The importance of olfactory marketing in fashion brands

the Abercrombie & Fitch case

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.34629/cpublica.734

Keywords:

Abercrombie & Fitch, brand building, shopping experience fashion brands

Abstract

The use of olfactory appeals, with the aim of awakening sensations and creating emotional brand-consumer relationships is not new. With it, brands intend to position themselves in the minds of consumers in a direct and pleasant way. This article seeks to understand the importance of olfactory marketing for fashion brands, based on the Case Study of the brand Abercrombie & Fitch.

To this end, five exploratory interviews were carried out to try to understand consumers' understanding of A&F, and the impact of olfactory marketing on the shopping experience and brand perception, and a questionnaire survey with 315 validated responses, to answer the question and validate the research hypotheses.

97% of respondents recognized that the scent influences their sense of belonging to the brand and that there is a strong scent-brand association, corroborating previous studies that prove the impact of scent marketing as an effective strategy, regarding efficient and memorable communication about your values and personality.

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Author Biographies

  • Teresa Brito, Faculty of Human Sciences, Católica University

    Master’s in Communication, Marketing and Advertising from the Católica University and graduate in Political Science, with a specialization in Public Policy, from ISCTE. Academic interests in the areas of Branding, Sensory Marketing, Olfactory Marketing, Sustainable Brands and e-Commerce.

  • Alexandre Duarte, Centre for Communication and Society, University of Minho (CECS-UM)

    PhD in Communication Sciences from University of Minho, master’s in Communication and Image and graduate in Marketing and Advertising from IADE. He is an Assistant Professor at the NOVA University of Lisbon, researcher at ICNOVA and Visiting Assistant Professor at the Católica University, where he coordinates the postgraduate programs in Communication and Creativity, Advertising and Service Design. He has worked in various multinational advertising agencies, such as TBWA, Saatchi & Saatchi, Ogilvy, W / Portugal, W / Brazil, Lowe & Partners or Brandia Central, as Senior Creative Copywriter. He was Tutor of the Young Marketers Academy of the EUROBEST Festival, CEO of RESTART and advisor of SUPERBRANDS. He is, since 2018, a member of the EDCOM Board – European Institute for Commercial Communications Education.

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Published

2023-06-30

Issue

Vol. 18 No. 34 (2023): Number with Special Issue

Section

Articles

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How to Cite

The importance of olfactory marketing in fashion brands: the Abercrombie & Fitch case. (2023). Comunicação Pública, 18(34). https://doi.org/10.34629/cpublica.734