In-store advertising plays a major role in the purchase decisions of the customers. Advertisers are always looking for innovative ways to catch the eyeballs of the potential customers. The marketing has to be targeted, one-to-one, suited to the needs and tastes of the customers…or perhaps the smell too. It has been proven that smells have a powerful effect on people. They can take people back to a pleasant time and make them actually feel the product.

So, what could be the most effective and vibrant advertising tool to lure the customers than the aroma-emitting digital signage? Japanese telecommunications company NTT offers Kaoru Digital Signage, which first appeared near Kirin City Beer Hall, giving smells of orange and lemon and videos of foaming jugs of beer. It was observed that 70 per cent of the passers-by reacted positively to the aroma-emitting advertisement.

Awareness of the aromatic digital signage was 5.28 times greater than the standard non-aroma signage. The aroma-emitting Kaoru Digital Signage system is based on web technology. The aromas are produced by a computercontrolled device that operates as per the instructions set by the internet. The signage comes with a 30 x 50 x 15 centimeter aroma diffuser, a 19-inch display and an NTT Spot Media content receiver. The flat-panel signage is fitted with a fragrance emitter that holds three base oils in a cartridge.

Spot Media web-connected digital signs are being used for marketing communications and customer services by financial institutions, medical facilities, public offices, retail stores and others.

While, the Fragrance Communication (Kaori Tsushin) service manages the emission of aromas via web-connected devices, the Spot Media service sends content from a remote server to digital signage. Fragrance Communication service is already deployed in venues such as retail stores, cafes and office lobbies, reflecting the growing trend toward using aromas as an active marketing tool. The smell pervades an area around 5 meters from the diffuser.

In addition to the Kirin City Beer feasibility study, NTT also conducted feasibility studies with the cosmetics company Shiseido (advertising signage with a rose fragrance in Shinjuku Station), and the Metropolitan Express Company (fragrance emissions to relax drivers at a highway rest area). And it was reported that in the Shiseido study, the number of passers-by noticing the name of Shiseido in the sign doubled when a rose fragrance was emitted, compared to when no aroma was emitted.

Another company offering aromatic digital signs is YCD, which is a leading provider of digital in-store media solutions. Aroma Espresso Bar, one of its clients, uses YCD’s digital media solution to increase revenue with point of sale, deliver a coherent brand experience, and provide customers with on-site entertainment. The cash display screens provide Aroma with a direct promotional channel that can be easily measured.

The espresso bar has experienced a 25-35 per cent overall sales increase after using these signs. Furthermore, they experienced a 70 per cent sale increase on promoted desserts, 30 per cent increase on promoted flavoured mineral water, and 50 percent increase on coffee and cake promotions. YCD’s solutions, distributed through its direct sales team and its global network of integrators, allow its customers worldwide to integrate and manage hundreds of customised audio and video channels through a single web-based interface, across hundreds or even thousands of locations.

While the new aroma technology’s full potential remains to be seen, it is believed that commercial aromatherapy will be in common use in business districts, as well as in hospital waiting rooms and other public spaces. As it is, NTT’s Kaori Tsushin aroma system is already used to pump fragrances into cinemas to heighten emotions among audiences at sad or happy moments in a film, and during love scenes. The concept in still in its nascent stage and is yet to spread to the Indian market but the way Indian signage industry is dynamically changing, the day is not far when aromatic digital signs will become a reality here as well!