles market.  See their site    Includes an explanatory video.

Social Media Success

What does social media success look like?  " ... While firms are realizing that social media networks harbor the potential to provide intelligence and engage customers, it can be hard to form a picture of what success looks, feels, and smells like ... "

Gamification!

It has been called 'serious games', 'total engagement', 'turning work into play' and collaborative competition. Now Russell Brumfield, who we worked with on a scent branding project, has come up with a set of methods to game-ify real work in the enterprise. He has published some presentations in Youtube to introduce them. I can see these methods being combined with simulations to serve up exactly the kinds of problems that can be solved with games. I will follow with more information here as I learn it. See also my review of Byron Reeves' Book: Total Engagement: Using Games and Virtual Worlds to Change the Way People Work and Businesses Compete. Which does an excellent job of positioning the value of these methods.