Advertising aimed at the sense of smell

If the picture of a beer cup with a white foam before the restaurant gate is not strong enough to invite visitors to go, the characteristic aromas of oranges, lemons . waving in the wind can make their sense of smell ecstatic and after stop to stop.

NTT Media Group in Japan is expecting the aroma advertising technology they will test today to be able to govern customer behavior. The trial is expected to last two months in front of a restaurant in Tokyo to assess whether the smells that pass through the air affect restaurant sales. If successful, the test results will contribute to ' birth ' a new type of advertising aimed at consumers' sense of smell to stimulate demand.

According to NTT, the scent will come from a device controlled by a computer and over the Internet . About 80 scents will be tested at different times of the day and their effect will be compared to the times when the aroma machine stops working. At lunch time, orange and lemon flavors are expected to help diners feel healthy again and eat well. At night, the aroma of herbs will take on the task of attracting customers to walk into the restaurant.

The whole aroma diffuser system 'Kaori Tsushin'. On the left is the scent storage unit of the machine. (Photo: CNET)

In previous tests, NTT has proven that scent has the potential to affect human behavior. At the beginning of this year, orange flavor and lavender aroma - thought to help relax the mind - when tested in a shopping district in Tokyo helped the revenue increase by 4.8%. NTT also tested the power of vanilla flavor at its headquarters. The company occasionally brings chocolates to customers, and finds out every time the foyer faintly vanilla flavor, the number of people walking to the chocolate tray doubled compared to normal.

The ' Kaori Tsushin ' system built by NTT can simultaneously diffuse 3 scents in a 5 meter radius. A small computer, in addition to receiving and transmitting orders via the Internet to the computer, is also capable of controlling the operation of ' Kaori Tsushin ' and billboards displaying the accompanying products.

Last year, this system was used to spray scents into 2 cinemas in Tokyo and Osaka to increase the audience's feelings while enjoying the movie.

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