Scent emitting ads may help fragrance companies rebound in 2009

Six Scents is one of a number of products the company will be offering, allowing fragrance companies to engage with consumers on both an olfactory and visual level.

Fragrance can either be emitted at fixed intervals controlled by a timer, or can be triggered by the passer by, explained JCDecaux Airport’s Richard Malton.

This works on a number of levels, as not only does it allow the passenger to sample the fragrance, it also makes them stop and engage with the visual message of the advert, he said.

Although the roadside version of the product has already been used by Givenchy in a number of bus shelters in London, this is the first time it will be available in airports.

Tapping into travel retail​

And, as travel retail is a particularly important source of revenue for the cosmetics industry, the company has high hopes for the product.

“The best advertising locations in airports, close to the duty free outlets for example, are fiercely fought over. The fact that we can build in the demonstration and get people to experience the products is a big step forward for us and we are expecting this to be very popular with the fragrance and cosmetics industry,” ​he told CosmeticsDesign.com.

Time to kill in the duty free stores​

As well as being close to the point of sale, there are other particularities of the airport environment that make it perfect for this kind of interactive campaign.

Primarily, passengers wait around a lot. After going through check-in and security a one to two hour wait is not uncommon, leaving people ample time to engage with the campaigns.

Furthermore, purchasing from duty free outlets is a popular way of spending this time. According to Malton, passengers are prepared to make purchases in duty free stores that they may not make under other circumstances.

Tapping into the holiday mindset​

“It is all part of the holiday mindset, its holiday money. And Duty free is part of the airport process,”​ he said.

And finally, few other places deliver such a high demographic profile. The average airport passenger is more likely to purchase luxury fragrances than those waiting at London bus stops.

According to Malton, you don’t get this impressive combination in other advertising spaces. The High street may have the benefit of being close to the point of sale, but the holiday mindset and the wait time are not the same.

“It is obviously too early to tell for sure but we are confident that this will be met with success,” ​he said.