Smells like Tide

Proctor & Gamble’s new line of Tide branded dry cleaning stores is using scent marketing in a big way. The stores are closely tied with the Tide laundry detergent brand, with orange walls, orange shirts on the staff, and the scent of Tide in the stores and infused into the clothes.

Customers are given the choice to forego the scent on their clothes, but so far, most customers seem to like the scent. According to one customer, “It smelled really good in there. When I think of Tide, I have so many good feelings. I’m surprised they didn’t think of it sooner.”

Tide describes the scent as “light, fresh and clean.” While the scent and color scheme furnish the familiarity and trust associated with the detergent, P&G is including some innovative features as well. Stores are open 24 hours, and have lockers where customers can drop off clothes. Technology scans license plates to ready the customer’s order for pickup, and they store customer preferences in RFID tags.