TREND REPORT USING SCENTS IN AN EVENT
Tiffany Rose Goodyear speaking at ILEA Denver’s ScentEvent meeting.
SCENTS MAKE SENSE
How to strategically use scent to enhance guest experience. BY T I F FA N Y ROSE G OODY E A R
EVENT PROFESSIONALS ARE CONSTANTLY THINKING ABOUT how to best stimulate our guests’ senses in order to create the most memorable experience and greatest impact, whether it’s a wedding, corporate meeting or event, fundraiser or social gathering. Many people focus on only three of the five senses: taste, sight and sound. Rarely do planners pay attention to touch or smell. Strategically paying attention to scent and how it interacts with other sensory experiences can greatly impact the overall quality
The fact of the matter is events and venues all have a unique smell whether or not you plan for it. Strategically scenting an event space can become another instrument in your symphony of creating magical and memorable experiences. Often overlooked or dismissed, scent is important to the way in which human beings interpret their surroundings and create meaning every day. In fact, the sense of smell is the only sensory receptor that is fully developed at birth. It is also the receptor that is most closely linked to memory. Our ability to taste is directly linked to smell. Our taste buds are chemoreceptors and have the ability to detect and distinguish chemicals; it is the aroma of
20
TXM+E
TXMESP20_Book.indb 20
food that brings the flavors to life. Scenting spaces is not something new. It has been used as a tool for creating sacred space for hundreds, if not thousands, of years. The ritualistic use of incense is an integral part of Catholic Mass. And in ancient Mesoamerica, indigenous tribes used a resin from the copal tree as part of their rituals to create sacred space. The reason it’s important to think about scenting your selected venue is because the space is already scented. Either the space has its own distinct smell, which is not always pleasing, or you are bringing in scents through the fragrance of flowers or aromas from food.
Much of the scent industry is based on neutralizing offensive odors. This can be a useful tool when thinking about bathrooms for your events. Bringing a candle or small reed diffuser into these intimate areas can create positive experiences for guests. Another way to bring scent into an event is to strategically pair the scent to match the theme. For International Live Events Association (ILEA) Denver’s ScentEvent meeting at GrantHumphreys Mansion in September, The Sentologist, a pioneering consulting firm that creates sensory-based experiences, worked closely with the caterer to create four unique spaces. Each of these spaces included complementary décor that was paired with a culinary
P H O T O S : B R A D L E Y VA N H E R B S T
of an event.
| SPRING 2020
3/13/2020 3:34:20 PM
