#ScreenMediaExpo – The Importance Of Whiff

Chris Sheldrake

Continuing our series of presentations at #ScreenMediaExpo in May in London that we think you’d be well advised to attend, we look today at Luc Heijnen, Managing Director, Troades who will be talking about smell!

Praise the Lawd

That’s right: your nose, your hooter, your sense of smell in a talk entitled ‘Take a sniff at Digital Signage…Scent Communication: the ultimate enhancement of the Digital Signage experience‘ on Day 1 Channel 1 Screen Science between 13:30-14:00.

We are constantly bombarded with advertising and information around us and a pretty screen or music is often not enough any more to capture the viewer’s attention. Troades is researching and trying to capitalize on an oft-forgotten, but highly impactful sense –  that of ‘scent’ or smell.

During the session Luc Heijnen will explain that scent might just be one of those key factors that can create added value for Digital Out Of Home projects.

Luc will tell the audience that “We are used to audio and visuals, but scent is something we must add to classic (dynamic) Digital Signage implementations. It is easy to implement and has a huge impact”.

Evidently it is scientifically proven that scent creates an impulse that is not filtered by the human brain creating something is called a ‘direct stimulus’

This presentation will reference the power of scent as part of a wider mix of digital and traditional media from case studies including Douglas (Germany), Mercedes Benz, Miele (Netherlands), Samsung (USA) and from empirical research from sources such as Millward Brown and the University of Rockerfeller.

Delegates will have a better understanding of how scent can be one of the most effective ways to create an enhanced customer experience. It eludes rational thinking and stimulates emotional reactions and that it is simple to add at the point of experience.

From a practical perspective, delegates will understand the impact of scent compared to other human senses, what kind of scent should be used and the overall impact of deploying a multi-sensory marketing strategy.

About Luc Heijnen, Managing Director, Troades

Luc Heijnen is a Managing Director at Troades – a New Media Consultancy company located in Belgium. Before this, Luc has had a long history working in the technology industry, most notably at Oracle (CRM Applications), Tele Atlas (Digital Maps / Location Based Services), Tulip Computers (OEM Division) and Philips (Consumer Electronics).

He holds a Master of Science in Industrial and Management Engineering (M.Sc.I.M.E.) from the Technical University of Eindhoven with a specialization in Industrial Marketing.

The main focus during his career has been to leverage technology for the sake of better Marketing Communication.


3 Responses to “#ScreenMediaExpo – The Importance Of Whiff”

  1. Scott Sharon Says:

    Finally! Someone else is promoting the use of scent with digital signage to stimulate interest in products! I was working on this 8-10 years ago with Scentology. The sense of smell can have a very powerful influence on our purchasing decisions and it’s easy to use.

  2. Lolita Says:

    If you really need the whiff of bullshit, Mike Fabian is offering a 3 minute presentation to the visually impaired

  3. Bill Collins Says:

    Chris:

    Thanks for writing this piece.

    Luc Heijnen is a real innovator. I agree that fragrance marketing is amazingly powerful. The basic science of scent and how the brain works makes that very clear. Luc is on top of it, leading the way (along with Ad Oasis here in North America) in bringing the Digital Signage sector to this understanding.

    For those of you who attended the Preset Group’s mixer in Las Vegas last month at the Digital Signage Expo, do you remember the distinctive fragrance that you could smell in the common areas of the hotel/casino where the event was staged? That fragrance is the distinctive fragrance that is managed by the Venetian/Palazzo complex, as part of its corporate identity. The fragrance is managed, as I understand it, via the Venetian/Palazzo’s HVAC system.

    We can do the same in all kinds of venues, by leveraging Digital Signage installations.

    Bill C.

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