Posters for the nose
Posters II The APG branch in Aarau aims to add a new dimension of perception to the traditional poster.
Posters II The APG branch in Aarau wants to open up another dimension of perception to the conventional poster. As part of an Affichage innovation project, the subsidiary of outdoor advertising specialist Allgemeine Plakatgesellschaft (APG) is currently targeting another sense in addition to our eyes: the sense of smell. At ten selected locations in Aarau and also in Zurich railroad stations, "scented posters" are currently being used to investigate the acceptance of these actively or passively scented advertising media.
The pilot trial, which started on May 21, is the result of a partnership with and initiative by Vifor, a member of the Galencia Group. The acceptance of the Vifor product Perskindol is therefore being tested. "This gel, which is used for muscle and joint complaints, is probably familiar to all sports enthusiasts - as is its smell," explains Alexandra Schär, responsible for marketing at Vifor. She adds that this move is linked, among other things, to the amended Medicinal Products Act, which now prohibits the distribution of product samples as in the past: "Outdoor advertising and now the test of the scented posters are part of a strategy adapted to these changed conditions."
Two techniques - one fragrance Overall, the Affichage would like to offer two variants, should the currently launched project ever develop into a permanent product. On the one hand, a more classic approach: when passers-by rub on preferably marked or highlighted areas on the poster, the poster emits the fragrance intended by the client. Hutter Werbeproduktion AG in Wohlen, a company familiar with poster printing, is responsible for applying the fragrance to the otherwise completely normal posters and has acquired special expertise in the production of this medium, also known as the scratch poster. The scent of a brand or product is applied or printed onto the subject using a concentrate infused in microbeads.
The second version relies on significantly more technology. A specially developed fragrance device, developed in collaboration with the University of Applied Sciences North-Eastern Switzerland as a further partner, is mounted on the poster panels and emits the desired or filled fragrance composition at defined intervals. "The device used in the pilot project can also look completely different later on or," says Bernhard Schnyder, Key Account Consultant at APG, "it can also be integrated into the poster frame."
Pilot test with an unclear outcome Schnyder, the project manager of the pilot project, is looking forward to the evaluations, which are also being carried out by the University of Applied Sciences North-Eastern Switzerland. He has high hopes for the project, but also knows that olfactory perception is still an under-researched area and that the project is therefore on uncertain ground.
Who knows, perhaps the UAS students are doing some groundwork here. They have been conducting market research since the first scented posters were put up on May 21. In a total of 300 face-to-face interviews, the acceptance of both the scratch-off posters and the posters with the scent apparatus is to be determined with the help of a structured questionnaire.
Those responsible at APG are still somewhat vague about the costs. While the surcharge for 100 scented posters is around CHF 4,000, Schnyder says that "more can only be said about the cost of installing and maintaining one or more scented boxes once the prototype has been evaluated".
For Bernhard Schnyder, much more important than the success of the project is the fact that the pilot project initiated by Affichage must not damage the poster's image under any circumstances. "If the results of the survey are not successful, we will simply stop the pilot project," explains Schnyder laconically.
That would be a shame. After all, if the scented posters are used carefully and sparingly, they are an enrichment in outdoor advertising. Which is of course purely a "matter of taste".
Jürgen Franck
The partners
The initiator was a customer:
Vifor, a member of the Galencia Group, was looking for new ways to draw attention to its product Perskindol. The aim of the "multi-sensory marketing concept" is to anchor the gel more firmly in the minds of consumers.
The project management
and the APG branch in Aarau was responsible for coordination.
The scented posters were printed by
Hutter Werbeproduktion AG in Wohlen. There, a special printing process is used to apply the fragrance substances embedded in microbeads.
Last but not least
the University of Applied Sciences Northwestern Switzerland developed the scent apparatus in collaboration with APG and is currently still conducting the 300 surveys.
To be collected,
how many passers-by noticed which of the two poster types and how much they liked the posters. The basic attitude towards scented posters is also determined. (jf)
The pilot trial, which started on May 21, is the result of a partnership with and initiative by Vifor, a member of the Galencia Group. The acceptance of the Vifor product Perskindol is therefore being tested. "This gel, which is used for muscle and joint complaints, is probably familiar to all sports enthusiasts - as is its smell," explains Alexandra Schär, responsible for marketing at Vifor. She adds that this move is linked, among other things, to the amended Medicinal Products Act, which now prohibits the distribution of product samples as in the past: "Outdoor advertising and now the test of the scented posters are part of a strategy adapted to these changed conditions."
Two techniques - one fragrance Overall, the Affichage would like to offer two variants, should the currently launched project ever develop into a permanent product. On the one hand, a more classic approach: when passers-by rub on preferably marked or highlighted areas on the poster, the poster emits the fragrance intended by the client. Hutter Werbeproduktion AG in Wohlen, a company familiar with poster printing, is responsible for applying the fragrance to the otherwise completely normal posters and has acquired special expertise in the production of this medium, also known as the scratch poster. The scent of a brand or product is applied or printed onto the subject using a concentrate infused in microbeads.
The second version relies on significantly more technology. A specially developed fragrance device, developed in collaboration with the University of Applied Sciences North-Eastern Switzerland as a further partner, is mounted on the poster panels and emits the desired or filled fragrance composition at defined intervals. "The device used in the pilot project can also look completely different later on or," says Bernhard Schnyder, Key Account Consultant at APG, "it can also be integrated into the poster frame."
Pilot test with an unclear outcome Schnyder, the project manager of the pilot project, is looking forward to the evaluations, which are also being carried out by the University of Applied Sciences North-Eastern Switzerland. He has high hopes for the project, but also knows that olfactory perception is still an under-researched area and that the project is therefore on uncertain ground.
Who knows, perhaps the UAS students are doing some groundwork here. They have been conducting market research since the first scented posters were put up on May 21. In a total of 300 face-to-face interviews, the acceptance of both the scratch-off posters and the posters with the scent apparatus is to be determined with the help of a structured questionnaire.
Those responsible at APG are still somewhat vague about the costs. While the surcharge for 100 scented posters is around CHF 4,000, Schnyder says that "more can only be said about the cost of installing and maintaining one or more scented boxes once the prototype has been evaluated".
For Bernhard Schnyder, much more important than the success of the project is the fact that the pilot project initiated by Affichage must not damage the poster's image under any circumstances. "If the results of the survey are not successful, we will simply stop the pilot project," explains Schnyder laconically.
That would be a shame. After all, if the scented posters are used carefully and sparingly, they are an enrichment in outdoor advertising. Which is of course purely a "matter of taste".
Jürgen Franck
The partners
The initiator was a customer:
Vifor, a member of the Galencia Group, was looking for new ways to draw attention to its product Perskindol. The aim of the "multi-sensory marketing concept" is to anchor the gel more firmly in the minds of consumers.
The project management
and the APG branch in Aarau was responsible for coordination.
The scented posters were printed by
Hutter Werbeproduktion AG in Wohlen. There, a special printing process is used to apply the fragrance substances embedded in microbeads.
Last but not least
the University of Applied Sciences Northwestern Switzerland developed the scent apparatus in collaboration with APG and is currently still conducting the 300 surveys.
To be collected,
how many passers-by noticed which of the two poster types and how much they liked the posters. The basic attitude towards scented posters is also determined. (jf)
