We all hate TV commercials
Marketing budget often goes toward broadcast advertising. We all know the dreaded feeling of watching your favourite television show and there is that dramatic pause as you wait anxiously for the figurative bomb to drop, and just then… ADVERT. You shout out: “Come on!” and then you get up, take a toilet break or go make a cup of coffee while you wait for the annoying adverts to finish. If you are lucky enough to have the premium DSTV package you don’t even have to watch any adverts. And then, of course there are platforms like Netflix and Showmax that allow us the wonderful privilege of never having to watch adverts ever again. Thank you internet!
If your company can afford 2 cappuccinos per hour, you can afford scent marketing
You might be wondering why we’re rambling on about adverts but bare with us, there is a point here – companies pay up to R300 000 for a 30 second advert during prime time and this gives you about 100 spread-out adverts. That is R3000 per 30 seconds, R360 000 per hour. So, for a marketing technique that’s efficiency is dwindling, companies are still paying outrageous prices for them and needing a huge marketing budget. They are buying an expensive two slot toaster that only toasts one piece of bread.
On the other hand, scent marketing – which has shown increasing success over the last few years, is a fraction of the price of the tiring, old and expensive marketing campaigns.
Let’s consider a large building, spending R20 000 per month on fragrance, with a diffusing machine which runs for 15 hours a day over a 30-day period. That means that per hour this company will be spending R44,44 which is over 8100 times less than that of a television advert. If we had to put this into simple terms and compare the two different marketing strategies using cappuccinos, a company that uses scent marketing would be buying 2 cappuccinos on average per hour where as a company using an advert campaign would be buying 18 000 cappuccinos on average per hour. From this perspective one can definitely see which of the two is the least harmful to your marketing budget . Hint, it’s scent marketing.
Return on Investment of scent marketing
Of course we know that it isn’t all about money and we want a marketing strategy that works. So back to the ad campaign – the cost is high, so you assume it will work. Your TV ad is getting played so you focus on a small percentage of people that are actually still ‘watching’ adverts. An advert break is about 5 minutes long that means if every advert is 30 seconds long then the viewer will see 10 different adverts. This is information overload.
When your brain is overloaded with information it does not take anything in and in a way “shuts” down. So even when people are seeing your advert, a memory of your company isn’t even being formed. On the other hand, your nose immediately stores memories without even knowing it. By diffusing a certain scent, people have formed an impression and memory of your brand unconsciously. You have captured their attention which is rare these days due to the information overload caused by traditional forms of marketing.
As the world evolves so must everything else and old school marketing strategies have unfortunately become too ineffective and too pricey. It is time to throw that broken toaster out and get yourself one that works and doesn’t require you to sell your left kidney! Scent marketing is the future… smells good, doesn’t it?