"I carried to my lips a spoonful of the tea in which I had let soften a bit of madeleine. But at the very instant when the mouthful of tea mixed with cake crumbs touched my palate, I quivered, attentive to the extraordinary thing that was happening inside me."
You've probably experienced it yourself. From one moment to the next, you are transported back to a moment in the past. By the smell of, say, a bunch of flowers or a bite of food. The passage above is considered the first experience in which a smell memory from the past is unexpectedly recalled. Recalling memories through sensory experiences is also known as the 'Proust effect'. In this blog, you'll read about the effect of recalling smells from the past and what you can do with them.
The Proust effect is the effect in which memories or emotions associated with an experience such as smell or taste unexpectedly come to you. French novelist Marcel Proust describes this effect in his book À la recherche du temps perdu. He tells how the strong smell when eating a madeleine moment-cake dipped in blossom tea, unexpectedly brought him back to his childhood memories at his Aunt Leonie's house. Sensory experience is therefore sometimes called the Proust effect . Scents can influence us both consciously and unconsciously and help determine our mood. They can also make us make instinctive decisions. Smell is essential for our taste, has an important alarm function, brings back memories, influences our feelings, relationships and motivational and memory processes.
The Proust effect is something that years later would only be discovered by science and described as "sensory remembering," with studies finding that it was mainly the nose that did the work in this effect. This should come as no surprise, given that neuroscience clearly shows that smell and memories are closely linked by the anatomy of the brain. Scents enter through the front of the brain which sends information to the other parts of the body. Scents then take a direct route to the lymbic system. The region of your brain associated with emotion and memory. This part of your brain aggregates this data into memories. Smelling something takes us back in time to an event through our brain.
Also interesting: Science: 10 effects of smell on consumers
Who doesn't remember the sweet smell of a warm syrup waffle, or that pungent smell of Brussels sprouts from the past? You may wonder why it is mainly memories from our childhood that are evoked. This is because of the rapid development of our sense of smell when we are younger. Smell, according to research, is the only sense you fully develop at a young age. This is because smell and emotion in particular is stored as a memory. Your childhood is the period in which you create a "foundation" for what you like and dislike for the rest of your life.
Scientists are not the only ones fascinated by the Proust effect. For years, marketers have explored ways to make the most of the evocative power of scent. At a time when it is increasingly difficult to stand out. Companies must use new ways to stand out emotionally and memorably. Take for example a Christmas scent in an entryway or store. You immediately think of those memories of sitting around the Christmas tree with your family with this lovely warm scent. Or a fresh apple pie scent that takes you back to pie baking with Grandma or Grandpa. Memorable scents create a feeling and create an unexpected emotion. At that point, people base their buying decisions on emotion rather than key buying arguments. It is safe to say that Marcel Proust, with his moment, is a forerunner of today's scent marketers.
Do you still have questions about the Proust effect? Or could you use help putting scent marketing into practice? We'd love to hear from you.