TAXI DELIVERS KNOCKOUT PUNCH - Strategy

What’s that smell?
BY JONATHAN PAUL
Walking into contemporary residential furniture retailer Mobilia’s fl agship store in
Montreal, your nose is greeted by air infused with a cherry blossom fragrance as the
sights and sounds of ’80s pop and R&B steal into your ears and intrigue your eyes. The
sensory smorgasbord is thanks to Montreal-based Senscity, which aims to reinforce
brands’ images by creating memorable and robust retail experiences.
“It’s about creating an ambience, but based on real marketing objectives,” explains
Annie Mailloux, VP of business development for Senscity.
The recently launched Senscity (formerly Mood Media) employs video, sound and
olfactory technologies in its services. As well as Mobilia, the company’s client list has
over 50 names, including the Bay, Aldo, Novotel and eyecare provider IRIS.
If the semi-transparent video screen doesn't attract you, how about the cherry blossom scent?
For Mobilia, Senscity developed a customized sensorial experience to attract a new,
younger target market, specifi cally to its fl agship store. It includes a combination of the
personalized fragrance (diffused throughout the store using nano-droplet generation
technology) with musical and video selections (featuring artists like Kylie Minogue)
inspired by the brand’s personality and marketing goals.
The custom-designed video programming transmits on fi ve screens throughout the
store, to mirror the ambience found in a modern living room setting. Senscity also
put a semi-transparent screen at the centre of the store that displays video clips to
attract passersby.
And what would calm you down if your eye were about to be surgically altered
with a laser? Perhaps a fresh woodland fragrance would do the trick. That’s what
Senscity used for Langley, B.C.-based IRIS, an optometric retailer and laser
surgery service provider.
Senscity incorporated the scent in IRIS’ centres across the country, complementing
it with calming lounge music playing in the waiting room of its laser eye treatment
clinics to soothe the nerves of those awaiting surgery. In the operating room, the
fragrance is paired with classical music.
Brands can expect to pay a fee of around $500 a month, per site, for fully integrated
sensorial solutions.
www.senscity.ca
14 STRATEGY November 2008
www.strategymag.com
51.2
BY MIKE FARRELL
This is the percentage of Canadians aged 25 to 34 who
expect to leave their jobs in two years or less. Yikes!
So let me get this straight: fully half of the young
careerists in any shop are thinking of blowing out of
there fairly soon? The answer, dauntingly, is “yes.” In
fact, more than a quarter plan to move on within a year.
Many see their early jobs as a series of stepping
stones on the way to their dream of making a living on
their own terms. The pivotal question is, “What can your
company do for me?” rather than, “What can I do for
your company?”
As a generation, they have taken the clarion call
of being in charge of their own destiny to its natural
conclusion: a place where one actually lives, and
doesn’t just pay lip service to the work/life balance.
And if you don’t embrace their attitudes, they won’t
work for you – which would be a problem. The good
news is that they are ready to work hard and make an
impact quickly.
So how do you keep them from jumping ship early?
There’s no silver bullet (duh), but you would do well to:
• recognize that culture plays a bigger role in their lives
than in previous generations’ (and let it bleed into
the workplace)
• understand that transferable training and skills
development are essential to their job satisfaction
• incorporate more diversity into their job experience
• provide them with a more collaborative working
environment
• entertain the notion of fl exibility in the workplace
(including hours, locale and personal customization
of work protocol)
Is that all? Just joking.
This “statsthought” is gleaned from Ping,
Youthography’s quarterly national study of Canadians
aged 9 to 34. It was culled from a fall 2008 survey
responded to by 2,097 9- to 34-year-olds and a sub-set
of 210 25- to 34-year-olds, regionally represented. Mike
Farrell (partner, chief strategic offi cer) can be reached
at mike@youthography.com.
STATSTHOUGHT