New from Scentest Communication is a new concept in fragrance testing. They have created a five feet tall by one foot wide pod-like kiosk adorned with visuals of a particular scent. These kiosks will be placed in stores and malls next to perfume counters and will have a dropper opening on the right side, where scent is dispensed from a 300-ml. reservoir located inside the unit.

In addition to dispensing fragrance samples, they will also display advertising for that brand, for which the company charges an ad rate. It is said that these pods will replace traditional human "spritzers" who are hired by fragrance companies to promote and spray their perfumes to those who pass by.

Some Scentesters have already begun popping up at about 78 malls on the East and West coasts. About seven tester kiosks will go into every mall which is projected to be approximately 550 in total.

Participating brands include: Armani fragrances, Ralph Lauren Fragrances, Kenzo, Bulgari, Calvin Klein, Cerruti, Cacharel, Lancôme, Paul Smith, YSL Beauté and Azzaro.

To hear what Cyrille Guyot, Senior Vice President of Scentest Communication, has to say, read more

"This is an alternative sampling medium. The [scented] strip has been around for 30 years and it's a successful medium. It's necessary to the marketing mix when a company is launching a fragrance. But we wanted to push the envelope and introduce Scentesters into department stores to address the concern of traffic in anchor stores."

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