|
What's that smell? Oh, just brand consultant Simon Faure-Field giving
us the "360-degree branding."
You're a "brand atmospherics" consultant for shops and hotels in
Asia- what does that mean exactly?
I help companies connect with
their customers at both conscious and subconscious levels in ways that develop
customer and brand loyalty. Next time you visit your favorite shop or
restaurant; try to observe all those non-visual cues that make you enjoy the
whole experience. Lighting, mood, ambience, sounds and smells- these are the
aspects of the experience that will make you return.
We've never heard of using sounds and smells for branding before.
Don't fancy logos and slogans work anymore?
As consumers become
better traveled and more sophisticated, those traditional marketing methods are
getting less effective. Shoppers don't just want to know how a brand looks but
also how it smells and sounds.
How persuasive would you say environmental branding
is?
Extremely. One scientific study found that playing low temp
music in a supermarket caused shoppers to slow down, relax and increased sales
by 38.2 per cent. Another study compared the effects of playing top 40 hits and
classical and jazz in a wine shop, and found that while sale volume did not
increase, the nett value of each sale increased when classical or jazz music was
played.
You're from the UK, and have a background in interior design and
management- so how did you end up doing a job like this in Asia
anyway?
Fortunately, my passion for music and DJ-ing collided with
my interest in marketing. I came to Asia in 1995 and found myself in a market
hungry for new ideas. I also love the food here!
Tell us about some of the projects your company Equal Strategy has
done.
Naumi Hotel came to us for a cool, modern, chill-out
ambience. We also styled several restaurants and public areas of the new Raffles
Dubai Hotel, Courts also works with us extensively and we've styled most of
their stores. Their living and bedroom departments require a different more
laid-back ambience from their electronics department, in which we've rendered
high arousal techno music. Oh, and we recently carried out an exciting music and
fragrance project for the largest bank in South-east Asia.
Wait. Did you say high arousal?
I know this is FHM but in
behavioral parlance when we talk about 'arousal levels' we mean the
physiological and psychological state of being awake, not anything else, okay!
It's been proven that sensory input influences perhaps 80 per cent of our
decision-making processes, as distinct from the purely logical and rationale
part. Therefore if a retailer or a hotel for instance, reaches out to you across
many different senses, it follows that the decision to buy is reinforced much
more strongly.
How do you prescribe the scents?
It depends on the
client's objectives, whether they want to wake people up with a zesty
citrus-based fragrance, or make them more relaxed through a low arousal scent
like vanilla.
What do you think FHM should smell like?
It should be
fruity, zesty and very refreshing. Youre not a boring magazine-it's exciting
new, and interesting-in that context, FHM should smell very refreshing, sporty
and something that makes the heart pulse increase.
So how many scents do you have?
We have an infinite
selection. There are about 3,500 scents in the standard library. I have a scent
box that has around 60 samples-ranging from high arousal, dynamic ones like
coffee to more subtle ones.
Whats the difference between your fragrance and perfumes or home
fragrances?
Home fragrances have cheaper ingredients, and generally
smell more like kitchen or bathroom cleaners. We use fragrance that smell more
like perfumes. Fine fragrances, such as CK One and Chanel, have around 65
ingredients. Ours have around 45. If you go to public lavatories, the squirt
machines you see on the wall use about three or four economical
ingredients-thats why they tend to smell a bit raw, basic and not
too...pleasing.
Have you come up with any better fragrances?
Well, we use
Ginger Lime in a gym in Singapore. Here, you have people working up a good sweat
and may not always smell so nice. The fragrance is blended into our odor
neutralizer, which changes the structure of body odor so you cannot smell it (or
do not recognize it.) We have not yet implemented it in any lavatories, but it
would work really well.
We haven't done the laundry lately. How can we still smell
good?
We provide clients with an odor neutralizer that eliminates
bad smells, from body odor to tobacco smoke. But it's not meant to be an
alternative to good personal hygiene!
Give us a tip on using scents to improve our chance with the
ladies?
Some people say that the musky smell is attractive to the
opposite sex. The market trend at the moment is that fragrances tend to be very
citrusy, green and fruity. But if you're trying to increase your likelihood of
scoring, basic hygiene comes in-make yourself smell good without trying too
hard. Because that's a turn-off, isn't it?
How about music-what do you usually encourage retailers to play and
how does it influence shoppers?
Depends on their business
requirements. How do they want their customers to behave? What sort of emotional
connection do they want to achieve? Demographic and psycho-graphic profiles need
to be considered.
Okay, so what shouldn't it do?
Playing techno music in
Mother care is an outright no. And nothing offensive, so generally I don't
recommend rap music because of the obscene lyrics. I once encountered a sports
store in Singapore, which was playing R&B with so many expletives. As I was
with my wife and child, I didn't find it appropriate. They really need my
help!
So if I'm bringing a girl back to my pad on a date, what sort of
"environmental branding" would you recommend to improve the chances of
scoring?
Let's say you've returned from clubbing and both enjoyed
the music. I'd recommend something of a lower tempo to create a relaxed
atmosphere whilst retaining the same music tone, so put on something from
Thievery Corporation. For scent, it has to be extremely light, almost to the
point of being unnoticeable. And not too masculine or feminine, otherwise you'd
look like you are trying too hard.
You also use telephone-on-hold and in-store messaging to stimulate
people to buy. So what's the recorded message on your
voicemail?
Just "leave your name and message and I'll get back to
you." I didn't want to go over the top; I don't think I need to try that
hard!
You advise others for a living-what's the best advice you've ever
had?
Follow your heart and gut instinct, and do what you love. That
is from my mum.
|
