So the start of our day consisted of getting straight off the coach, getting on the nearest tube and heading over to White Chapel to view the Electronic Superhighway' exhibition at the White Chapel Galley. The exhibition was especially useful to our third insight because we were looking into a way that scent and technology could be combined due to the advancements of digital gadgets within the 21st century. Therefore, by looking into different digital gadgets that dated all the way back to 1966 to the present day, this gave us an idea of how far technology has evolved in society and the possibility of further inventions in the future. Although this did not completely link to the scent market, by exploring new and old technology which was featured at the exhibition, we were able to further our vision of gadgets such as wearable technology and then discuss later how we could incorporate scent into a gadget.
In terms of the exhibition alone, it also consisted of over 100 works which showed the impact that computer and Internet technologies were having on artists from the mid-1960s to the present day. Overall, I thought it was really interesting because it gave me a deeper insight into different uses of multimedia and how all of these different gadgets that are being invented are having a great effect on society and are becoming a key thing for many individuals to own. Therefore, technological gadgets are gradually becoming life necessities whether we realise or not and this may arguably mean that sooner or later there will be greater demand for technological versions of everything we use within lifestyle from our scent to our sight. From recent research it seems that super-brands such as Microsoft and Samsung are already creating innovating products that cater for our eyesight such as the MicroLens and the Samsung Gear VR Virtual Reality Headset.
We then headed over to Covent Garden to visit the Molton Brown store. Our second insight was all about creating an energising and relaxing product to cure stress, ensure motivation and also help a person sleep at night. Therefore, we thought Molton Brown would be a great place to visit since they have been known to create similar bathing products which have the same sort of effect. Whilst we explored the shop and spoke to the sales assistant, we found that the product Bushukan and Japanese Orange were Molton Brown's best sellers for customers who were looking for a product to wake them up on a morning and provide them with that revitalising fresh feeling due to their zen citrusy and fruity ingredients. As for our relaxing insight, the sales associate recommended the collection of 'Sleep' products and Ylang Ylang which have both been known to have comforting, re-balancing effects as they contain extracts of lavender and cedrus. Although this insight was already being translated into bathing products by the brand, our insight was to primarily communicate an olfactory feeling through an air scent after we found through Mintel’s databases that there was great demand for an air scented product which would have either energising or relaxing benefits. Therefore, this would be extremely valuable for our target consumer of a working woman who is finding it hard to juggle both a career and family life which are the ultimate factors that are causing her stress and which stop her from having time to visit a spa or treat herself.
“Ylang Ylang is our best- selling product for people wanting to relax and a good night’s sleep”- (Molton Brown Sales Associate, London, 2016)
“Bushukan products really leave that lasting refreshing morning feeling”- (Molton Brown Sales Associate, London, 2016)
Next we visited Aesop's skincare shop just off Oxford Street where we got the chance to speak to more sales associates about our insight two. Again, just like Molton Brown we found that Aesop offered products which were effective in terms of energising and comfort. Ultimately Aesop values bringing replenishing benefits to a person’s skin however, they did have some items which matched our idea of energising and comforting to give us a stronger understanding of healing type of products. For instance we looked at the Oil Burner Blends which were sold under the names of Catherine, Anouk and Isabella. Each of these female named products had different benefits and can be added to an oil burner to replenish a room and leave either calming, refreshing or de stressing aromas. Although these products sound very similar to our insight of creating either energising or relaxing home scented products for a woman, we wanted to make our product different in a way that a person could use it as an at home aroma therapy product which individuals can breathe in whilst they shower, cook food or get ready for work. Furthermore, to add to the idea of creating a 'quick fix' product, we also looked into the idea of allowing this consumer to take this refreshing or comforting scent anywhere with them at all times so that they could quickly apply it if they suddenly felt drowsy, tired or anxious.
“Catherine oil burner blend have a soothing yet revitalising effect due to its citrusy aroma”-(Aesop Sales Associate, London, 2016)
Since we were now headed for Oxford Street, we dropped by the flagship Lush store to have a look at the deodorants that they had on offer. This was useful research for our first insight which looked into the health and fitness trend and how many consumers were getting tired of their current deodorants. Lush have two different deodorants on sale in their stores which do not exactly match the normal application you would expect from deodorant. Lush offer powdered and solid deodorants. We found during our secondary research that many millennials were more likely to wear new formats of deodorant which is exactly what we wanted to develop. Therefore, looking at the popularity of these deodorants in Lush was a really good way of seeing whether this demand by consumers was being reflected on the market and whether people were actually purchasing these products. We found that Aromaco was Lush's best-selling deodorant product and was shaped into a solid bar for a person to rub underneath their armpit. The product had anti perspiring absorbing effects that allowed a person to remain fresh and dry all day. The product also had soothing and calm extracts within the ingredients to ensure no skin irritation or reactions were caused which is another thing that we found on Mintel which informed us that many consumers would like to see a product which catered for allergies and sensitive skin. Although Lush' product does not directly link to the trend of health and fitness, it widened our knowledge on the different ways a deodorant can be applied and certain ingredients to create a fresh enhancing smell to outweigh bad odours.
T'EO Solid deodorant
The Greeench deodorant powder
Referring back to our third insight of technology advances, we visited the Apple store to look at the recent Apple Watches which provided us with further visual knowledge of wearable technology and allowed us to see how this sort of gadget functioned. Personally I think the Apple Watch is a great creation because not only do they look stylish, but it allows consumers to search the web, send messages and do majority of the things their mobile would do on a smaller device. Therefore, instead of carrying around a larger device, the consumer can wear the gadget as an alternative which also links to our scent technology insight of wearing a scent digitally instead of carrying a bottle round with you.
Last on our agenda for the day but possibly my favourite visit out of all six was the Frederic Malle shop in Green Park. After a recent lecture we had discussed the use of Mecanique Diffusers and the glass cases that are featured in every Frederic Malle store. Malle is known to use these in his shops to encapsulate scents and allow his customers to receive a full experience of what the aroma smells like by spraying the scent into the case, allowing it to spread around the enclosed space then encouraging the consumer to open the door and smell the true aroma of the fragrance.
In terms of the Mecanique diffusers, this was one product by Malle that intrigued us the most because it kind of had similarities to our second insight which revolved around the idea of having an at home air scented product which would fill a room with certain scents and provoke emotions and feelings. Therefore, although it was early days, it was interesting to see how Frederic Malle’s Mecanique Diffusers worked and how they had been designed to spread mists across a room to engage a mood.
(An in depth blog post about Frederic Malle and his brand will be on it's way soon so keep an eye out!)
“Frederic Malle’s Mecanique Diffusers are capable of filling your home with personalised, niche scents”-(Frederick Male Sales Associate, London 2016)
(images: own photography apart from Frederick Male's Mecanique Diffuser- last image)
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