Chris Cawkwell The Smell of Money: In 1991 Dr. Alan Hirsh introduced two different odours, both rated as having positive connotations in a prior preference study, into different areas of the gaming floor of a Las Vegas Hilton. The odours were strong enough to be easily perceived, but not strong enough to become overpowering. Odourization occurred over a period of 48 hours, and the results were startling. One area where an odour was introduced saw a 45 percent increase in the amount of money spent at the machines compared to odor-free zones. The gaming industry and retailers immediately took note of this; easy money, they thought, never smelled so good. Despite Hirshs research being widely discredited since (he never revealed the jackpot smell) it heralded an era of manipulative smell technology utilized by companies to make consumers spend more. Our surroundings are scented to manipulate how we perceive them. Samsung fills its stores with a distinctive honeydew melon smell. Supermarkets bake (read, reheat) bread on site. The British Airways business class lounge at Heathrow Airport is infused with the smell of freshly cut grass and the salty odour of the sea. And following complaints that the later model Rolls-Royces didnt have the same smell as their forerunners, the cars coachbuilders developed a chemical solution that would replicate the nasal illusion of driving the worlds most luxurious car. The result - Eau de Rolls-Royce 1965 Silver Cloud. The Smell of Money takes 12 positively associated smells linked with such manipulative technology and pumps them into the gallery space in twenty minute intervals, once activated through motion. The 12 smells mixing; becoming overwhelming and counter active to their original purpose. chriscawkwell/
Posted on: Mon, 19 May 2014 05:44:38 +0000
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