2010 Student Research Conference:
23rd Annual Student Research Conference

Odor as Mental Cues: The Effects of Olfactory Stimuli and Time on Memory of Product Names
Tracy H. Mulderig* and Yajie Yu
Dr. Mark Hatala, Faculty Mentor

This study assessed whether exposure to olfactory stimuli would result in higher recall of product names at a one-week posttest. Participants included undergraduate students from Truman State University who were exposed to an odorant and visual cue (n = 23) or just a visual cue (n = 24) when memorizing novel product names. Individuals listed product names from memory immediately following encoding and at a one-week follow-up. Even though both treatment groups remembered about the same number of product names overall, results suggest that some odorants may be more effective in promoting brand recall than others. Companies need to take into consideration the particular scent they intend to infuse with their product before investing in a marketing tactic that may not pay off in the long run.

Keywords: Odor memory, Marketing, Product branding

Topic(s):Psychology

Presentation Type: Poster

Session: 3-4
Location: SUB-GEO
Time: 4:15

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