Blending smells with music being played in real time at clubs and concerts concerns a phenomenon known as aroma jockeying. This is a logical outgrowth of the need today for a a new edge of discovery, so to speak, that involves pushing the experience envelope of live entertainment to expand sight and sound to new, […]
The Positive Effects Of Ambient Scent Within Sports Arenas
There are a myriad of scents associated with sports arenas and all are critical to the “game experience” and the formation of powerful memories. The smell of the “right things” can include: popcorn; hot dogs; beer; sweat, mud; grass and leather. There is also the fresh outdoors and the invigorating anticipation of the next move that may make or break the score of a favored team. All this demands a special application of ambient scenting and highly effective odor control systems that coincide with each section of any sports arena.
How Ancient Cultures Utilized Scent in Sports Arenas
The conventional horseshoe styled stadium with its high rising seats that we know so well today are both products of the ancient Greek and Roman cultures. The word for stadium derives from a Greek word for a unit of measurement. Ancient stands were surrounded by U-shaped tracks, some of which were built into hillsides, while others were made with all kinds of stone, including marble. The emphasis was on providing spectators with an unobstructed view of foot races.
In ancient Greece and Rome, aromatic spices and perfumes were considered coveted luxury goods, that spread fragrantly along trade routes between the Mediterranean and the Middle East during the 3rd century realm of Alexander The Great. The Greeks believed that wearing scents was pleasing to the gods and the art of perfume making began in the islands both Crete and Cyprus where the oldest perfume factory in the world was discovered in 2007.
At Olympic competitions, ancient Greek athletes covered themselves in perfumed oils to prevent stadium dust from sticking their bodies. They performed foot races in the nude largely because that made it easier to massage perfumed oils into their bodies, which was regarded as an omen of victory. Some olympic winners were awarded 100 olive oil filled bottles. (Olive oil was a very valuable commodity.)
The Romans scented everything including their public spaces. It was during the reign of Emperor Nero, who ruled Rome from 37 AD to 68 AD, that the first gymnasium was built and the large scale patronage of violent sporting competitions became a symbol of Roman power.
Nero was so enamored with the scent of roses that he had silver pipes installed in the dining rooms of his home, The Golden Palace, so that his dinner guests could be spritzed with rosewater. According to one legend, one very costly waterfall of rose petals actually smothered one of his guests, killing him. He was also known to dispense sprays of rose-water into the stands of the Coliseum after chariot races and violent gladiator fights to the death. Scented sprays were also used provide a pleasing atmosphere for the game spectators at the amphitheater at Pompeii.
Modern Scent Marketing Versus Ambient Scenting
There are two main aspects of scent marketing. Ambient scenting simply serves to fill a given space with a pleasant smell, while scent marketing refers to the development of a brand-specific signature scent, such as an olfactory logo.
According to Arnold Zlotnik, President and CEO of Air-Scent International, when speaking about scenting any live event or experience: “We’re dedicated to providing a heightened brand experience to our clients, which contributes to enhanced brand value perception, improved guest experiences and increased repeat business.”
Click to learn about our mission and 70-plus decades of experience!
The global perfume and fragrance market has sustained continued demand during the last few years, and is projected to reach USD 64.6 billion at a CAGR of 6.00% by the year, 2023. Most consumers make about 10,000 decisions every day, and many revolve around buying all sorts of of items at diverse levels of necessity.
Scent marketers are well aware that 90% of all purchasing decisions are made subconsciously and require as little as 2.5 seconds to make. No mater how controlled or sales resistant we think we may be, purchases are made impulsively and our brains are on autopilot when we shop.
According to behavioral economist, George Loewenstein, scents trigger our brains because they hold the power of a personal memory. They captivate human brains before they know what hits them. Many studies have indicated that scents can compel consumers to spend up to twice as much as they would have otherwise.
Research conducted by Martin Lindstrom, a pioneer in the relatively new field of research known as neuro-marketing, which combines marketing and psychology, offers insight into consumer reactions while viewing brands or products.
The technical term for this scanning is functional magnetic resonance tomography (aka FMRT). Lindstrom also coined the phrase, buyology, referring to the subconscious thoughts and emotions that trigger the purchasing decisions consumers make every single day.
Stadium Scenting Trends
In 2019, specifically, there is a burgeoning trend to match fragrances directly to lifestyles that has been very successful when scenting stadiums and sports arenas. The idea is to develop an unforgettable experience and forge an emotional trinity between team (brand) loyalty, the fragrance and the consumer.
Recently, a new scent program launched at Marlins Park baseball stadium in Miami included the smell of caramel popcorn in the general concourse areas to appeal to families and the nostalgia associated with going to games as a family unit.
A few years ago, Jerry Jones, owner of the Dallas Cowboys, deployed “covert ambient scenting” via the air ducts into AT&T Stadium’s 104 million cubic feet! The results, for an investment between $15,000 and $20,000 a month, were staggering and helped to increase The Cowboy team brand to more than $4 billion!
Last December, fans in the crowd observed the distinct-aroma of a burger and fries during a Cowboys-Jets game). The former stadium of the Los Angeles Rams (The Edward Jones Dome in St. Louis) deployed a cotton candy scent on more than one occasion, and The Brooklyn Nets’ indoor stadium, Barclays Center, often releases a fragrance tinged with citrus.
In the words of: Brian Killingsworth, vice president of marketing and brand strategy for the Rams: “One of the first things we wanted to do here was to look at all the ways we can improve the game day experience for families… Now, cotton candy is the first thing fans smell as they arrive at the game.”
6 Areas Within Sports Arenas Where Scenting Is Essential
According to Antonio Williams, sports marketing expert and University of Indiana professor: “More seats and space, food and drink choices, bigger Jumbotrons, and uplifting scents all point in one direction. Sports marketers want you to fall in love with their team. As a marketer, I can’t control what happens on that field. So, it’s important to control what’s going on in the periphery. Fan experience is correlated with enjoyment.”
The University of Minnesota published a study that indicated that wider open spaces encourage consumers to spend more. When going to a game of any kind, fans always associate certain scents with the action and energy of the crowds.
Each sector of any stadium, from the arena to the restrooms and entryways, must reflect a positive sensory experience, and to smell “the wrong things” can affect the pleasure element so keenly associated with watching sports events as they unfold. The right air-care system is the answer to effective stadium scenting. The different areas needing scenting are delineated below.
• Scenting Solutions For Actual Arena Spaces
We have large extended area systems that can scent any-sized indoor, covered arena space. Our Vapor-Matic diffuser systems are utilized in larger venues. In addition to providing a signature scent at specific times during intermission, you may also change the scent to specific food scents depending upon which products you are promoting. Additionally, unique themed events are also an option. By way of example, the Orange Bowl and Rose Bowl both used diffused scents (orange blossom and rose) to enhance their key arena environments.
• Entryways, Hospitality Suites and Lounges
The right scent in these sections can induce a positive first impression that triggers the senses for fans the moment they step inside a stadium. The chosen fragrance must instantly and indelibly remind visitors why they have come to the stadium. Our Aroma Beam can be strategically placed and is the perfect dry vapor scenting system for large sports arena hospitality suites, lounges and entryways, providing the perfect controlled brand impression. It diffuses and effectively freshens interior spaces without wet vapor, and this method of scent diffusion has the power to evoke positive responses in large audiences.
Aroma Beam’s 30-day Scentsia refill cartridge systems contain 30 days worth of pure aroma ingredients specially formulated to create a desired response. Air-Scent’s sensory team offers the ability to create custom signatures scents as well as providing of dozens of other unique fragrance choices.
Additionally, the Aroma Styler is an HVAC atomizing diffuser system that is available in three application sizes. It is both effective and easy to use. Cutting edge and innovative technology creates an invisible dry vapor, which floats evenly across any large open space. In addition to providing ambient scenting, its applications can also include effectively controlling malodors in specific areas via our molecular odor neutralizing additive, Metazene.
• Restaurants, Food Service And Bar Areas
Subtle but effective scenting is always considered in food serving sections of any stadium or arena, as nothing should interfere with the pleasures and aromas associated with eating or drinking. At the same time, a diffuser must also be able to properly neutralize any accompanying food or rubbish malodors. It is said that the right smells in such a setting can increase food sales as much as 300%, such as cotton candy, caramel popcorn, buttered popcorn, hot dog, dill pickle, mustard, pizza, waffle cone, fresh baked bread among others.
• Stadium Public Restroom Areas
Stadium washrooms receive a great deal of traffic, and no matter where they are located, they must always smell clean and hygienic. A selected ambient air-care system must provide fragrance that is both long-lasting and consistent. The successful annihilation of restroom odor requires the understanding of the sources of the smells and how to specifically address them with effective tools. Odor control must be swift, strong and merciless if any stadium restroom is to remain fresh and clean.
Fresh air cannot occur without highly effective odor control, and our array of scent delivery systems and wide selection of odor-control products laced with Metazene, a colorless, odor neutralizing additive that kills malodors via a chemical reaction, are the best found anywhere in the world today. The following are a few dispensers that would be ideal for stadium bathrooms.
The modern design, clever nesting refill tray and three smart switch settings combine to render our Aroma One Air Freshening Hygiene Dispenser a most important tool in the arsenal combatting airborne malodors. When used in combination of our automatic and non-battery operated Odyssey Drip Dispenser, which cleans-and deodorizes washroom fixtures, commercial restrooms are left free from vaporous malodors and scented with crisp, clean fragrances.
• Stadium Medical Rooms And Areas
Sterility and cleanliness are of supreme importance in stadium medical sectors. They must also be pleasant smelling, which make this area unique when it comes to scenting because everything from ambient air-care to hand washing must fit into this difficult standard. Aromas such as eucalyptus mint, Genoa lemon and lavender are perfect for these areas.
• Trashroom, Trash Can and Dumpster Odor Control
We offer one of the most diverse and effective odor control programs for trash rooms, dumpsters and other trash receptacles. Click here to learn more about our Auto DOC Automated Spray System for dumpsters, Scatter odor control granules, Zorb-It-All spill absorbers and our Enz-O-Matic biological digester concentrate.
Why Our Odor-Control Solutions Are More Effective
The reason some odor-control programs work better than others is simply because some are better than others. With well over seventy years of on site experience conducted at our 85,000 square foot research and development center, located in Pittsburgh, our odor-control products are heads above the rest and far exceed industry standards. Unlike other industry solutions, we never mask odors. We eliminate them at their molecular level with our odor neutralizing additive, Metazene.
In Conclusion
So if you are the operations or facilities manager of a stadium of any kind, call our team today and discover what we can do to increase brand loyalty and that all-important and elusive bottom line.
Final thought on stadiums: If you want to see a bunch of happy Americans, go out to opening day at any baseball stadium in the land. ~Ben Fountain
You May Also Be Interested In
In the world of retail, the power of ambiance cannot be underestimated. Discover how ambient scenting and thoughtfully chosen fragrances can captivate customers and elevate the shopping experience, leading to increased sales and heightened emotions within jewelry stores.
In maintaining a hygienic and pleasant environment, regular trash chute cleaning proves indispensable for any property. Equally crucial are commercial-grade air freshener systems, ensuring continuous freshness, and eliminating unpleasant odors that may deter occupants and visitors. Discover the vital importance of these two essential practices in this article.