Why is this work relevant for Brand Experience & Activation ?

With machine learning, we developed an image analyzing system that could identify the visitor’s color preferences and correlate that data with their preferred scents in a comprehensive database. Our creative use of technology strongly improved product usage and the experience of each consumer. Not only did our solution identify olfactory preferences hidden in the unconsciousness of an individual’s mind but also helped them visualize their personalized scent, which is by nature naked to the human eye.

Background

Aroma Rich fabric softener was launched in 2010 with a mission to provide well-being and comfort to Japanese women. In 2018, LION adopted a new sales strategy that enabled women to create their own aroma by mixing the 5 products in the range. But soon discovered that the majority found it hard to find their favorite blend on their own. To help women in this quest, we created a first-of-its-kind sensory journey where women could easily discover their favorite scent. Its objective was to allow them to experience the effect of wearing a personalized scent on their clothes during summer and encourage them to use Aroma Rich at home. Those who could not attend the 4-day installation were invited to participate in the personalized experience online.

Describe the creative idea (20% of vote)

The creative idea was a first-of-its-kind sensory journey, where with only taking one photo, women were able to effortlessly discover the Aroma Rich blend that suited them best. Based on a correlation that exists between the colors and scents an individual prefers, a full body analysis integrated with machine learning determined the color ratio of each visitor’s clothes and correlated their preferred scents. The color analysis result was illustrated in real-time onto a folding fan, traditionally known in Japanese culture as a symbol of summer. Women could smell, see and feel their signature scent for the first time, as the perfect gift to beat the heat.

Describe the strategy (20% of vote)

The target was single Japanese women around their 30s, working and living alone in Tokyo. In Japan, women who are still single after a certain age tend to be considered as they have missed their chance at marriage. Also at work, women have to stand up in a mainly male-centered culture. They live a stressful life both in private and at work & their day-to-day stress increases in summer with the humidity. Aroma Rich wishes to offer well-being and comfort to these women struggling with the summer heat, through the experience of wearing their favorite scent on their clothes all day long. Furthermore, the folding fan being a symbol of summer, is mainly used by women as a fashion accessory. Hence personalizing the design to each women’s preferred colors highly appealed to the target and proved our approach was in close affinity with the brief.

Describe the execution (30% of vote)

Under Tokyo’s humid climate, a cool and quiet interior welcomed visitors with fresh breezes of scented air. The event was based on the concept of providing aroma blends and folding fans custom-designed to the taste of each individual visitor. With only 1 full-body shot, we developed a system that could analyze the color ratio of the visitor’s clothes and correlate their preferred scents. The analysis was projected in real-time onto the wall and onto a blank folding fan in a colored illustration, whilst printers were set up with a special mold to print the same colored illustration including the visitor's name directly onto another physical fan. Within 7 minutes, the visitor would be gifted both their tailor-made aroma blend of Aroma Rich and the uniquely-designed folding fan. Those who could not attend the 4-day installation were invited to participate in the personalized experience online.

List the results (30% of vote)

We only displayed billboards for 7 days at the nearest station to the venue, but it soon became the talk of Internet & TV programs, cited 134 times. The equivalent in paid media would usually have cost us 100M JPY. Even if the venue could only host 50 people at the same time, we attracted 1,219 visitors in 4 days. In 1 month, 10,569 women had participated in the experience on the website. As a result, LION’s KPI doubled and 92.9% of women felt a positive change of attitude towards the brand.