Everyone has experienced that sharp flash of a memory triggered by the olfactory sense. Now imagine a brand’s boutique causing that reaction. 12.29 co-founder Dawn Goldworm penned her insights on why scent is a key component of a brand’s identity, and how it can be used as a powerful marketing tool.
Break Through the Clutter
On average, the American consumer is exposed to anywhere between 5,000 to 10,000 advertisements a day. That is a glut of information vying to grab your attention. And every effort marketers make to break through this clutter only adds more chaos. Consumers are over whelmed and searching for more authentic ways to engage. It's through branding that we have the opportunity to break through the clutter and connect on a deeper level.
Branding Through Human Experience
The overabundance of information leaves us feeling isolated. This heightens our desire to belong, which drives the formation of modern community building. The tentpoles of this new modern community are brands. How can brands use this latent opportunity to influence consumerism? It is human experience that provides the lever for brands to more deeply engage. 
12.29 Scent
Subconscious Messaging
To emotionally engage with consumers in a novel and disruptive fashion, brands must utilize a unique visceral language that transcends our visual and auditory senses. Visceral language communicates on a subconscious level, delivering a deeper message than traditional marketing. It captures the spirit of modern luxury and contemporary brand-building providing a platform for more distinct brand differentiation. A brand’s story is incomplete without this type of emotional engagement.
Create Emotional Space
At 12.29, we engage the visceral language of scent to define, shape and communicate brand identity. Smell is a powerful brand language that communicates identity and differentiation. A signature scent creates an emotional space around a brand’s audience by building and nurturing a community around shared feelings and powerful bonds. By integrating scent as a pillar of brand identity, we create immediate and memorable connections between brands and consumers.
