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Is
the usual big budget TVC or full-page newspaper ad you've been
running for years not doing the trick? It's time to try something
different. John Davidson nominates five out-of-the box marketing
strategies that will help you stand out from the crowd and work
wonders for your brand.
2.) The Smell of Success
Scent might not be something that immediately comes to mind when
you are creating a brand, but increasingly it can play a powerful
role in delivering a memorable
brand experience. That’s something Simon Faure-Field, CEO of Equal
Strategy, certainly recognizes, as his company specializes in
delivering customer experiences for businesses such as hotels,
retailers and banks.
Equal Strategy uses music and recorded telephone messages on hold
to deliver customer experiences but it is the area of fragrance,
or scent marketing, where the company is really making strides. It
is the only outfit in Asia that works with world-class perfume
houses to create unique scents for its clients. When the boutique
Singapore hotel Naumi opened its doors in 2007, it wanted to stand
out from
the pack and enlisted Equal Strategy to create a distinct lime and
green scent which is pumped through its hotel. Adeline Quek,
director of marketing at Naumi, says the fragrance has helped
differentiate Naumi as a product. “It’s had a big impact on
creating an impression – it forms a lasting experience,” she says.
“I believe in psychological marketing.” Equal Strategy operates
across Asia and has worked with clients in Japan, Indonesia, Dubai
and in Singapore with brands such as Pan Pacific, Starwood,
Raffles, Daimler Benz and Changi Airport. Recently it worked with
New Balance on the launch of its flagship concept store in Bejing,
which celebrates the sporting giant’s 100-year history. The store
has a nostalgic feel to invoke memories of the
1950s and 60s, complete with 50s style music and a unique woody
vanilla scent which
harks to the old New Balance shops of the past. “This sort of
sensory branding has fast
become the brave new world of retail,” Faure-Field says. “It’s no
longer simply enough to present your products or services in a
strongly branded visual context; the brand needs to connect with
all five senses of the customer in order to create resonance and
establish longterm loyalty”. Scent marketing is not exactly a new
idea – it has been around for the past 10-15 years after being
started in the US. Westin Hotels was one of the first brands to
employ scent marketing on a global scale. But in Asia its
potential is still relatively under utilized.
Faure-Field says scent marketing is best employed in an integrated
strategy, combined
with the right product and good service, but when it is done so it
can be extremely powerful. “It’s about creating an environment
that’s appealing to consumers,” he says. “Creating long-term
loyalty. [It helps] make your brand more sustainable, more
powerful and more profitable.”
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