We’ve all experienced how a certain smell can take you back in time to a specific moment or place in your past, maybe the smell of your grandmother’s freshly baked cinnamon rolls, or the smell of newly cut grass on a warm summer day? As one of the five senses, smell differs from the others in its possibility to unleash a flood of memories that are so intense and striking that they almost seem real.  Smell is immediate and emotional, making it the perfect tool for how humans perceive their environment. With new findings, more companies are tapping into the scent industry, giving their customers a sensorial experience out of the ordinary.

One of the companies realizing the potential of how we perceive scents is Air Aroma, one of the pioneers of the scenting industry. For over 12 years, Air Aroma has helped companies implement scent as part of their overall branding strategy. With hotels, stores, casinos and offices being some of Air Aroma’s most common client groups, the company is now seeing an increased interest in scent marketing from medical and healthcare facilities such as hospitals and clinics in their quest for image branding.

To find out more about scent branding and scenting, I meet Mr. Tony Wright, the distributer of Air Aroma in Thailand, who shares his knowledge about how smells and scents can be beneficial for healthcare environments.

Tell me about Air Aroma, your scenting products and services.

Air aroma was funded by John van Roemburg, originally an engineer from Holland who settled in Australia. Today, the company is the international leader in providing scent marketing solutions, fragrances and technologies. Air Aroma specializes in the diffusion of custom aroma and essential oil blends for different kind of environments. Air aroma produces scents in form of essential oils and aroma oils. We also provide completely customized signature scents for clients, along with Arotec, which is an odor removal solution removing for instance tobacco smoke or sweat odor.

Aromatherapy is not a novelty. It has been around since the Egyptians and it is proven that a public space scented with a pleasant fragrance will feel more welcoming and friendly.

Today, Japan is Air Aroma’s biggest single market, where for instance twelve hospitals have employed scenting to relieve stress on the patients. The idea of aromas is to create a more welcoming and less stressful environment, making it excellent for hospitals, clinics, and clinical environments. For instance, some hospitals are using scenting in certain spaces, such as cat-scans, where the patient is in a confided and somewhat uncomfortable space. Naturally, all our fragrances are hypoallergenic to make sure that patients won’t react to them in any way.

How are the Air Aroma products and the scenting technology used at the client facility?

Apart from the thousands of Air aroma fragrances and scents, we also offer various diffusers or scent machines utilizing cold-air technology to disperse the oil into micro drops, increasing the total exposed surface of oil ten thousand fold. This increases the capacity of the aroma immensely and spread itself easily through the air instead of condensing close to the diffuser. Due to the effectiveness of the diffusers, the amount of oil needed is minimal. For instance, to scent a big lobby of an international hotel, you will not need more than a liter of oil per month. The diffusers can be placed into the air conditioning equipment, and is therefore invisible for guests and staff.

Our oils are produced in Europe, and the equipment is designed in Australia and China.

What is Scent Branding, Scenting or Scent Marketing?

Scent branding, also called sensory branding or scent marketing, is an effective and powerful tool for businesses to reach customers on an emotional level by evoking senses based on the smell. Scent marketing is based on the idea that humans are extremely receptive to smell, evoking memories immediately. This works like an all-factory logo, where clients have a pleasant experience from the smell, remember it, and inevitably that smell will become connected to the brand or business. When the clients experience the fragrance in another environment, they will inevitably come to think of the business.

Air Aroma doesn’t only offer scents, but also an Odor Removal Solution named Arotec, used for instance for tobacco smoke, damp carpets, cooking smells etc. How does Arotec function?

Arotec functions on a molecule level. It doesn’t cover up any odors, which many might think, but it actually breaks the molecules down and neutralizes the air. When Arotech reacts with the molecules, our nose can’t recognize them as bad smell. The molecules are still there, but changed to the point where our noses simply can’t recognize them as odor. This makes Arotech perfect for fitness centers, casinos, nightclubs and hotels.

The Spa and Wellness industry understood the importance of scents for the patient experience a long time ago. But the medical world is just now turning into scenting. Why do you believe it’s taken so long for the medical industry to tap into scenting?

Due to the nature of the industry, the medical world has always been a bit slower on changing and adapting to new possibilities. The entire industry is, rightfully, based on evidence-based trials and peer-reviewed tests before acceptance. However, a lot of more medical facilities are realizing the potential of creating a welcoming, stress-free environment for their patients.

Are there any health benefits involved with Scenting/Scent Branding?

Yes, there are actually huge health benefits with scenting using essential oils. There is actually overwhelming evidence that essential oils kill bacteria. So when diffusing essential oils into “contaminated” hospital or clinic air, the antiseptic action of the essential oils can actually “clean” the air. Also, essential oils remove dust particles out of the air, and can when diffused become a great air filtration system. This function is only apparent for essential oils. Aroma oils do not function the same way.

Why would a hospital need Scent Marketing/Scent Branding?

Scent marketing and branding are excellent tools for branding your “product”, to make sure that patients associate the smell with something positive. But scenting through essential oils is also optimal for killing air-born bacteria. The third major benefit is the stress-reducing aspect of specific scents. For instance, our new product, Arobalance, is a unique scientifically proven stress-relieving product developed with biomedical scientists at the University of Queensland. Arobalance contains natural extracts from green plants, proven to produce a calm and serene atmosphere during periods of stress, which is of course perfect for clinical spaces such as hospitals. Through reducing the stress in the sympathetic nerve terminal activity, you can relieve or prevent the effects of chronic exposure to stress. When the patient walks in to a hospital with a pleasant, relaxing aroma, the patient will also feel more at ease.

Essential Oils in Hospitals and Nursing Homes

One of the best parts of essential oils is that viruses and bacteria can’t mutate or become resistant to the essential oils, unlike man-made antibiotics. Diffusing essential oil into the air will bring negative ions back into the air. Negative ions are reduced in areas with a great number or people or pollution, leading to a healthier environment and workspace.

Which hospitals and medical facilities are using Scent Marketing through Air Aroma today?

There are quite a large number of hospitals using scent marketing or scenting in various areas and spaces within their facilities. Scent branding is very popular in Japan, where twelve hospitals are currently using fragrances both for health and relaxation reasons. In some cases, the fragrance is diffused through the air conditioning system, covering large areas of the medical facilities. But it can also be used on a more targeted level. For instance, hospitals in Florida and New York have infused scents into MRI machines to aid relaxation.  The Ohio State University Medical Center, also in the US, offers an aromatherapy option in its birthing suites, where the mothers-to-be can choose between six different scents. With more hospitals and clinics realizing the health benefits through preventing airborne illnesses, as well as their possibility for branding and creating a homey, comfortable, and stress-free environment, we will definitely see an increase in scenting at medical facilities in the future.

As a medical or health institution; can I design my own signature scent as well, and if so, how long time does it take to get our own signature fragrance?

Yes of course. We have helped hospitals, hotels and businesses around the world in designing their own signature scent. Choosing a fragrance is a delicate issue, where we work closely together with the company in order to develop a unique fragrance suited for the work environment and surroundings, the clientele, and the workforce. Different fragrances are popular in different parts of the world. For instance, Westerners tend to prefer woody aromas reminiscent of forests and outdoor living, while Asians tend to prefer more floral aromas.

How to choose the right signature fragrance for scent branding

When choosing a signature scent, we would first try to get as much information from the institution about the image the company is trying to project, what they want to say about themselves, the demographics of their clients (preferences will vary depending on age, sex, and race). We would then come back with four to six different aromas where a selection committee from the hospital or clinic would choose three. From these three, we expect the client to tell us what is wrong with them. After making adjustments we would come back with two variations from which the client would then choose the final fragrance.

At last, why should any health institution use Air Aroma’s scenting products?

As mentioned to you earlier, the main reason would be the apparent health reasons. The stress-free and healthy environment created by essential oils does not only make the patients feel better, but also improves their well-being and overall health.