Scent Marketing

Do-it-yourselfers Beware

or

Secrets of the Marketing World We Should All Know About

Cartoon of the Week?

It seems that we, the global herd of mall-grazing consumers are being manipulated in the sneakiest way possible: via our olfactory sensations. This article in The Age newspaper explains how. Apparently, here in Australia this form of marketing is yet in its infancy but we're learning fast.

I wonder, does are some of us more susceptible to this form of marketing than the others?

The ideal consumer?

 Now, you might think you are savvy enough to know what's happening in this subtle manipulation of your senses but apparently not so. With fine enough tuning - as opposed to the flagrant fanning of pheromones depicted above - one can be wooed into a shopfront totally without realising why. From essence of fig floating around fashion clothing outlets to a judicious use of peppermint by the fitness industry to freshen things up, we are being led by our noses all over the place. Not so easy to replicate online of course but I'm sure there is research going on to allow Amazon et al to get on with the program. In the meantime my suggestion is to stay away from shopping malls!

A VILLAGE SOMEWHERE IS MISSING ITS IDIOT

Shining a Bright and Clear Light

New Zealanders. You've got to love them. They have a frankness about them that is really quite wonderful. And ever once in a while they come up with something that puts the rest of the world into some sort of perspective. The latest gem is the observation from one of their politicians on our very own Malcolm Roberts, a senator from Queensland: "probably the saddest thing about his entry into Australia politics, spending so much time in Canberra, is he has denied a village somewhere in Australia of its idiot". 

For those of you who don't know Roberts, he is the most lunatic of the recent refugees to find their way into Australia's Federal Parliament. A climate science denier, he is yet another politician who has found that appealing to the lowest common denominator is a successful way to get a leg up.

Anyway, this article in The Age online sums up the situation beautifully and far better than I ever could. I can only thank Kelvin Davis in New Zealand for shining such a bright and clear light on an Australian idiot who has wandered away from his village.