That “New Car” Smell: Connecting our memories with brands

When I was a junior in high school, my English teacher gave us an interesting assignment. She walked around the room and had each student pull out a card from a deck she was holding. Each card had the name of a noun (person, place, thing, idea). Our assignment – in two to three sentences, describe what this noun sounds, feels and smells like.

It took a couple minutes of thinking for all of us to write something down, but it is an assignment I will never forget. It’s something that comes back to me every now and then. In fact, over the weekend I was eating at a fast food restaurant that I hadn’t been to in a very long time and the smells of the place and taste of the food immediately brought me back to the last time I had been there.

The senses are a powerful thing that can bring up a memory, create a reaction, evoke an emotion. And we are constantly bombarded with stimulants for any one of the senses at any given time. Now, it looks like brands are uses this power behind the senses to their advantage. Namely, Liberty Mutual.

In a recent article, AdAge described a new ad from Liberty Mutual in which they infused the “new car” smell into the page similar to a perfume or cologne ad one might get from a magazine. The idea was to tap into the memory of the reader. The “new car” smell from the ad would connect with the reader when they again encountered that smell, thus causing the reader to think back to the ad and to Liberty Mutual.

Utilizing this format of advertising that has to do with the power of the senses opens up possibilities for many other brands. What will come next from this new avenue of marketing communication? Will REI infuse the smell of a campfire and pine trees into an advertisement of their choosing? Will an ad for MAC feature soft touch paper on the parts of the page where a product is placed? What about that “new book” smell? Maybe Fabletics will infuse the smell of new yoga mats or gym equipment into their next ad. Are we one step closer to “smell-a-vision” or another development in marketing communication technology, bringing the consumer that much closer to the product and ultimately the brand?

It’s exciting to see how a company like Liberty Mutual is able to get creative and take an advertisement technology development like infusing scents into paper and make it work for them.

References:

Pasquarelli, A. (2019, May 1). Liberty Mutual’s new car-scented ad reminds drivers they’ll need insurance too. AdAge.Retrieved from https://adage.com/creativity/work/liberty-mutual-scented-car-insurance-ad/2168421