Marketing research methods and applications

Marketing Research

The authors looked at the effects of scents on recall of brands. They noted that, in spite of a lack of research, ambient scents are already being used in a variety of retail settings including grocery stores and restaurants. They are used for other purposes in both offices and subways. In two different studies, participants looked at photographs of brands. Some brands were familiar to the participants and some were not. Images were delivered via computer for specific lengths of times. During these episodes, a diffuser distributed scent into the room. 24 after this activity, the subjects' recall, for both name brand and recognition, were tested. In both studies, the presence of an ambient scent improved both recognition and recall. The authors provided supporting evidence for their research, including research demonstrating a tie between scent and memory, a possible scientific explanation for that tie, and an example of this link from fiction (Proust's novel Remembrance of Things Past, where the protagonist smells a cookie, and the smell releases waves of forgotten childhood events). The researchers looked at the interplay between ambient scent, participant attention, and later recall. They analyzed these factors related to products the participants were familiar with and unfamiliar with. Interestingly, follow up research demonstrated that the use of ambient scent improved memory of a new brand, but did not help in recall. This may have been because there was only a 24-hour span between the encoding phase and the retrieval phase.

DISCUSSION OF RESEARCH:

The author's purpose was to explore the use of ambient scents to improve brand recognition and recall. They sought to determine what, if any, association exists between scent and the strong recall of memories, including memories of people, products or events. They noted that ambient scents are currently being used in supermarkets, restaurants, office buildings, casinos and subway stations in order to influence behavior, while another company is exploring ways to tie scents to internet sites. The researchers looked at the conceptual background for the use of ambient scents, and noted that some researchers believe that providing an ambient scent evokes moods in people. However, other researchers point toward sent affecting state-dependent memory mechanisms. That is, if an event is accompanied by a scent, then smelling the scent can help recall the memory. The researchers speculated that enhancement of mood via the scent could also enhance the development of memory for the incident or item. Another possibility is that the presence of an ambient scent increases the individual's arousal, or how alert he or she is. This could in turn result in improved cognitive functioning, and specifically, better retrieval from memory. The authors found research suggesting that all of these possibilities might have some merit.

The researchers cited a variety of other studies to support their research, including scientific research tying scent to memory. They noted research spotting the tie between scent and memory (Goldman and Scamon, 1991; and Laird, 1935), and a possible explanation for why it occurs (Holloway, 1999). In addition, they provided an excellent example of how this research links to the real world was provided by the example of Proust's novel Remembrance of Things Past. In this novel, the author smelled a cookie and it brought back a flood of memories from his childhood. They also provided numerous examples of instances where scent is already being used to affect consumer-based or other behavior. The authors found evidence in research of associative memory, tied to scent, being stronger than memories not tied to scent. The totality of the literature, approached from a variety of approaches, all suggest the possibility that scent might be used to enhance recall of products.

The authors provided no illustrated model for their research. They conducted two different experiments. In the first one, they chose two scents that were markedly dissimilar for use in researching scent with toiletry and household cleaning products. In the second test, because the literature suggested that pleasant scents were most effective for evoking memory, they chose two scents that were equally preferred by respondents, so preference for a scent would not influence research outcome. The researchers did extensive work to identify the scents used in their studies. They had undergraduates at a university rate their opinions on various scents and found that some scents were preferred more than others to a significant degree.

For the actual research they also used college students. They restricted the study to English-speaking so that the participant's primary language would not cause misunderstandings. 90 students were randomly assigned to one of three groups where they were provided with a congruent scent (scent appropriate for the product), non-congruent scent (scent not suited to the product), or no scent at all. All participants looked at images of products both familiar and unfamiliar to them, and all worked individually rather than in groups. During the encoding, or exposure, sentence, participants were provided with the smell of geraniums, cloves, or no scent. Half the images were of obscure products they were unlikely to be familiar with.

24 hours later, the subjects returned to the room to see what memories they could retrieve. They were asked to list every product they could remember from the day before. They did not know they would be asked this and so had no reason to mentally review what they had done the day before when they were done. They also answered questions about the experience the day before, such as "Did you notice anything special about the room's atmosphere?"

The computer recorded the respondents' answers for statistical analysis. The researchers used a scale to determine both mood and level of arousal.

The researchers used established methods of statistical analysis. They compared dependent measures with ANOVAs. They also evaluated brand familiarity, and recall of unfamiliar brands, and whether that was tied to scent. They found that congruent scents facilitated product recall more than non-congruent scents did. The research showed that the present of an ambient scent increased attention to the task, brand recall, and accuracy of recognition. However, it was possible that it was the increased attention that resulted in the increased brand recall and accuracy of recognition, making the introduction of the scent irrelevant. To consider this possibility, they conducted additional analyses. These analyses suggested that perhaps the introduction of an ambient scent played a role in increasing attention.

TERMS USED:

Ambient scent: not specifically designed, but in this research meant a specific scent diffused into a room where subjects were participating in the researchers' project.