O aroma como componente integrante da marca: uma investigação sobre geração de valor

Abstract

Nowadays, brands are more than just identifying the products or services, they are synesthetic, aiming to maximize the impact on consumers' emotions, involving them in multi-sensory experiences. This study aimed to investigate whether the aroma, as part of the retail brands, contributes to the creation of brand value. A survey was performed in two phases: (i) exploratory and qualitative, conducted with the owner of a retail store in the city of Fortaleza that already works with the aroma marketing strategy; and (ii) descriptive quantitative, was held in a cinema ticket office area from Shopping center Iguatemi Fortaleza with 146 people who had attended or purchased at one of the shopping stores, with the exception of food and entertainment stores, in the last six months. In the first phase, it was analyzed the feelings and emotions perceived and desired by the store MMartan when the aroma was defined as a component of the brand. In the second phase, it was found that 20% of the interviewed people associated correctly the aroma with the analyzed brand. Through an X ² (chi-square) analysis, it was found that only the frequency could be regarded as a significant variable in the correct association of the aroma with the brand. Thus, it was decided to reduce the sample analyzed by selecting only those people who know, attend and buy at the store with the aroma marketing strategy, showing that 81% recognized the aroma. The results showed to be useful both to the academia as to the management area, revealing that the aroma may not yet be considered an influential factor to the brand value.