Fragrance is highly emotive. The perfume industry is built around this connection, with perfumers developing fragrances that seek to convey a vast array of emotions and feelings; from desire to power, vitality to relaxation. Personal care and consumer health companies also leverage the power of fragrance.
The Challenge:
A manufacturer of a topical analgesic wished to incorporate a fragrance into its spray-on product that signaled comfort and relief, emotions that could be expected to amplify the pain reduction benefits of its active ingredients. Three candidate fragrances were developed. P&K was asked to assess their overall appeal and emotional profile compared to each other and to a competitor’s fragrance.
The P&K Solution:
P&K conducted a central location test with consumers who reported repeated episodes of muscle pain within the past three months. Fragrances were presented on blotters. Consumers were asked to sniff and evaluate each in succession, with ample breaks in between to minimize sensory fatigue. P&K employed traditional measures for assessing fragrance liking, fragrance intensity, and other sensory attributes. However, for assessing the emotional impact, P&K employed the Implicit Association Test, which can uncover subconscious associations and is well suited for identifying the emotions conveyed by a fragrance.
The Outcome:
Two of the candidate fragrances performed at parity to each other (and to the competitor) in terms of overall liking and their sensory characteristics. However, while similar on these measures, the two fragrances performed differently in the Implicit Association Test, with one eliciting stronger feelings of comfort, relief, and relaxation. This fragrance was also superior to the competitor in these respects. The results provided P&K’s client clear direction for which fragrance to incorporate into the finished product.